Overview

Alexis Abramson is the 13th dean of Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. Prior to joining Dartmouth, she was the Milton and Tamar Maltz Professor of Energy Innovation at Case Western Reserve University and served as a director of the university’s Great Lakes Energy Institute focused on creating sustainable energy technology solutions. During the Obama administration, Abramson served as chief scientist and manager of the Emerging Technologies Division at the US Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Program. In 2018, she served as technical adviser for Breakthrough Energy Ventures, a $1 billion effort launched by Bill Gates to combat human-driven climate change. Abramson’s research has focused on novel techniques for thermal characterization of nanostructures, the design and synthesis of unique nanomaterials for use in alternative energy applications, virtual energy audits for building energy efficiency, and strategies to accelerate technology commercialization at universities and research institutions.

Research Interests

Building energy efficiency; data analytics applied to energy applications; nanoscale energy transport; thermal, electrical and thermoelectric properties of nanostructures, nanocomposites and biological materials; interfacial thermal resistance effects; coupled mechanical and thermal phenomena; computational modeling of heat transfer; MEMS and nanostructure synthesis and fabrication; thermal management of electronics and solar cells, including specialized devices; electrohydrodynamics and heat transfer

Education

• BS, Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University 1995
• MS, Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University 1998
• PhD, Mechanical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley 2002

Awards

• Carl F. Wittke Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, Nominee, 2014 & 2015
• Executive Leadership in Academic Technology and Engineering (ELATE) Fellow, 2013–2014
• Mather Spotlight Prize, Case Western Reserve University, 2012
• National Science Foundation CAREER Award Recipient, 2005–2010

Professional Activities

• Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Scientific Advisory Board
• Energy and Environmental Directorate Scientific Advisory Committee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Selected Publications

• A.R. Abramson and E. Welsh, “A Measure of Intra-University Collaboration: Faculty Gender Imbalance on Doctoral Dissertation Committees,” International Journal of Doctoral Studies, Vol. 13, 457–469 (2018).
• E.M. Pickering, M.A. Hossain, R.H. French and A.R. Abramson, “Building Electricity Consumption: Data Analytics of Building Operations with Classical Time Series Decomposition and Case Based Subsetting,” Buildings and Energy, Vol. 177, 184–196 (2018).
• S.H. Hostler, A.S. Iyengar, N.K. Mahanta, A.R. Abramson, “Thermal Conductivity of Cold Compacted Bismuth Nanowires,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 117, 951–957 (2018).
• E.M. Pickering, M.A. Hossain, J.P. Mousseau, R.A. Swanson, R.H. French and A.R. Abramson, “A Cross Sectional Study of the Temporal Evolution of Electricity Consumption of Six Commercial Buildings,” PLOS ONE, Vol. 12, e0187129 (2017).
• M.A. Hossain, Y. Xu, T.J. Peshek, J. Liang, A.R. Abramson, R.H. French, “Microinverter Thermal Performance in the Real-World: Measurements and Modeling,” PLOS ONE, Vol. 10, e0131279 (2015).
• N.K. Mahanta, M.R. Loos, I.M. Zlocozower and A.R. Abramson, “Graphite-Graphene Hybrid Filler System for High Thermal Conductivity of Epoxy Composites,” Journal of Materials Research, Vol. 30, 959–966 (2015).
• D.J. Buckmaster and A.R. Abramson, “Characterization of the Effects of Insulating Wall Paint on Space Conditioning in a Room,” Journal of Thermal Engineering, Vol. 1, pp. 322–329 (2015).
• D.J. Buckmaster and A.R. Abramson, “The Effects of Interior Emissivity and Room Layout on Forced-Air Space Conditioning Power Usage,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 89, pp. 216–228 (2015).
• H. Yan, N.K. Mahanta, B. Wang, S. Wang, A.R. Abramson and M. Cakmak, “Structural Evolution in Graphitization from Nanofibers and Mats from Electrospun Polyimide-Mesophase Pitch Blends,” Carbon, Vol. 17, pp. 303–318 (2014).
• N. Mahanta, J.Y. Howe and A.R Abramson, “Thermal Conductivity Measurements on Individual Vapor-grown Carbon Nanofibers and Graphene Nanoplatelets,” Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 114, 163528 (2013).
• A. Ongkodjojo Ong, A.R. Abramson, N.C. Tien, “Electrohydrodynamic Microfabricated Ionic Wind Pumps—Single Element Devices for Thermal Management Applications,” Journal of Heat Transfer, Vol. 136, 061703-11 (2013).

