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

Classes with JOHN SARFF

No teaching recorded in Fall 2026.

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Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

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Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2026PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Spring 2026PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2025PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Fall 2025PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2025PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Spring 2025PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2024ECE/NE/PHYSICS 922Seminar in Plasma Physics
Fall 2024PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Fall 2024PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2024PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Spring 2024PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2023PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Fall 2023PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2023ECE/NE/PHYSICS 527Plasma Confinement and Heating
Spring 2023PHYSICS 691Senior Thesis
Spring 2023PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2022PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Fall 2022PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2022PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Fall 2021PHYSICS 321Electric Circuits and Electronics
Fall 2021PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2020PHYSICS 208General Physics
Spring 2020ECE/NE/PHYSICS 527Plasma Confinement and Heating
Fall 2019PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Fall 2019PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2019ECE/NE/PHYSICS 922Seminar in Plasma Physics
Spring 2019PHYSICS 115Energy and Climate
Spring 2019PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2018PHYSICS 321Electric Circuits and Electronics
Fall 2018PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2018PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2017PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2017PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2016PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2016PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2015PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2015ECE/NE/PHYSICS 527Plasma Confinement and Heating
Spring 2015PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2014PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2014PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2013PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2013PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2012ECE/NE/PHYSICS 922Seminar in Plasma Physics
Fall 2012PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2012PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2011PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2011PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2010PHYSICS 681Senior Honors Thesis
Fall 2010PHYSICS 990Research
Spring 2010PHYSICS 692Senior Thesis
Spring 2010PHYSICS 990Research
Fall 2009PHYSICS 691Senior Thesis
Fall 2009PHYSICS 990Research

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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