Student course evaluations

 Below are student course evaluations for as far back as Washington University has kept electronic records of this information. Representative student comments (without corrections or editing) are given for each course, but the full evaluation report is available by clicking the corresponding button. Most are pretty good, though some are bad. A few old student evaluations are still lurking at RateMyProfessors.com too. In 2016, Washington University briefly stopped releasing evaluations from classes it deemed to have too few responses to protect student privacy, even though responses are anonymous (instances noted below).

spring 2023
  • Dr. Wendl did a great job explaining a very difficult topic.
  • Incredibly understanding and forgiving in terms of deadlines. He prefers students understand the homeworks and lectures rather than expecting everything to be done in a time sensitive manner. Super helpful when it comes to asking questions about unfamiliar concepts.

spring 2023
  • His enthusiasm for the subject and willingness to discuss and allude to the complexities beyond what is covered in the course. He did a very good job considering the very limited amount of time available to cover the curriculum.
  • Prof. Wendl is not only knowledgeable about Fluid Mechanics, but is genuinely enthusiastic to teach. Although his way of writing out lectures isn’t always the best for me, his enthusiasm and knowledge made it much easier to understand the content.

fall 2022
  • He does a great job of explaining difficult concepts clearly. He's one of the best teachers in the program and is well–liked by everyone.
  • I would recommend this class to anyone.

Spring 2022
  • Professor Wendl is invested and enthusiastic in seeing his students understand the course material. I enjoyed how engaging his lecturing style of solving problems is. He wrote and gives out his own textbook online for free which is a testament to his commitment of teaching.
  • This is a great course to build mathematical problem solving skills relevant to heat transfer analysis. I was familiar with some of the material already, but benefited greatly in solving problems along with the professor in lectures and gained insights.

Spring 2022
  • How could this course improve? different instructor, more relevant tests, easier homework questions, take homework questions out of book, better textbook, more than 1 midterm, ability to drop a test grade, record lectures
  • Approachable, patient, enthusiastic, and very knowledgeable about the subject. He pushed us to become better problem solvers, more than most other professors do.

fall 2021
  • He's just a great guy who is literally a genius. While he is super smart, he never made me feel dumb though, he always answered my questions and made me feel like I was asking good questions. Outstanding all around.
  • He is my favorite professor from this entire program. He is personable, helps anyone who doesn't understand, treats us all with respect, and is highly intelligent.

spring 2021
  • The thing I think of would be the ability to look at most heat transfer problems and see how I could break it down and analyze it using the methods we discussed. Outside of course content, I will absolutely remember this course as my most favorite course perhaps ever taken, and I will never forget the feeling each lecture left me with of "Oh my goodness I want to learn more"
  • This course was extremely well taught! Every class, I walked away with a deeper understanding about heat transfer. The homework was challenging but helped me work through some examples on my own.

spring 2021
  • Professor Wendl was knowledgeable about the course material. He was also very understanding of his students.
  • His excitement for the material made paying attention much easier, and his eagerness for ensuring comprehension made it easier to fully understand what was covered.

fall 2020
  • Dr. Wendl is incredibly knowledgeable on the subject. He does an outstanding job of relating complex concepts to real world situations. Dr. Wendl also is one of the best professors when it comes to fielding student questions and taking the time to answer them. He is genuinely interested in the students learning and success.
  • To put it in a weird way: he just has a superior way of taking concepts in his head and transferring them to the student's head. Michael Wendl is a man you can truly call a teacher.

spring 2020
  • Dr. Wendl is by far one of the best and most interesting professors I have had the pleasure of meeting. He is extremely patient and passionate about sharing knowledge. I am more inspired than I've ever been to continue learning and growing as a person.
  • No matter what questions were asked or who asked them, professor Wendl always took as much time as necessary to ensure that the question was sufficiently answered and that the entire class had a firm grasp on the material being discussed.

spring 2020
  • He was very excited and knowledgeable about the topic. He was very helpful when it came to the HW assignments and was willing to help you work through them.
  • Dr. Wendl is a fantastic professor. I was very impressed with his in person and online lectures. He took all of the unexpected obstacles posed this semester in stride and managed to effectively cover the material.

