Fall 2026

Thermodynamics

ME 361 covers the first and second laws of thermodynamics, properties of gases and vapors, and energy-systems analysis for power and refrigeration cycles.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Tony Grotjan4.0/5Adam DempseyKyobeom Ku +2 more

Summary

1 / 7

The course is described as challenging and homework-heavy, with some reviewers noting that exams can be difficult despite the instructor's preparation efforts.

Grade history

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

Prerequisites

Course map

(CHEM 103 or 109) and (E M A 201,PHYSICS 201, 207, or 247), or member of Engineering Guest Students

ME 361 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
/5Adjusted rating
/5RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 5.00/5 from 6 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.

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

Tony Grotjan receives universal praise for his clear, well-structured lectures and extensive use of helpful note templates. Reviewers highlight his strong student support, noting he stays late at office hours and provides fair grading. While the course is described as challenging and homework-heavy, his dedication to student success is consistently emphasized.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2024: 3.50 GPA, 72.2% A/AB (n=209 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.35 GPA, 65.9% A/AB (n=229 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.31 GPA, 59.8% A/AB (n=107 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

No course-specific feedback yet.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for David Foster, Mario Trujillo, Sanford Klein, John Pfotenhauer, and Franklin Miller praise clear instruction, approachability, and high quality despite heavy homework loads. In contrast, Jay Martin, Tom Krupenkin, Michael Cheadle, Kristofer Dressler, and Wendy Crone received mixed or negative feedback regarding lecture value, preparation, and online delivery difficulties.

DAVID FOSTER is recorded teaching in Spring 2009. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

FRANKLIN MILLER is recorded teaching in Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2022, Fall 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

GREGORY NELLIS is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2022, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JAY MARTIN is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2010. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOHN PFOTENHAUER is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2010, Fall 2013, Fall 2015, Spring 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KRISTOFER DRESSLER is recorded teaching in Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARIO TRUJILLO is recorded teaching in Fall 2008, Fall 2009. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SANFORD KLEIN is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2012, Spring 2013, Spring 2014, Spring 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SCOTT SANDERS is recorded teaching in Fall 2008, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Spring 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

TOM KRUPENKIN is recorded teaching in Fall 2011, Spring 2012, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2014, Fall 2020, Spring 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

TONY GROTJAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025. 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 002Classroom Instruction121 / 1250
LEC 001Classroom Instruction124 / 1360
DIS 301Classroom Instruction19 / 240
DIS 302Classroom Instruction23 / 250
DIS 303Classroom Instruction24 / 250
DIS 304Classroom Instruction20 / 240
DIS 305Classroom Instruction23 / 240
DIS 306Classroom Instruction15 / 220
DIS 307Classroom Instruction24 / 250
DIS 308Classroom Instruction24 / 250
DIS 309Classroom Instruction25 / 250
DIS 310Classroom Instruction25 / 250
DIS 311Classroom Instruction23 / 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

Tony Grotjan provides clear, structured lectures with helpful handouts and maintains accessible office hours. Reviewers highlight his dedication to student support and fair grading practices.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.35 GPA, 65.9% A/AB (n=229 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.25 GPA, 56.6% A/AB (n=212 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.15 GPA, 54.0% A/AB (n=248 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The course is described as challenging and homework-heavy, with some reviewers noting that exams can be difficult despite the instructor's preparation efforts.

Students find the provided note templates and flexible office hours very helpful for learning, though some note that absorbing lecture material without attending office hours can be difficult.

Topics

  • First and second laws of thermodynamics
  • Thermodynamic properties of gases, vapors, and gas-vapor mixtures
  • Energy-systems analysis including power cycles, refrigeration cycles and air-conditioning processes
  • Thermodynamics of reacting mixtures

Skills

  • Application of the first and second laws of thermodynamics.
  • Analysis of thermodynamic properties for various substances.
  • Energy systems analysis for power, refrigeration, and air-conditioning cycles.
  • Introduction to thermodynamics of reacting mixtures.

Grades

Historical instructor

Fall 2026 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.30 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Fall 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
ME 361 · Fall 2026

Thermodynamics

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": "1272:612:011991",
    "course_id": "ME 361",
    "course_uid": "course_c30972f318c82dcee2e70be3",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "011991",
    "source_subject_id": "612",
    "title": "Thermodynamics",
    "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.

Download part 1
Model & dataset provenance
{
  "model": "nvidia/Qwen3.6-35B-A3B-NVFP4",
  "model_revision": "1355db6a052410cfd62085d94b58866fd0f2c3c5",
  "task_version": "14",
  "output_id": "0bb71274916f37b58dfd7cee45f9fd7afeab39680e7aa9216a25186758b69e6d",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}