ESE 3260
Probability and Statistics for Engineering
Study of probability and statistics together with engineering applications. Probability and statistics: random variables, distribution functions, density functions, expectations, means, variances, combinatorial probability, geometric probability, normal random variables, joint distribution, independence, correlation, conditional probability, Bayes theorem, the law of large numbers, the central limit theorem. Applications: reliability, quality control, acceptance sampling, linear regression, design and analysis of experiments, estimation, hypothesis testing. Examples are taken from engineering applications.
Instructors
Ben Wormleighton, Heinz Schaettler, I. Norman Katz, Jason Trobaugh, Jinsong Zhang, Tucker Krone, Vladimir Kurenok
Reviews
You learn a lot of things in the class, but the exam ends up being based on whatever topic he decides to focus on. There is no clear rubric at all, and the grading expectations feel very unclear.
5/10/2026
As others have said, the slides are amazing. If you put in the time to review the slides and re-solve the example problems before tests, you'll be fine. Beware that he's a stickler about notation--it is very easy to lose points (they add up) over a missed carat or non-standard variable name. Don't miss the attendance quizzes and you'll be fine.
5/8/2025
very unclear and harsh grader, will take points off for many things & is condescending irl. both midterm averages were 70 (worth 30% total) and he doesn't curve. doesnt provide opportunities to increase your grade. boring lecturer (just use the slides, which are kinda confusing but better than lecture). just avoid this class....diffeq was easier!!!
5/5/2025
This is the WORST Professor at Wash U. Take 328, never take this guys class. He is not understanding, lectures are very slow and has made the semester for me so much worse.
5/2/2025
Not as bad as people say. May be a little condescending, office hours are questionable at times. Always tries to show up excited, genuinely interested in the material. Lectures get a bit boring towards the end of the semester, also review the material outside of class. HW's are on the easier side, exams are tough. Good luck!
4/8/2025
I hate this man. Never take a class with him. I went to office hours once to ask him a question and he laughed at me and said my question was common knowledge. Everything he says is on the slides so it's not like you even need to go to class except for the pop attendance quizzes. Only one midterm and the average was 70 (and he doesn't curve).
1/10/2025
Cannot articulate crucial conceptual points across and is the worst teacher at WashU. he claims to follow his syllabus yet refused to drop my lowest homework which he clearly stated in the syllabus
12/26/2024
Professor Zhang clearly tries his best and always teaches with a smile on his face, but lectures are very monotonous and it's very easy to get completely lost. On the bright side, his slides are very helpful and he's fairly responsive on Piazza. The course content itself is very theoretical and proof-heavy.
12/10/2024
6-8 hrs/week
Professor Zhang clearly tries his best and always teaches with a smile on his face, but lectures are very monotonous and it's very easy to get completely lost. On the bright side, his slides are very helpful and he's fairly responsive on Piazza. The course content itself is very theoretical and proof-heavy, and it's really easy to lose points on quizzes for small things so make sure you show every small step of your work.
12/9/2024
He just reads off slides. Is a tough grader, and really feels like he puts no effort into teaching at all. I have never been more bored in a class then his stats class and I learned absolutely nothing I feel like.
8/29/2024
2-4 hrs/week
Don't take this class with Zhang; take it with whoever else is teaching it. The class isn't a lot of work, but the lectures are pretty bad and the exams are actually pretty hard. Our final exam would have been a ~70 average if he didn't move it online because he forgot to reserve a room...
5/24/2024
2 or less hrs/week
pretty easy class, and is very very similar to just AP statistics. Ben wormleighten is great!!! very fun and engaging. However, he does go almost too slowly covering the material and it feels like lectures could be condensed by like half and I still would have understood everything the same, but its better than the opposite.
5/17/2024
I have taken 4 classes with Krone now and I wish I could take more. I have had a few good profs at washu and he is absolutely one of the best. Prof Krone is so dedicated to improving the lives of students and the quality of our education at Mckelvey. You can tell he really cares. The world would be a better place w more educators like him!
5/10/2024
He is a decent lecturer, but it sometimes can be hard to understand what he is saying. His slides are amazing and are sometimes better at teaching than him. Assignments are graded very generously and all exams are open notes. I left this class learning a lot, but I recommend starting the homework earlier because they take time.
4/25/2024
Great guy, super accommodating and nice. Workload is reasonable and builds on the concepts really well. Lectures can be tedious sometimes though.
1/17/2024
Really a gem! He is so wonderful and caring; while this was probably the easiest class for me this semester, it was also probably the class I learned the most in. Truly wish I could take more classes with him!
12/24/2023