fall 2019
  • I like Prof. Wendl's teaching style. He is a good professor that is down to earth and knows the subject well.
  • This is a difficult course but, I like how the professor teaches it.

spring 2019
  • I am greatly impressed by Dr. Wendl's ability to make what is essentially a math course my favorite course of the semester. I appreciate the light atmosphere he kept in his classroom and his efforts in encouraging discussion/questions from the students.
  • I love his teaching style. He is 100% more worried about you understanding the material than anything else. You can tell he is passionate about the topics and that comes through in his teaching.

spring 2019
  • Passionate and enjoy his teaching
  • prof. wendl was very good at pointing out instances where theory and practice overlap, physical interpretations of PDEs and whatnot.

fall 2018
  • I found the material interesting and the professor's enthusiasm was often contagious. Class discussion was engaging and fun. Dr. Wendl definitely has a talent for inspiring confidence in his students and this was most evident when students would ask questions. He always answered them and never acted as if any aspect of inquiry was trivial.
  • I think he is an excellent teacher and one of the best I have had. He is a great lecturer and has a passion for education. I'm sure he will inspire many students to come.

spring 2018
  • He is one of the best professors I have had at Wash U. His lecture style is interactive in a stimulating way. He makes me want to ask more questions and learn more because I know that he has a lot of good answers to offer. He poses questions that really make you think conceptually about a problem and is willing to take the time to answer a complicated question.
  • Gives interesting analytical/math perspective of physics we learn in engineering. Interesting considerations of numerical computation

spring 2018
  • When he related the problems to real life examples, mathematically explaining 'real' world phenomena (although simplified). It made me connect the dots on why fluids behave as they do. I really enjoyed watching his mastery of mathematics and fluids in action. Obviously, a brilliant mind at work. I feel the Wash U community is quite fortunate to have him.
  • The instructor was passionate about the material, very motivated to discuss and explore, loved answering questions...All around great experience.

fall 2017
  • Prof. Wendl is BY FAR the best instructor I've had in this program. He is highly intelligent and provides the material in a sophisticated, yet understandable manner. I have learned more in Prof. Wendl's courses than the remainder of the program combined.
  • Dr. Wendl knows the subjects he teaches and does a good job explaining the theory behind everything

spring 2017
  • The relaxed environment and the focus on learning and understanding the derivation of equations. Sometimes it felt
    like I was watching a movie, on the edge of my seat waiting to see what trick we would use to solve the problem at hand. I always left class feeling amped.
  • He is very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. He shows both a passion for the subject matter and the patience to spend
    time explaining it to students who need to cover concepts more than once.

spring 2017
  • The approach to explaining concepts in general terms, rather than an emphasis on "plug and chug" type problems. The
    derivations really helped me understand what was happening and made the content a lot less intimidating.
  • The professor's own textbook hits the right balance of in-depth analysis while still being approachable. Very much
    appreciated!

fall 2016
Evals for JME 3710 not made public for Fall 2016 because of insufficient number of responses to protect student privacy.

Spring 2016
  • This was one of the best classes I've taken in my academic life. Especially the textbook written by Prof. Wendl was a big help. It's the most readable textbook I've ever used, but it still covers all the important topics in heat transfer. The book really helps the reader understand the theory behind every equation, which I think is critical at graduate level of studying
  • He does a great job of explaining all of the material step by step but still at a steady pace and is very passionate about the work

Spring 2016
  • I think out of all the teachers/professors I've ever had, he had the most knowledge, or best understanding, of the subject they were teaching. He was able to answer any question without issue or looking anything up. He could always explain why the answer was the what it was too.
  • Professor Wendl is very enthusiastic and it makes the class more interesting. I had heard (from people at other schools) that fluids is very boring and difficult, but I thought this class was really interesting, and it became my favorite class. I think my positive experience in this class was 100% due to Professor Wendl being a really great teacher.

