Fantastic professor. I rarely write Bruinwalk reviews, and usually only do so for professors I think people should avoid. However, Niko Nordendale is excellent. His lectures are very concise and simple, breaking down complex topics in ways that even the most below average engineer may understand. Additionally, he is very articulate and speaks slowly enough to digest everything that he is saying. As for the homework, there were between 2-5 problems a week. Usually this was broken down by difficulty, with 2 being easy, 2 moderate, and 1 hard problem. They were very fair and most of the information needed to solve the problem could be found from the class notes or the book. If this isn't good enough for you yet, the exams were very reflective of the class material. The best part was the class before the exams where Niko would do a set number of practice problems, the same number of problems that just happened to be on the test. Without explicitly reusing the questions, if you understand the formulas for each of the problems (this class is more formulas heavy than almost any other course) then you were basically guaranteed a B or above on all of the exams.

Could not recommend him more. Would take again.

Great guy, engaging lectures.

Lectures often recorded, and posts slides online (however sometimes he works out problems in lecture which he does not post with the slides, a fair balance). Everything is super organized, like referencing textbook chapters, although the textbook is too high level and not too helpful. However, is the type of class you can miss some lectures and have resources to catch up yourself.

Exams are fair and he gives review/practice problems the lecture before. Homework is kinda tough, like the avg engineering class.

Definitely as good a professor as you can get.

Nordendale is a one-in-a-million professor. His lectures are clear and straight to the point and his tests are always fair without any trick questions. 156A is normally a hard class and I found it quite manageable with Nordendale. Make sure to go to his office hours as well!

IF YOU CAN TAKE THIS CLASS WITH NORDENDALE PLEASE DO IT!! This class was extremely clear and straight forward in all aspects. Nordendale's homework's were straight from lecture examples, and exams were taken almost directly from lectures and homework. Even if it wasn't exactly, he was clear what would be on it to be properly prepared. The class is equation heavy, but he allows one note sheet for the midterm, and two for the final, as well as providing many of the equations himself. As long as you go over all the examples given, this class is honestly an easy A.

Niko is the best professor in the MAE department. Well structured, lots of examples, plus he's a nice dude with fresh fits.

I usually don't write reviews for the professor, but he was so good that I had to write it.
Professor Nordendale is the best! His lectures are VERY organized, and homework are reasonable but still makes you review the material (8 hws total, due every Thursday), and he is SO willing to help during office hour (was right after class for spring quarter), even staying overtime to answer questions. He is one of the best instructors I had at UCLA, and he makes stressful material not as stressful. He is very considerate about student learning, having review sessions before the exam to make sure students know what to study for the exam. He also goes through derivations more briefly and does a lot of examples and applications, which was very helpful as a student who wants to know what is really used in the industry. I can really feel that he is a good person who tries to make class useful to the student but not as burdensome. The workload for the class was not a lot (8 hws, 1 midterm, 1 final) compared to other MechE major classes, and the lectures are also recorded and posted on canvas.