Stories of 2024: Highlights from Dartmouth Engineering

Dec 20, 2024 | by Catha Mayor

Below are some highlights from our website, magazine, and across campus—from improving AI's decision-making capabilities to participating in Jill and Joe Biden's "Cancer Moonshot" initiative—helping to advance the Dartmouth Engineering mission of teaching and research with human-centered impact.

Permafrost Restrains Arctic Rivers—and Lots of Carbon

Research co-authored by professor Colin Meyer published in PNAS, provides the first evidence that the Arctic's frozen soil is the dominant force shaping Earth's northernmost rivers.

Team Discovers New High-Performance Solar Cell Material

A Dartmouth Engineering-led study published in Joule presents the discovery of an entirely new high-performance material for solar absorbers—the central part of a solar cell that turns light into electricity—that is both stable and earth-abundant.

Professor Jifeng Liu and engineering PhD candidate Gideon Kassa conducted experimental follow-up testing to confirm the properties and potential of Zintl-phosphide BaCd2P2. (Photo by Catha Mayor)

Dartmouth Engineering Creates International Degree Program with Peru's UTEC

For the first time, Dartmouth's Thayer School of Engineering has partnered outside the US to establish a new 4+1 program allowing engineering students at Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología (UTEC) in Lima, Peru to earn both an undergraduate and master's degree in five years.

Dartmouth's 18th Formula Hybrid+Electric Competition Hosts a Record Number of Teams

Formula Hybrid+Electric—founded and run by Dartmouth—registered a record 32 engineering student teams for the 18th annual competition at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Study Aims to Improve Equity in Flood Risk Management

A study led by Dartmouth Engineering provides improved practices for how to define and measure equity in flood-risk management. The results could help decision-makers around the world achieve more equitable outcomes from environmental public policy.

Artificial Intelligence by Intention

Eugene Santos Jr., the Sydney E. Junkins 1887 Professor of Engineering, looks at how artificial intelligence (AI) can help us make better decisions in fields ranging from national security to healthcare delivery to cancer research—and he believes we hold the power to improve AI in a way that truly benefits human lives.

Eugene Santos Jr., Dartmouth's Sydney E. Junkins 1887 Professor of Engineering.

Dartmouth Engineering Celebrates a Record Number of Degrees

Thayer celebrated the awarding of a record 351 degrees to its students—including a majority female Bachelor of Engineering (BE) and Master of Engineering Management (MEM) class—at its 2024 Investiture.

Dartmouth Data Science Education Featured on ASEE TV

Professor Petra Bonfert-Taylor—principal investigator on a National Science Foundation-funded project called "Data Science Infused into the Undergraduate STEM Curriculum" (DIFUSE)—is featured in an ASEE TV film broadcast at the ASEE 2024 Annual Conference.

Dartmouth's DIFUSE project is transforming STEM education, seamlessly integrating data science skills directly into existing courses.

Dartmouth Expands Partnership with US Army Corps Labs

Dartmouth is broadening and deepening its collaboration with the Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) of the US Army Corps of Engineers, building on a long-standing partnership with the Hanover-based Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL).

Dartmouth Makes List of Top Universities for Patents

A report from the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) ranked Dartmouth 51 of the top 100 universities granted US patents in 2023, with 21 of the 43 Dartmouth patents (PDF) coming from Thayer School of Engineering.