Research Opportunities
Dartmouth engineers are trained to tackle society’s big problems. They work on such topics as alternative energy sources, medical technologies, and clean water solutions. Focus areas in research include engineering in medicine, energy technologies, and complex systems. Thayer’s undergraduates can participate in research in different ways: by completing honors theses, by acting as research assistants, and by serving as interns at companies founded by Thayer faculty.
Recent undergraduate research projects include:
- Flight Data Sensing
- Computational Cultural Modeling
- Surface Display of Glycoproteins in E. Coli
- Technology for Fluorescence Guided Surgical Resection of Brain Tumors
- Micromachines and Microrobots
Professor Karl Griswold, right, and graduate student John Lamppa are eager to have undergraduates join their efforts to engineer therapeutic proteins that will fight lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis.
"Undergraduate assistants have been a key asset in my efforts to assemble a team of highly intelligent, creative, and productive researchers. Undergraduate students have been deeply involved in several of the lab’s ongoing projects, including some that we hope to publish in the near future. As a result, I have found that training good undergraduate assistants is a win-win situation: They have the opportunity to work in a cutting edge biotechnology laboratory and develop a set of research skills that will jump-start their future career plans, while I gain a highly motivated assistant who contributes to, and in some cases independently drives, our short term and long term research goals."
—Professor Karl Griswold
Students can help Professor Solomon Diamond, left, and graduate student Broc Burke build a system that will run three different brain imaging techniques at once. The goal: understanding how brains deteriorate in Alzheimer's disease of strokes.
"Undergraduate participation in research at Thayer gives students the experience of discovering and implementing new knowledge. In my laboratory, I’ve had students at all levels of experience from freshmen to seniors to graduate students working together to build a new brain imaging machine that will be used to study aging and neurological disease. It’s hard work, but it’s also fun and rewarding for us all to see the fruits of such a team effort. Students also benefit from the direct faculty mentorship and hands-on experiences that teach how to apply cutting-edge science and technology to real-world problems."
—Professor Solomon Diamond
Kathleen Oprea ’10
Project: Estimation of the Cost of Mercury Emissions Reduction from Coal-fired Power Plants
Advisor: Professor Mark E. Borsuk
"I really enjoy the weekly research discussion groups that Prof. Borsuk initiated at Thayer. A number of professors, researchers, and external persons come to discuss articles and ideas on calculating the projected costs of climate change and associated multidisciplinary topics. These meetings have inspired me to pursue topics concerning which I otherwise would have been quite naive. The professors and researchers at Thayer are quick to respond and keen to help regarding any question I might have about a research project or topic, even when I am away from Dartmouth."
Nicholas Rolfes ’11
Project: Culturally Infused Social Network Analysis
Advisor: Professor Eugene Santos Jr.
"I use Bayesian knowledge bases to look at how information spreads and opinions change throughout a network. We are using our information in an attempt to model election results, particularly the South Carolina Democratic Primary election. I began this project in the spring of 2009 and am currently working with funding from the Presidential Scholars program.
"The resources at Thayer are amazing and it was easy to get on board and working on this project. Dr. Santos holds weekly meetings in which our group discusses articles relating to AI, computational analysis, or other interesting topics. He also supervises my work with graduate students and gives ideas of what to research next."
Work in a Faculty-Founded Company
Many successful companies are the result of Thayer research, and many Thayer students begin their careers by working alongside their professors.
Jaime Mazilu '05 Th'06, left, and Professor Tillman Gerngross. Photo courtesy of Jaime Mazilu. "We have interns working side-by-side with GlycoFi scientists. The students want to do things in the lab, and the beauty is that they get to see the big picture and contribute."
—Professor Tillman Gerngross, Co-founder of GlycoFi
"I first met Professor Gerngross through Dartmouth’s Women in Science Project (WISP) and worked in his lab with a postdoctoral researcher during my freshman year. The overall experience was amazing both personally and intellectually and really supplemented what I was learning in the classroom. I was able to directly relate the theory to something practical. Also, because of the skills I learned and the people I met, I was able to secure another internship at Eli Lilly and then one at GlycoFi the summer after graduation."
—Jaime Mazilu ’05 Th’06
Read more about how Thayer undergrads began their careers in companies founded by Thayer faculty.
