Spring 2027

Introduction to Feedback Control

Introduction to Feedback Control covers linear feedback control analysis and design for mechanical systems, including modeling, transient/frequency response, and robustness.

no offering record for this termCredits unavailable
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 No instructors listed

Summary

1 / 7

Past student reviews · Michael Zinn

Zinn spent over a month reviewing prerequisites for students lacking dynamic systems background. Exams mirrored homework difficulty, with the instructor being transparent about problem content.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Solve for the time-domain response of differential equations associated with physical dynamic systems

  • Simulate the time-domain response and frequency-response of physical dynamic systems using computer analysis and design tools such as Matlab

  • Analyze and design PID feedback controllers for simple first and second order physical systems

  • Analyze the stability of linear systems using the Nyquist stability criteria and its equivalent frequency domain representation

  • Analyze and design modern feedback control systems using frequency domain analysis and design techniques, including the use of frequency loop shaping to achieve desired transient and steady-state design specifications

  • Analyze and design complex linear feedback controllers for a range of mechanical dynamic systems, including systems with non-ideal characteristics such as flexible modes, time delay, actuator saturation, and unstable open-loop systems

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

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

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

(M E 340,E M A/​M E 440, or E M A 545) and (MATH 319 or 320), graduate/professional standing, member of Engineering Guest Students, or declared in Capstone Certificate in Power Conversion and Control. Not open to students with credit for M E 346.

      • take one
      • take one
        • graduate/professional standing
        • member of Engineering Guest Students
        • declared in Capstone Certificate in Power Conversion and Control
        take one
      take all
      • credit for M E 346
      not eligible with
    take all
ME 446 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
  • All of
    • All of
      • Any of
      • Any of
      • Any of
        • graduate/professional standing
        • member of Engineering Guest Students
        • declared in Capstone Certificate in Power Conversion and Control
    • Not eligible with
      • credit for M E 346

Professors

Spring 2027

No instructors recorded for this selection.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

JOHN MOSKWA is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Fall 2007, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2013, Fall 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

MICHAEL ZINN is recorded teaching in Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Fall 2017, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Fall 2022, Fall 2023, Fall 2024, 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

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist

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

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Michael Zinn

Michael Zinn delivered engaging lectures with real-world applications and was highly approachable. Students found him dedicated to knowledge transfer and responsive to questions.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.50 GPA, 66.7% A/AB (n=36 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.42 GPA, 54.7% A/AB (n=53 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.41 GPA, 63.2% A/AB (n=57 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Michael Zinn

Zinn spent over a month reviewing prerequisites for students lacking dynamic systems background. Exams mirrored homework difficulty, with the instructor being transparent about problem content.

Past student reviews · Michael Zinn

One student found the course material tedious and outdated, noting a lack of modern state-space methods. This perspective contrasts with others who praised the teaching style.

Topics

  • Modeling linear dynamic mechanical systems and analyzing transient/frequency responses.
  • Classical control transform techniques like root locus and frequency response.
  • Non-ideal system characteristics: compliance, delay, and actuator/sensor saturation.

Skills

  • Design feedback controllers using frequency domain loop-shaping methods.
  • Analyze system robustness using phase/gain margins and Nyquist stability criterion.
  • Analyze and design PID feedback controllers for first and second order systems.

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.

average GPA
A / AB grades
letter grades
Instructor

Grade distribution · % of letter grades

A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

Grades over time

Through Fall 2025

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Fall 2025 · 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

1316 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.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records

No offering records for the selected term.

Raw records 
[]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "0f21454b8f9c27cf2bc93646e105e38465d3db8584fa75c87fa6651bee97de58",
  "requirements_status": "needs_review",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}