Stories of 2023: Highlights from Dartmouth Engineering

Dec 20, 2023 | by Catha Mayor

Below are some highlights from our website, magazine, and across campus—from research awards to a new foreign study program in sustainable engineering, helping to advance the Dartmouth Engineering mission of teaching and research with human-centered impact.

Four Cancer Research Projects Win Support from DIAC

The Dartmouth Innovations Accelerator for Cancer (DIAC)'s $100,000 Stu Trembly Award, named for an engineering professor who died suddenly in 2021, was split among four Dartmouth Engineering research teams:

Unlocking B cell immunotherapies; Professor Margie Ackerman, et al; $35k
Guided surgical resection by detection of hypoxic tumor cells; Professor Petr Brůža, et al; $25k
Tissue engineering to promote bone regrowth following tumor resection; Professor Katie Hixon, et al; $25k
Automated exosome capture and loading; Professor John Zhang, et al; $15k

Dartmouth Engineering Earns ASEE Silver Award for Diversity Efforts

From the Diversity Recognition Program of the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), the Silver Award was for "significant progress" in Thayer's diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals.

2023 Women of Thayer Reception hosted by Dean Alexis Abramson and Professor Laura Ray at the Dartmouth Organic Farm. (Photo by Catha Mayor)

Rose Mutiso '08 Th'08 Wins Second Annual McGuire Prize

The $100,000 McGuire Family Prize for Societal Impact was presented to Mutiso, research director for the Washington-based Energy for Growth Hub and co-founder of the Kenya-based Mawazo Institute.

Women University Leaders Issue Open Letter on CHIPS Act

Dartmouth president Sian Beilock and engineering dean Alexis Abramson joined the call to diversify the semiconductor workforce.

Professor Weiyang ("Fiona") Li Wins NSF CAREER Award

The award comes with nearly $700,000 to support her lab's research to make batteries safer by developing nonflammable solid-state electrolytes.

Researchers File Patent for Device to Advance Breast Cancer Detection and Monitoring

Engineering professors Shudong Jiang and Keith Paulsen, with PhD student Mengyang Zhao and DHMC MRI Technologist Shreve Soule, developed a customizable optical imaging device that can significantly improve diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity.

Engineering PhD student Mengyang Zhao preps the NIRST system for testing in the MRI scanner at DHMC. (Photo by Catha Mayor)

Power Pioneers: Making Tech Cheaper, Smaller, and More Efficient

Professors Charles R. Sullivan and Jason Stauth Th'00 are leading efforts to make the tech we use every day better—and opening new opportunities in a range of industries.

Green City: New Foreign Study Program in Berlin Brings Sustainable Engineering to Life

"It invites students to explore one of the most innovative and pressing topics—'green' and sustainable engineering—while enabling them to satisfy their language requirement in an environment in which sustainability is a lived practice," says Professor Petra Bonfert-Taylor.

"Our program takes interdisciplinary learning to a new level, as it gives students the opportunity to explore a central engineering concept through the medium of the German language and culture," says Professor McGillen (above left). (Photo courtesy of Petra Bonfert-Taylor)

Dartmouth Launches Online Master of Engineering in Computer Engineering

The new online degree expands global access to graduate-level education in a rapidly evolving field. Offered in partnership with Coursera, this is Dartmouth's first fully online degree and the Ivy League's first online degree in this area.

Professor Receives DARPA Young Faculty Award

Professor Mattias Fitzpatrick received the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) award that will support his work on a new class of quantum sensors with enhanced sensitivity to magnetic fields.

EDGE Consortium Hosts DC Summit

The Education for Diversification and Growth in Engineering (EDGE) Consortium—a coalition of universities and engineering schools with women presidents and deans, including Engineering Dean Abramson and President Beilock—convened a summit in Washington, DC to discuss opportunities of the $52.7 billion federal CHIPS and Science Act.

Dartmouth Roundtable: "A Brave Space"

President Sian Beilock and Dean Alexis Abramson gathered with faculty and student leaders to imagine a more inclusive, innovative, human-centered future.

Joining the conversation were (l to r): Professor Petra Bonfert-Taylor, associate dean for diversity and inclusion; PhD student and GEM Fellow Adrianne Gowie; Alexis Abramson, dean of engineering; Abby Hughes '25 of the Society of Women Engineers; Dartmouth President Sian Beilock; Melody Cruz '25 of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers; Professor Vicki May, engineering education program area lead; Micah Green '25, co-president of the Dartmouth Black Students Athletes Alliance and member of the Greek Leadership Council; and Professor Laura Ray, senior associate dean for faculty development. (All photos by Rob Strong '04)

To keep up with Dartmouth Engineering in 2024, see news updates at engineering.dartmouth.edu/news and find us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and LinkedIn.

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