Fall 2026

Introduction to the Science and Technology of Food

Introduction to the science and technology of food manufacture, covering basic chemical, physical, and microbiological properties and their manipulation in food product manufacturing.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez3.7/5

Summary

1 / 7

Lab workload assessments differ, with some finding them quick and easy while others report significant weekly assignments. Exams are consistently described as thorough and difficult, requiring careful review of lecture material.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
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AB
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All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(MATH 112, 114 or 217) and (CHEM 103, 109 or 115) and (ZOOLOGY/​BIOLOGY 101, 102,BOTANY/​BIOLOGY 130, or ZOOLOGY/​BIOLOGY/​BOTANY 151) or (BSE 349 or concurrent enrollment)

FOODSCI 301 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree

Professors

Fall 2026

Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez

/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 3.90/5 from 10 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

For this course: 3.3/5 raw quality · 3.8/5 difficulty · 4 reviews

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez is described as personable, caring, and engaging, with students noting he tries to help with grading. Reviewers highlight his funny demeanor and the interesting nature of the course material.

One reviewer characterizes him negatively, claiming he has a huge ego and refuses help. This view contrasts sharply with other reports of his supportive teaching style.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.77 GPA, 30.8% A/AB (n=39 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.82 GPA, 27.3% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.70 GPA, 31.6% A/AB (n=38 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

ARNOLDO LOPEZ-HERNANDEZ is recorded teaching in Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. 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 2026

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction35 / 350
LAB 301Classroom Instruction19 / 250
LAB 303Classroom Instruction16 / 250

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
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Student experience

the class

Reviews disagree on Arnoldo Lopez-Hernandez's teaching style, with three describing him as caring and personable, while one criticizes his ego. The course relies on lectures and labs rather than textbooks.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.77 GPA, 30.8% A/AB (n=39 letter grades); Fall 2025: 2.82 GPA, 27.3% A/AB (n=22 letter grades); Spring 2026: 2.70 GPA, 31.6% A/AB (n=38 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Lab workload assessments differ, with some finding them quick and easy while others report significant weekly assignments. Exams are consistently described as thorough and difficult, requiring careful review of lecture material.

Students find the labs enjoyable and the course material interesting. However, some struggle with the harsh initial grading and highly specific exam questions.

Topics

  • Chemical, physical, and microbiological properties of food.
  • Manufacture of food products.

Skills

  • Manipulating chemical, physical, and microbiological properties in food manufacturing.

Grades

Latest available · Spring 2026— not enough history to project Fall 2026.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

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

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1283 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

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.

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Selected offering source records
FOODSCI 301 · Fall 2026

Introduction to the Science and Technology of Food

Recorded 2026-09-07
Raw records
[
  {
    "run_id": "20260907T155543-ce3781c4",
    "semester": "1272",
    "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1272:390:022975",
    "course_id": "FOODSCI 301",
    "course_uid": "course_9a5fac10f94a5dc058fd4363",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "022975",
    "source_subject_id": "390",
    "title": "Introduction to the Science and Technology of Food",
    "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
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Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-09-07

Download the original dataset
Model outputs & technical records
nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

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Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "c7e977fa66ce629b3228a5d2ce057bc524bb60816bbb24225d80c4c353d290ee",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}