Fall 2015
  • Professor Wendl is very knowledgable about this course and the fluids course I took with him as well. He's always prepared for class and uses every minute of it.
  • He is very organized. He captured everyone's attention from start to end

Spring 2015
  • no comments received

Spring 2015
  • I especially appreciated Professor Wendl's ability to present a rather complex topic in a very digestible manner. The presentation was neither dumbed down for general consumption, nor made arbitrarily complex.
  • I liked his continuing review of the material from the previous class. He is very receptive to questions and answers them very thoroughly. I like his comparision of real world applications.

Fall 2014
  • Great teacher. Very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. The notes help. Having the web sight is also very helpful. Not all of my classes are this organized, so I appreciate it.
  • Smart, enthusiastic, well prepared. He also is a professor that seems to have some experience with and knowledge of the professional engineering world. This class feels very relevant.

Spring 2014
  • very well prepared for lecture. clear depth of knowledge about the subject matter. excited about teaching. clear lecturer, able to provide excellent supplemental explanations of material when questions were asked. Dr. Wendl is one of the best professors I have ever had in all my academic training. Mathematically rigorous, and able to go through each step of derivations from first principles. Motivates derivations well. Excellent demeanor. Can't say enough good things about him. An excellent professor all-around
  • Great course, excellent instructor. Taking this class will give you an excellent foundation for other courses that rely on the solution of 2nd order PDEs, heat transfer, fluids problems

Spring 2014
  • The professors knowledge of the subject matter... I was apparent. Also, how much passion he had for learning and teaching... as a student you knew he cared..
  • Professor Wendl is very intellectual. He forced students to use proper engineering language as a way to avoid confusion and maintain consistency, which aided in understanding problems from the textbook

Fall 2013
  • Great professor, clearly enjoys what he does.
  • Very knowledgeable of material. Very clear and organized lectures. Enthusiastic about teaching. Very good at answering questions. One of or possibly the best proffesors ive had.

spring 2013
  • The professor was the most engaging professor I have had in a long time. He made a seemingly boring subject seem very interesting. Even at 7pm in the evening when I was the most tired, I was actively engaged in the class subject
  • He was enthusiastic and well prepared. His knowledge of the subjects history was also interesting.

spring 2013
  • Michael Wendl is probably the best and most effective teacher I have ever had. He not only presents the material well, but it shows he has analyzed the material and refined his method of instruction so well that he knows where students will get stuck and has numerous ways of explaining, in detail, so that we understand. No one hesitates in his class to ask questions either. That is the first time I have witnessed this phenomenon at this school. In most large classes, students simply won't speak up when they don't understand because they either don't want to look like they are the only one who doesn't get it or they don't want to hold up the entire class for just their question. That doesn't happen in Wendl's class.
  • By far the best teacher I have had in the program, If something is unclear he takes the time to make sure that if your interested, you understand the material. As well as helping in understanding his course, the approach to learning the material, understanding what is actually going on has helped me in many of my other courses

fall 2012
  • His energy and attentiveness for his students. He is one of the few professors I have had that seems genuinely enthused for every single lecture and routinely asks to make sure his students are clear on everything that has been covered
  • Dr. Wendl was always willing to answer questions before, after, and during class and he taught everything so it was easy to understand. I cannot think of any way for the instructor to improve

spring 2012
  • The professor was very instructive and helpful. He was always available to help with homework and he put a lot of effort into preparing for class
  • Thanks, Dr. Wendl. I appreciate your teaching. Thanks to you, I can understand my process more.

spring 2012
  • He was very enthusiastic about the material and really understood what he was talking about. He didn't just read from a book, but explained how he figured things out. I also liked that the book was a pdf version provided online, as well as suggestions for additional textbooks given.
  • The professor brought up or discusses real life examples that are related to the material we studied. He also explained connections between different subjects to see the class in a broader sense.