Courses

• ENGS 7.08: Energy Sustainability: Technologies and Impact
• ENGS 156: Heat, Mass, and Momentum Transfer

Videos

News

Dartmouth Engineering Creates International Degree Program with Peru's UTEC
Apr 10, 2024

Dartmouth Cohort to Speak at CERAWeek Energy Conference
Mar 15, 2024

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Joins Dartmouth EDGE Scholars for Fireside Chat
Feb 23, 2024

EDGE Group Attends CHIPS Act Ceremony at White House
Feb 13, 2024

EDGE Summit Convenes Leaders Around Diversity in Tech
Nov 06, 2023

Dartmouth Roundtable: "A Brave Space"
Oct 30, 2023

Leading Thoughts: On Making Better Decisions
Oct 27, 2023

EDGE Consortium to Host Summit in Washington, DC
Oct 19, 2023

Inauguration Panel Highlights Innovation
Sep 22, 2023

Dartmouth Launches Online Master of Engineering in Computer Engineering
Sep 14, 2023

Dartmouth's Latin American Community Explores Innovation
Aug 21, 2023

Supreme Court's Ruling on Affirmative Action
Jun 29, 2023

Leading Thoughts: Revolutionizing Brain Research
Jun 07, 2023

Women University Leaders Issue Open Letter on CHIPS Act
Apr 20, 2023

Dartmouth Engineering at CERAWeek '23
Mar 30, 2023

Dartmouth Engineering Earns ASEE Silver Award for Diversity Efforts
Mar 07, 2023

Dartmouth Delegation to Attend Major Energy Conference
Mar 03, 2023

Leading Thoughts: From Climate Science to Climate Policy
Jan 31, 2023

Dartmouth Engineering Dean Alexis Abramson Appointed to Second Term
Jan 18, 2023

Dartmouth Creates $100 million STEM-X Program
Dec 06, 2022

Sen. Shaheen Visits Dartmouth for Research Briefing
Oct 14, 2022

Building On Innovation
Jul 01, 2022

Leading Thoughts: A Rich Intellectual Climate
Jul 01, 2022

Dartmouth Engineering Selected to Develop Models for STEM Teaching Evaluation
Feb 08, 2022

Ask The Expert: Energy Transformation
Dec 01, 2021

Leading Thoughts: Design at Dartmouth
Dec 01, 2021

Trustees Consider Future of Graduate, Professional Schools
Nov 11, 2021

Innovation Through Diversity
Apr 08, 2021

How Human-Centered Engineers Can Save Us from Climate Change
Feb 25, 2021

Opinions Are Not Facts: How Scientific Curiosity May Save Us
Nov 04, 2020

Why Innovation Needs More Diversity—And How We Get There
Oct 20, 2020

Milestone for Center for Engineering and Computer Science
Jul 22, 2020

Our work ahead in support of the black community
Jun 09, 2020

Students Win at Solar District Cup with Engineering Design Capstone Project
May 12, 2020

Dartmouth Engineering Honored by ASEE for Diversity Efforts
Mar 26, 2020

Members Named to Energy and Sustainability Advisory Groups
Jan 30, 2020

Alexis Abramson Starts as Dean of Thayer School of Engineering
Jun 17, 2019

Alexis Abramson Named Dean of Thayer School of Engineering
Apr 01, 2019

In the News