Current instructor

John Sarff

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.75/5 from 4 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

PHYSICS 115
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Really interesting class, good for a broad overview of energy and climate and the math/physics is pretty easy to pick up. He keeps it engaging with demos and relating content to the real world, easy to get feedback from too.
Rate My Professors ↗
PHYSICS 115
Quality 5/5Difficulty 1/5
Prof. Sarff taught the material (although somewhat easy) in way so that everyone was interested and understanding. If you're looking to learn in depth, perhaps you should consider a harder class, but for people who want a general, more broad knowledge, this is an excellent option. It is relaxed yet useful.
Rate My Professors ↗
PHYSICS 115
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
Super great teacher, material was a bit heavy towards end but super nice guy, willing to work with you!
Rate My Professors ↗
PHYSICS 115
Quality 4/5Difficulty 3/5
I took this class for the science credit, and it turned out that the class was very maths heavy. The class covered a variety of topics but were not deeply discussed. Professor Sarff did a good job in explaining terms and concepts, and also provided a lot of interesting physical facts. Not hard if you do the homework and go to the discussion.
Rate My Professors ↗

Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with John Sarff

Introduction to energy sources and environmental impacts, applying mechanics, heat, electricity, and nuclear physics to fossil fuels, renewables, and nuclear energy.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Past student reviews · John Sarff

Professor John Sarff taught Physics 115 with a broad, engaging focus on energy and climate, using demos and real-world connections. Students found the math manageable and the atmosphere relaxed, noting that topics were covered extensively but not deeply. He was described as willing to help and effective at explaining concepts.

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026
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

No recorded grade history

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Spring 2027PHYSICS 499Directed Study
Spring 2027PHYSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 682Senior Honors Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2027PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2026PHYSICS 321Electric Circuits and Electronics
Fall 2026PHYSICS 990Research

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

Instructor identity & provenance
{
  "instructor_uid": "instructor_a267d9177ac504c96a64c993",
  "source": "enrollment",
  "source_instructor_id": "jssarff",
  "identity_basis": "netid",
  "identity_status": "source_identified",
  "name": "John Sarff",
  "email": "JSSARFF@WISC.EDU",
  "first_observed_at": "2026-09-07 15:55:43.033547+00:00",
  "last_observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
  "ratings": {
    "review_count": 4,
    "quality": 4.75,
    "difficulty": 2,
    "quality_count": 4,
    "difficulty_count": 4,
    "profile_id": "rmp:2429264",
    "source_url": "https://www.ratemyprofessors.com/professor/2429264",
    "match_basis": "exact_name",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 19:05:02.225707+00:00",
    "courses": {
      "course_8f18f98dbf0c944ea0381465": {
        "review_count": 4,
        "quality": 4.75,
        "difficulty": 2,
        "quality_count": 4,
        "difficulty_count": 4
      }
    },
    "bayesian_quality": 3.840994650413725,
    "prior_mean": 3.65919358049647,
    "prior_weight": 20
  },
  "current": true,
  "courses": [
    {
      "course_uid": "course_11ca6b2588608c9b32506d53",
      "course_id": "PHYSICS 692",
      "title": "SENIOR THESIS",
      "credits_min": 2,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": 4
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_478c9473f982809f4cde8cec",
      "course_id": "PHYSICS 499",
      "title": "DIRECTED STUDY",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": 4
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_543dcc107458b8f7cacca29d",
      "course_id": "PHYSICS 691",
      "title": "SENIOR THESIS",
      "credits_min": 2,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_6bdb43fa4ad7d835066b602c",
      "course_id": "PHYSICS 990",
      "title": "RESEARCH",
      "credits_min": 1,
      "credits_max": 12,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_8f18f98dbf0c944ea0381465",
      "course_id": "PHYSICS 115",
      "title": "ENERGY AND CLIMATE",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": 3.341
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_bf60eeaf8405d6fec7ab9391",
      "course_id": "PHYSICS 681",
      "title": "SENIOR HONORS THESIS",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": null
    },
    {
      "course_uid": "course_ef30c98738891e8e37379887",
      "course_id": "PHYSICS 682",
      "title": "SENIOR HONORS THESIS",
      "credits_min": 3,
      "credits_max": 3,
      "gpa": 3.5
    }
  ],
  "revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "instructor_url": "/instructors/JOHN_SARFF"
}