Current instructor

Sean Palecek

Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 4.31/5 from 13 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

CBE 250
Quality 5/5Difficulty 2/5
Thoroughly enjoyed 250, as long as you pay attention in class and occasionally go to discussion or office hours when stuck or confused, then you should do well.
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CBE 250
Quality 4/5Difficulty 4/5
Really well explained concepts. Sometimes midterms can be a curve ball. Pay attention in lectures because Prof. Palecek doesn't post notes!
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CBE 250
Quality 5/5Difficulty 3/5
For the first real class in the major, I'm really glad I had Dr. Palacek. He was always a very clear explainer, was accessible out of class, and was always willing to explain areas which I had trouble with. The grading was also quite generous in the class which certainly helped. He doesn't teach 250 often, but if you have the opportunity, take him.
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CBE 250
Quality 5/5Difficulty 5/5
Very good professor, I'm rather surprised by how inattentive the class is given that it is chemical engineering class. I'm actually doing worse than most people even though I'm trying to pay attention, it's clear that he gets frustrated by how noisy the class is. I think he is a good professor but It's hard to pay attention when everyone is talking
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CBE 250
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Professor Palecek is easily one of my favorite professors here at UW. Although the course is extremely homework-heavy (sometimes taking up an entire day to do) his lectures were entertaining and enjoyable, his exams were engaging and very well written, and he cares a lot about his students. Additionally, he was very available outside of class.
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CBE 250
Quality 5/5Difficulty 4/5
Palecek is one of my favorite professors at UW. His lectures, homework, and exams were tough but always reasonable and helpful. He was always available & willing to help in and out of class. He was also super flexible with the challenges of a COVID semester & online learning. I highly recommend taking Palecek if you have the chance.
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Personal experiences, not a representative survey. Profile matching and captured coverage are shown in the source details.

Classes with Sean Palecek

BME 399

Independent Study

1–3 credits

Independent Study in BME involves directed projects where students conduct and report on independent biomedical engineering research.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=6 letter grades).

Peter AdamczykAmit Nimunkar+72 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2026
BME 799

Advanced Independent Study

1–5 credits

Advanced Independent Study under faculty supervision where students conduct and report on an independent biomedical engineering project.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=1 letter grades).

Peter AdamczykAmit Nimunkar+54 more

historical GPA · grades

Spring 2023–Spring 2023 · limited sample
BME 990

Research and Thesis

1–9 credits

Research and thesis course under faculty supervision where students conduct studies using experimental, computational, or theoretical approaches and communicate results in a written thesis and defense.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Peter AdamczykSean Palecek+49 more

No recorded grade history

BME/CBE 560

Biochemical Engineering

3 credits

Biochemical Engineering covers properties of biological molecules, enzyme kinetics, metabolic engineering, microbial growth, bioreactor design, and bioseparations.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2013: 3.58 GPA, 69.2% A/AB (n=13 letter grades); Fall 2013: 3.57 GPA, 78.6% A/AB (n=14 letter grades); Spring 2023: 3.77 GPA, 83.3% A/AB (n=30 letter grades).

Sean Palecek

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026
CBE 489

Honors in Research

1–3 credits

HONORS IN RESEARCH covers undergraduate honors research projects supervised by faculty members for students declared in the Chemical Engineering Honors in Research Program.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Sean PalecekBrian Pfleger+6 more

No recorded grade history

CBE 599

Special Problems

1–4 credits

Special Problems in Chemical Engineering involves research or independent study where students conduct and report on independent chemical engineering research.

Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2013: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=8 letter grades); Spring 2016: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=7 letter grades); Spring 2022: 4.00 GPA, 100.0% A/AB (n=3 letter grades).

AJ BoydstonReid Van Lehn+25 more

historical GPA · grades

Fall 2022–Spring 2026 · limited sample

Recorded teaching history

Distinct courses recorded per term

Explore courses taught by this instructor →
Browse recorded courses
TermCourseTitle
Spring 2027BME 399Independent Study
Spring 2027BME 790Master's Research and Thesis
Spring 2027BME 799Advanced Independent Study
Spring 2027BME 890Pre-dissertation Research
Spring 2027BME 990Research and Thesis
Spring 2027BME/CBE 560Biochemical Engineering
Spring 2027CBE 489Honors in Research
Spring 2027CBE 599Special Problems
Spring 2027CBE 790Master's Research or Thesis
Spring 2027CBE 890Pre-dissertator's Research
Spring 2027CBE 990Thesis-research
Fall 2026BME 399Independent Study
Fall 2026BME 790Master's Research and Thesis
Fall 2026BME 799Advanced Independent Study
Fall 2026BME 890Pre-dissertation Research
Fall 2026BME 990Research and Thesis
Fall 2026CBE 250Process Synthesis
Fall 2026CBE 489Honors in Research
Fall 2026CBE 599Special Problems
Fall 2026CBE 790Master's Research or Thesis
Fall 2026CBE 890Pre-dissertator's Research
Fall 2026CBE 990Thesis-research

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

Instructor identity & provenance 
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