fall 2011
  • His proficiency in the problem matter. Never failed to answer a question or break an explanation down to the point where everyone in the class can digest it.
  • Dr. Wendl's firm grasp of the fundamental principles and governing mathematics for this course enable him to present the information in a way that allows the students to build upon their past knowledge by applying it to new scenarios. Knowing the reasoning and derivation behind complex heat and mass transfer equations, rather than simply memorizing the terms, means that we are actually increasing our knowledge base and our understanding of the process, not simply learning how to get the right answer on an exam

spring 2011
  • He was the best professor I have had so far in the engineering program. His teachings/lectures were excellent and very understandable. The test were very possible and fair.
  • He kept the lectures interesting. He was able to add interesting facts about a lot of the material (History, applications). He was always available for questions after class

fall 2010
  • I enjoyed the enthusiasm Professor Wendl had for the subject. He really understood the material and was able to convey his interest and excitement about the subject extremely well. I was able to stay focused and learn a lot from his class.
  • He is very thorough when teaching. All the details were explained so well that it was difficult to ask questions.

spring 2010
  • Instructor had an uncanny ability to present a difficult subject in an easy-to-follow manner. Notes were terrific. Lectures followed exactly from the notes. Instructor was always enthusiastic about the subject. May be one of the best instructors we've got in this program!
  • Take this course

fall 2009
  • Michael Wendl was ALWAYS prepared for his lecture, had a well thought out lesson plan and consistently taught the course properly. It is one of the few courses where if you showed up to all the lectures and didn't do much else, you could probably do well on a test. He also has an enthusiasm, maybe even zealotry about the material which makes it easy for him to explain things which could be fuzzy. His explanations are very thorough and he gives mathematical proofs of the theorems for most all of the material.
  • One of the best teachers I've had.

spring 2009
  • Professor Wendl is incredibly thorough in explanation and theory as well as mathematical proofs explain theory.
  • Instructor was enthusiastic, and his notes were followed and available so you did not have to spend time writing in class, you could listen to his explanations, and make appropriate notes, this was very helpful

fall 2008
  • He was prompt and prepared every class. He is also willing to answer our questions and even asks us questions while he's lecturing. This keeps us engaged and forces us to think. He explains content VERY clearly and is willing to reiterate and explain in a different way if something is not quite clear to someone. He is fair and flexible. Dr. Wendl is one of the best professors I have had while in this program
  • The professor demonstrates a mastery of the subject and a desire for his students to develop a mastery

spring 2008
  • The course content and the real life applications of the material. Book and instructor notes were very interesting. I have found myself reading additional material related to the class but not required because the course is that interesting. I am actually considering going to graduate school and taking more advanced graduate courses related to this subject
  • He is very knowledgeable on this subject and he is very passionate when it comes to teaching it

fall 2007
  • Difficult, but well taught and great instructor
  • Wendl is one of my favorites.

spring 2007
  • Wendl's course notes were really helpful. he is obviously brilliant and is very good at teaching the material
  • He was a laid back professor who just wanted us to learn the fundamentals of the course material

fall 2006
  • Wendl is one of the best instructors I've ever had. The courses he teaches are very difficult, but I enjoy his classes because he is such a great teacher. He is extremely knowlegable and passionate about the subject. His lectures are clear and easy to follow and he is always willing to stop and clarify something you didnt understand. Uses interesting real world applications to help with the understanding of the material

spring 2006
  • Very good and highly organized professor. Class covered interesting material.
  • The teacher makes sure everyone understands what is going on, and takes the time to help

fall 2005
  • This course and Fluid Mechanics are the 2 favorite courses I have had a WashU. The material is very interesting. The instructor is very knowlegable in the subject and the class is very organized in structure. The flexible homework policy is also very helpful
  • The text was adequate. The notes provided by Dr. Wendl are an awesome resource. I plan on holding on to them for future reference.

spring 2005
  • This is one of the few courses that actually pertains to what I do for a full-time job - HVAC system design for commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings. Dr. Wendl presented a different side to "pipe flow" in that he works with cardiovascular systems - similar but different.
  • I am interested in the subject. The professor is passonate about it.

fall 2004
  • The notes are available for printout for each student, which allows the student to listen and pay attention to the lecture instead of just copying the chalk board