Spring 2027

Nuclear Reactor Dynamics

Covers point reactor kinetics, reactor excursions, Fuchs-Nordheim and Bethe-Tait models, space-time dynamics, and synthesis methods for nuclear reactor systems.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 Jamie Coble

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Douglass Henderson

One historical reviewer rated the course difficulty as 5 out of 5, indicating a highly challenging workload.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Determine the behavior of the reactor power due to control element movement in the PRKE 1 group and 6 group models

  • Examine the behavior of the reactor in the presence of reactivity feedback effects (Resonance behavior, Doppler Broadening, density effects)

  • Analyze the power and temperature level behaviors due to the rapid injection and sinusoidal inputs of reactivity using the Nordheim-Fuchs models

  • Analyze the stability of a reactor using the Routh and Nyquist stability criterion and the singe and two temperature models

  • Examine numerical methods for the solution of the PRKEs and the reactor dynamics equations with feedback

  • Apply the reactor dynamics equations with feedback to a reactor design

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

N E 405, graduate/professional standing, or member of Engineering Guest Students

    • NE 405
    • graduate/professional standing
    • member of Engineering Guest Students
    take one
NE 555

This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Any of
    • NE 405
    • graduate/professional standing
    • member of Engineering Guest Students

Professors

Spring 2027
Historical instructors & teaching patterns

DOUGLASS LARRY HENDERSON is recorded teaching in Fall 2014, Fall 2016, Fall 2018, Fall 2020. 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
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 300

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

Past student reviews · Douglass Henderson

A past student described the course as essential for becoming a successful nuclear engineer, noting high difficulty and quality ratings.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2016: 3.50 GPA, 62.5% A/AB (n=8 letter grades); Fall 2018: 3.35 GPA, 61.5% A/AB (n=13 letter grades); Fall 2020: 3.60 GPA, 80.0% A/AB (n=10 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Douglass Henderson

One historical reviewer rated the course difficulty as 5 out of 5, indicating a highly challenging workload.

Past student reviews · Douglass Henderson

A former student emphasized that studying with the historical instructor was critical for their professional success in nuclear engineering.

Topics

  • Point reactor kinetics and physical parameters.
  • Reactor excursions and specific dynamic models.
  • Space-time reactor dynamics and synthesis methods.
  • Reactivity feedback effects including resonance, Doppler broadening, and density.

Skills

  • Determining reactor power behavior using Point Reactor Kinetic Equations (PRKE) models.
  • Analyzing reactor stability using Routh and Nyquist criteria.
  • Applying reactor dynamics equations with feedback to reactor design.

Grades

Latest available · Fall 2020— 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 2020

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Not enough comparable courses for Spring 2027 in UW–Madison.

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
NE 555 · Spring 2027

Nuclear Reactor Dynamics

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:684:013827",
    "course_id": "NE 555",
    "course_uid": "course_7671584a0a8595077331628c",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "013827",
    "source_subject_id": "684",
    "title": "Nuclear Reactor Dynamics",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Occasionally"
  }
]
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 2026-10-14

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 1
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "da10eb007e50605e3cb9e81c574118456529d482cfcc77da71f32045d0bc9a15",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}