Current instructor

Ilya Esterlis

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 5.00/5 from 7 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.

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

What students say

Original student reviews · all captured dates

PHYS415 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Absolutely phenomenal professor. He taught in a way that made the concepts extremely interesting and incredibly easy to learn (which is saying something from a 400 level physics course). Lecture notes are well-crafted and his assigned homework is really interesting, applicable and fun to solve. Over all, he is the best professor I have ever had.
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PHYS415 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
One of the few physics professors here at UW that I've actually liked. Very organized and helpful. I wouldn't say lectures are required because of the textbook, but he definitely helped explain concepts I didn't understand initially from the text. Good guy.
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PHYS415 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
The most engaging, well-spoken, and approachable professor I have had the pleasure of meeting. His passion for the content and high level of organization make it a joy to attend his lectures. He's always accessible by email and his office hours were extremely helpful. Despite the difficulty of the content, you will walk away feeling accomplished.
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PHYS415 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Ilya is a fairly new professor and already outshines the many professors I've already had. He is extremely talented and is always open to questions. His lectures are extremely organized and clear. He posts lecture notes, but I still recommend showing up to every lecture since he is such a joy to learn from.
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PHYS711 · course not matched
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Ilya is an excellent professor. His lectures are clear and concise and he closely follows Goldstein as well as Landau. He provides resources for the class and posts his lecture notes online. His class is not attendance-mandatory but it is strongly encouraged. Plus, his lectures are awesome so you don't want to miss them anyway. Highly recommend.
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PHYSICS 311
Quality 5/5Difficulty 5/5
Dr. Esterlis is one of the best professors I've ever had. His lectures are absolutely fantastic. He speaks clearly, explains things well, and manages to communicate the profundity of, for example, symmetry and conservation laws. The class was very tough, but homework counts for a lot of your grade, and it's more than worth the challenge.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Ilya Esterlis

PHYSICS 715

Statistical Mechanics

3 credits

Graduate course covering statistical foundations, ensembles, distribution functions, thermodynamics, quantum gases, phase transitions, and non-equilibrium problems in statistical mechanics.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Ilya Esterlis

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026
PHYSICS 799

Independent Study

1–3 credits

Independent Study is a graduate-level mentored research project in physics.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Roman KuzminDeniz Yavuz+20 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2025–Spring 2026 · limited sample
PHYSICS 990

Research

1–12 credits

Research supervised by individual faculty members. Students formulate and plan original research, creating work that contributes to the field of physics.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Pupa GilbertIrena Knezevic+78 more

No recorded grade history

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027PHYSICS 499Directed Study
Spring 2027PHYSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 715Statistical Mechanics
Spring 2027PHYSICS 799Independent Study
Spring 2027PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2026PHYSICS 311Mechanics
Fall 2026PHYSICS 499Directed Study
Fall 2026PHYSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2026PHYSICS 799Independent Study
Fall 2026PHYSICS 990Research

Teaching history may be incomplete. Course pages contain course-specific feedback and citations.

Instructor identity & provenance 
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