2022 Investiture

Dartmouth Engineering's 2022 Investiture ceremony took place on Saturday, June 11 at West End Circle, in front of the new Irving Institute for Energy and Society. Investiture is held the day before Dartmouth Commencement and honors graduating BE, MEM, MEng, MS, and PhD students through the presentation of academic hoods, caps, and awards.

The Investiture speaker was MIT professor of astronautics Dava Newman who was the first female NASA Deputy Administrator from 2015 to 2017. Newman received Thayer's Robert Fletcher Award in recognition of her distinguished achievement and service. The award is named in honor of Robert Fletcher, who was appointed by founder Sylvanus Thayer as the School's first dean and professor of engineering.

Processional & Ceremony

Investiture Program

Jifeng Liu Faculty Marshal
Professor Jifeng Liu. (Photo by Mark Washburn)

Processional

Faculty Marshal:
Jifeng Liu
Student Marshals: (see article)
Abigail M. Brazil '21, Candidate for Bachelor of Engineering
Ivan M. Cornish Morales '19, Candidate for Master of Engineering Management
Alicia C. Everitt, Candidate for Doctor of Philosophy

Welcome

Alexis Abramson, Dean & Professor
David Kotz '86, Provost

Recognition of Award Recipients

Alexis Abramson, Dean & Professor

Student Awards: (see descriptions)

  • Faculty Award for Academic Excellence: Basile Montagnese, ​​Nolan Sankey, and Musab Shakeel each earned a 4.0 grade point average in their engineering courses.
  • Dartmouth Society of Engineers Prize: Kieran Ahern, Kate Boydston, Iva Devic, Brendan Killarney, and Abby Wiseman for developing a comprehensive plan for Dartmouth Skiway to reduce its carbon emissions by 284 metric tons per year.
  • Charles F. and Ruth D. Goodrich Prize: Saifur Rahman for significant contributions to projects in the area of flexible electronics.
  • Corporate Collaboration Council Engineering Management Prize: Neha Bharti for her project, "Supplier Quality Platform for TESLA."
  • Caroline Henderson Prize: Deniz Keles for superior academic performance.
  • John C. Woodhouse Engineering Design Prize: Theodore Bronk, Gracyn Campbell, Reeham Choudhury, Joshua De La Cruz, Basile Montagnese, and Yutong (Linda) Xia for developing a 3D-printed nerve coupler to aid and stimulate fusion of damaged nerves.
  • John C. Woodhouse Environmental Engineering Prize: Peter Ammons, Vann Guarnieri, Bridger Holly, and Tyler Stern for designing an electric rim-driven thruster for performance boats.
  • Brieanna S. Weinstein Engineering Design Prize: Abdibaset Bare, Sophie Goldberg, Moses Matanda, and Kyra McLaughlin for developing a CPAP nasal interface that provides a universal fit at low cost.
  • John W. Strohbehn, PhD, Memorial Prize: Samuel Streeter for outstanding performance in engineering in medicine.
  • Dartmouth Engineering Prize for Graduate Research Excellence: Mahbubur "Ronny" Rahman and Prescott McLaughlin for outstanding research in FLASH radiotherapy and power electronics, respectively.
  • Special Faculty Award for Engineering and Service to Humanity: Samira Afreen, Garret Andreine, Sydney Friedland, and Musab Shakeel for their accessible text-to-audio 911 emergency call conversion app.
  • Dean's Service Award: Khari-Elijah Jarrett for significant efforts to improve graduate student life and create a more welcoming, inclusive Thayer.
Dan Cullen Staff Service Award
Dan Cullen and Geoff Parker. (Photo by Mark Washburn)

Faculty, Staff, and Community Awards:

  • Outstanding Service Award for Staff: Cathleen Duffy for going "above and beyond the call of duty" as a research administrator, and Daniel Cullen — lab manager, instructor, and lecturer — for supporting students with great patience, care, and enthusiasm.
  • Outstanding Service Award for Faculty: Professor Laura Ray for excelling as a faculty leader and mentor and working tirelessly to support Thayer wherever and whenever needed.
  • Thayer Diversity and Inclusion Award: Ian Cruz and Joshua De La Cruz for their leadership as co-presidents of the Dartmouth chapter of Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers; and Professor Rafe Steinhauer for his efforts to help faculty and teaching assistants become more inclusive in their practice.
  • Thayer Distinguished Research Award for Faculty: Professor Keith Paulsen for the development and translation of advanced imaging technologies for cancer detection, diagnosis, treatment, and surgical guidance.
  • Woodhouse Excellence in Teaching Award: Professor Vikrant Vaze for his commitment to students and love for teaching.
Joshua De La Cruz
Joshua De La Cruz '22. (Photo by Mark Washburn)

Student Address

Joshua De La Cruz '22, BE Candidate (see transcript)

Presentation of Robert Fletcher Award

Alexis Abramson, Dean & Professor

Keynote Address

Dava Newman, Professor of Astronautics, MIT (see transcript)

Conferring of Hoods

Faculty advisors in attendance conferred hoods to their respective PhD candidates. For those whose advisor was not in attendance, conferring of hoods was done by:

Investiture hooding 2022
Photo by Mark Washburn

Laura Ray, Myron Tribus Professor of Engineering Innovation & Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development
Alexis Abramson, Dean & Professor

Closing Remarks

Alexis Abramson, Dean & Professor

Recessional

Graduates and faculty recessed and gathered for the class photo.

Reception

Reception followed in the adjacent Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center (ECSC).

For questions about Thayer's Investiture program, contact Academic and Student Affairs or email registrar@thayer.dartmouth.edu.

Photos & Video

Photos, taken by our Investiture photographer, are available for free download from Thayer's Flickr album. The video is posted on Thayer's YouTube channel.

Each graduate also has the opportunity to purchase their photo with the dean through GradImages. Graduates, please check your email and mail for more information about how to purchase these photos.

West End Circle

The West End Circle is at the end of Tuck Drive, in front of Thayer's new neighbor, the Irving Institute.