Energy Systems Laboratory

ME 370 is the Energy Systems Laboratory focusing on experimental evaluation and analysis of energy conversion systems like turbines, compressors, and engines.

offering recorded3 credits

Summary

1 / 7

The labs require significant work, though it is reported to be difficult to receive a bad grade on them.

Grade history

average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

M E 363 and (M E 364 or concurrent enrollment) and (M E 368 or concurrent enrollment)

ME 370

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: 4.30/5 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: 3.0/5 raw quality · 4.0/5 difficulty · 2 reviews

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

Arganthael Berson's course has been criticized for poor planning and lack of student communication, with one reviewer describing it as the worst planned class they have taken.

Another reviewer notes that Berson is trying to improve the course, having revised the grading policy to reduce reliance on the final exam, though the labs remain demanding.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 3.06 GPA, 46.6% A/AB (n=118 letter grades); Spring 2024: 3.58 GPA, 84.0% A/AB (n=163 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.42 GPA, 69.9% A/AB (n=73 letter grades).

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Arganthael Berson is the current instructor for ME 370. Historical reviews highlight John Pfotenhauer as nice but slow with challenging exams, while Tom Krupenkin receives polarized feedback regarding his teaching clarity and lab support.

ARGANTHAEL BERSON is recorded teaching in Spring 2016, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2022, Spring 2024, Fall 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

DANNY AERTS is recorded teaching in Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Spring 2009, Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Spring 2013, Spring 2015. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOHN PFOTENHAUER is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2013, Fall 2014, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

TOM KRUPENKIN is recorded teaching in Spring 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2019, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, 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 001Online (some classroom)73 / 800
LAB 306Classroom Instruction24 / 260
LAB 303Classroom Instruction21 / 250
LAB 302Classroom Instruction28 / 300

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

Reviews for Arganthael Berson's ME 370 are polarized, with one calling it the worst planned class and another noting he is trying to improve it.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.26 GPA, 53.0% A/AB (n=183 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.08 GPA, 35.4% A/AB (n=82 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.07 GPA, 26.7% A/AB (n=217 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

The labs require significant work, though it is reported to be difficult to receive a bad grade on them.

One student reports zero communication and TAs arriving late to labs.

Topics

  • Energy conversion systems
  • Experimental evaluation and analysis

Skills

  • Experimental evaluation and analysis
  • Performance analysis of energy systems

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 · 0.14 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.

Selected offering source records
ME 370 · Fall 2026

Energy Systems Laboratory

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": "1272:612:012003",
    "course_id": "ME 370",
    "course_uid": "course_b295a028aee788daadbfb445",
    "term_id": "1272",
    "source_course_id": "012003",
    "source_subject_id": "612",
    "title": "Energy Systems Laboratory",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
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 grades
Model 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": "ca95ce585d22814de5fdc027529dbe82e34dc500ac7fb52e9dc5418b1f91bde7",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "e243353dcb7d79b7247ced91d69443ef4c2a6349",
  "observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00"
}