This is a hard one to write because he is the nicest guy ever... except when it comes to exam writing, which would be fine, except he never curves... ever. He is totally okay with only one person getting an A. The highest grades on our exams were an 89 and a 93. I was in the high upper quartile on both and still got an AB so be warned.Rate My Professors ↗
Current instructor
Dakotah Thompson
What students say
Original student reviews · all captured dates
Was a great professor who cared. At this level with the difficulty of courses it's important that the prof is looking out for you. I went to his office hours a few times, they were easy and informative. Heat transfer is hard at times and it's important to attend lectures to get the material, but he does a good job. +he brought donuts for the final!Rate My Professors ↗
Amazing prof, horrible exam writer. Definitely struggles to understand the level of his students, but this will improve over time (hasn't taught much yet). Super friendly and will make time for you if you are struggling or want to get more in-depth with material. Overall amazing experience, but if you're looking for an easy A, pick someone else.Rate My Professors ↗
The class average is a BC right now and he doesn't want to curve the class. I would recommend taking it with someone else if you care about your GPA. The exams are nearly impossible for students to finish in time and with his original homework submissions you spent more time formatting your homework for him than on the actual heat transfer part.Rate My Professors ↗
This was Professor Thompson's first time (or one of his first times) teaching the course and I thought he did a good job. He was very approachable and helpful during office hours. There were times in lectures when things were hard to follow or dry, but for the first time teaching he did very well. A safe choice for an engineering class.Rate My Professors ↗
Dakotah is a great professor and I would highly recommend taking his class. I have him for heat transfer and in my experience, when you come to him with questions or go to his office hours, he is very helpful in answering any questions you have and will work with you until you really feel like you have a good grasp on the concept.Rate My Professors ↗
Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.
Classes with Dakotah Thompson
Advanced Independent Study
1–3 creditsME 699 is an advanced independent study course involving directed study projects arranged with an instructor.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=1 letter grades).
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2022 · limited samplePrecision Measurements
3 creditsME 768 teaches concepts for predicting, characterizing, and reducing noise in measurements to improve signal-to-noise ratios and detection limits.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Recent recorded grades — Fall 2023: 3.88 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=12 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.96 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=28 letter grades); Fall 2025: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=24 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2023–Fall 2025 · limited sampleMaster's Research and Thesis
1–9 creditsME 790 is a directed study course for Mechanical Engineering graduate students to conduct research projects arranged with an instructor.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Phd Research and Thesis
1–9 creditsME 890 is a PhD research and thesis course offering directed study projects arranged with an instructor.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Dissertator Research and Thesis
1–9 creditsME 990 is a directed study course for Mechanical Engineering PhD students to conduct dissertation research and thesis work arranged with an instructor.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
No recorded grade history
Recorded teaching history
Explore courses taught by this instructor →Browse recorded courses
Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.
Instructor identity & provenance
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