Professor Vikrant Vaze Appointed New MEM Program Executive Director

Vikrant Vaze, the Stata Family Career Development Associate Professor of Engineering. (Photo by Catha Mayor)

"For more than a decade, our MEM program's high-caliber students, industry-leading alumni, and visionary leadership have always amazed me," said Vaze. "I hope that together we can continue to build on these strengths and forge new collaborations across the Dartmouth campus."

Through his operations research, Vaze and his dozens of undergraduate and graduate students, including many from the MEM program, have made significant contributions to numerous fields, optimizing aviation schedules, improving patient care, and providing solutions for sustainable mobility. In 2022, Vaze received the Woodhouse Excellence in Teaching Award for his dedication to teaching and mentorship. 

This transition comes as Geoffrey Parker, the Charles E. Hutchinson '68A Professor of Engineering Innovation, who has led the MEM program since 2016, steps into an expanded role as faculty director at Dartmouth's Irving Institute for Energy and Society. 

Under Professor Parker's leadership, the program has grown in student enrollment and diversity, built upon Dartmouth's tradition of bringing cutting edge research into the classroom, strengthened corporate partnerships, expanded internships opportunities for students, introduced real-world project-based courses, and achieved nearly 100% job placement for MEM graduates. 

While his leadership focus will shift to the Irving Institute, Parker will continue to teach in the MEM program.