Nuclear Reactor Engineering
Nuclear Reactor Engineering covers reactor heat generation and removal, steady- and unsteady-state conduction in reactor elements, single phase, two-phase, and liquid metal cooling, and core thermal design.
Summary
Past student reviews · Robert Witt
Homework and exams were described as fair, with a moderate difficulty rating of 3 out of 5.
What you’ll be able to do
Solve steady-state, coupled conduction and convection heat transfer problems in geometric configurations relevant to nuclear reactors
Describe the temperature excursion experienced by the fuel during an uncontrolled accident sequence using relevant approximations
Perform mass, momentum, and energy balances on different reactor components
Assess the safety margin of different reactor components during normal and off-normal conditions, with reference to the concept of “defense-in-depth"
Source: UW Guide
Grade history
↗All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors
Prerequisites
Course mapN E 305,M E 361, and (M E 363 and M E 364 or CBE 320) or graduate/professional standing, or member of Engineering Guest Students
“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.
Professors
Spring 2027No instructors recorded for this selection.
Historical instructors & teaching patterns
ROBERT WITT is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Fall 2010, Fall 2011, Fall 2012, Fall 2019. 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 2027Schedule loads here as you scroll.
| Section | Mode | Enrolled / capacity | Waitlist |
|---|
Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections.
Meeting source records
Student experience
the class
Past student reviews · Robert Witt
Robert Witt kept lectures interesting for engaged students and maintained fair homework and exams.
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.40 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=15 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.03 GPA, 41.2% A/AB (n=17 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.33 GPA, 57.1% A/AB (n=21 letter grades).
difficulty & workload
Past student reviews · Robert Witt
Homework and exams were described as fair, with a moderate difficulty rating of 3 out of 5.
Past student reviews · Robert Witt
Students found the professor great and the lectures engaging, particularly for those who cared about the topic.
Topics
- Reactor heat generation and removal.
- Steady- and unsteady-state conduction in reactor elements.
- Single phase, two-phase, and liquid metal cooling.
- Core thermal design.
Skills
- Solving steady-state, coupled conduction and convection heat transfer problems in geometric configurations relevant to nuclear reactors.
- Describing the temperature excursion experienced by the fuel during an uncontrolled accident sequence using relevant approximations.
- Performing mass, momentum, and energy balances on different reactor components.
- Assessing the safety margin of different reactor components during normal and off-normal conditions, with reference to defense-in-depth.
Grades
Latest available · Fall 2025— not enough history to project Spring 2027.
Grade distribution · % of letter grades
Grades over time
Through Fall 2025
More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data
Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.
Sources & history
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
No offering records for the selected term.
Raw records
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Student reviews
Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.
Read original reviews
Grade history
Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.
Explore recorded gradesRecorded 2026-10-14
Model outputs & technical records
LLM outputs across runs
Full model traces
Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.
Model & dataset provenance
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