Fall 2026

Fluid Dynamics

ME 363 Fluid Dynamics covers mechanics and thermodynamics applied to fluid statics and dynamics, including potential, viscous, pipe, boundary-layer, and compressible flow analysis.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Fall 2026 Wenxiao Pan3.6/5

Summary

1 / 6

Workload emphasizes careful homework completion, as exams mirror assignments, though some find tests significantly harder than homework and grading harsh.

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

M E 361 and (MATH 319, 320 or 375), or member of Engineering Guest Students

ME 363 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: 3.38/5 from 8 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.

Wenxiao Pan faces criticism for derivation-heavy lectures that leave students lost and a harsh grading style with limited partial credit. Some reviewers describe her as a poor instructor who fails to explain material effectively.

Conversely, recent reviewers praise Pan for organized lectures, clear notes, and generous grading. These students highlight that homework closely mirrors exams and that her teaching style makes the course straightforward and fair.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2020: 3.11 GPA, 45.6% A/AB (n=79 letter grades); Fall 2022: 3.56 GPA, 75.0% A/AB (n=104 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.54 GPA, 71.6% A/AB (n=81 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Historical reviews for ME 363 show conflicting experiences with instructor Mario Trujillo, who provided effective, fundamental-focused lectures with lenient grading, versus Jennifer Detlor, who assigned tough exams and unhelpful practice materials.

ALAN J GIACOMIN is recorded teaching in Spring 2013. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ALEJANDRO ROLDAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2015, Fall 2016. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

GLENN BOWER is recorded teaching in Fall 2014, Fall 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JAY MARTIN is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2011, Spring 2012. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JENNIFER DETLOR is recorded teaching in Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JINLONG WU is recorded teaching in Fall 2023, Fall 2024, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MARIO TRUJILLO is recorded teaching in Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Fall 2013, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Spring 2019, Spring 2022, Spring 2023, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MICHAEL CHEADLE is recorded teaching in Spring 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

ROMAN MORSE is recorded teaching in Fall 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SCOTT SANDERS is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

TOM KRUPENKIN is recorded teaching in Spring 2008, Spring 2014, Fall 2018. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

WENXIAO PAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Fall 2020, Fall 2022, Fall 2024. 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 Instruction103 / 1100
LEC 001Classroom Instruction95 / 1100

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

Recent reviews describe Wenxiao Pan as a clear, fair, and well-organized instructor who provides helpful notes and aligns homework with exams.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 2.98 GPA, 37.4% A/AB (n=187 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.13 GPA, 46.0% A/AB (n=187 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.22 GPA, 49.0% A/AB (n=192 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Workload emphasizes careful homework completion, as exams mirror assignments, though some find tests significantly harder than homework and grading harsh.

Experiences vary; some find lectures derivation-heavy and confusing, while others appreciate the organized, practice-rich material and clear explanations.

Topics

  • Fluid statics and dynamics.
  • Potential flow.
  • Dimensional analysis.
  • Viscous flow.
  • Pipe flow.
  • Boundary-layer theory.
  • Compressible flow.

Skills

  • Applying mechanics and thermodynamics to fluid systems.
  • Analyzing potential, viscous, pipe, boundary-layer, and compressible flows.

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 · 0.18 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 363 · Fall 2026

Fluid Dynamics

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": "1272:612:011995",
    "course_id": "ME 363",
    "course_uid": "course_feae6ebc37f0d3966d3c3359",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "011995",
    "source_subject_id": "612",
    "title": "Fluid Dynamics",
    "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": "2271c7da74f8ec997581b2584fd43b5ed95dbba3d56a2f4f78e77ca5583c894b",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}