Sonny Nimityongskul is described as a helpful teacher who prioritizes student understanding of concepts. Reviewers note his PhD credentials and engaging personality, though the single review focuses heavily on his personal interests like snowboarding rather than specific academic rigor.
Fall 2026
Practicum in Finite Elements
EMA 405 is a practicum in finite elements that teaches the use of commercial software to model and solve practical mechanics problems.
Summary
1 / 6
The course difficulty is rated as moderate.
Grade history
↗ average GPA
letter grades
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course map(E M A 303 or M E 306), graduate/professional standing, or member of Engineering Guest Students
- EMA 303
- M E 306
- graduate/professional standing
- member of Engineering Guest Students
This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Prerequisite text tree
- Any of
- Any of
- EMA 303
- M E 306
- graduate/professional standing
- member of Engineering Guest Students
- Any of
Professors
Fall 2026No course-specific feedback yet.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
Historical reviews for Robert Witt describe him as a lenient grader who provides detailed feedback on finite element models and homework. Students found his lectures optional and interesting, noting his patience and willingness to help during office hours, though some perceived his teaching style as tough love.
CURT BRONKHORST is recorded teaching in Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
RAMATHASAN THEVAMARAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2022, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
ROBERT WITT is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2015, Fall 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.
Calendar & sections
Fall 2026Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | Classroom Instruction | 28 / 32 | 0 |
| LEC 002 | Classroom Instruction | 15 / 32 | 0 |
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Sonny Nimityongskul is a helpful instructor who prioritizes student understanding of concepts.
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.83 GPA, 92.6% A/AB (n=27 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.31 GPA, 54.8% A/AB (n=31 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.20 GPA, 44.0% A/AB (n=25 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
The course difficulty is rated as moderate.
The instructor engages in casual conversation about non-academic topics like snowboarding.
Topics
Skills
Grades
Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Fall 2026.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F
Grades over time
Through Spring 2026
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Fall 2026 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
UW–Madison
Catalog & offerings
Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.
Catalog observation history
Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.
Selected offering source records
Practicum in Finite Elements
Recorded 2026-09-07Raw records
[
{
"run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
"semester": "1272",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
"offering_id": "1272:346:006600",
"course_id": "EMA 405",
"course_uid": "course_63981d631c5570b7f9e27753",
"term_id": "1272",
"source_course_id": "006600",
"source_subject_id": "346",
"title": "Practicum in Finite Elements",
"credits_min": 3,
"credits_max": 3,
"typically_offered": "Fall, Spring"
}
]Rate My Professors
Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Madgrades
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesModel outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
{
"model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
"model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
"task_version": "14",
"output_id": "fcfa9f4d07183caaea36b0938a633e6906080d06a832b4e2eb8b9e8ee918b5ce",
"requirements_status": "needs_review",
"dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
"observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}