Research Quick Takes

May 01, 2025

Understanding AI Behavior

PhD students Clement Nyanhongo '17 Th'18 and Bruno Miranda Henrique, and Professor Gene Santos co-authored "Reward Distance Comparisons Under Transition Sparsity" published in Transactions on Machine Learning Research. "Traditional reward comparison methods rely on behavioral simulations, which can be costly and pose safety risks. Our method is specifically designed to operate in more realistic and practical settings, recognizing real-world constraints, and outperforms existing approaches across a range of domains," says Santos.

Apr 24, 2025

Tissue Engineering on Display

The Hixon Lab had a strong showing at the Society for Biomaterials 50th Annual Meeting & Exposition in Chicago earlier this month. PhD student Amritha Anup Th'23, MS-MD student Jewelia Durant, Jack Flaggert '26, Daniel Kang '25, Kristine Suritis '25, and Kate Wasacz '25all presented posters showcasing their work, and Emma Kerimo '25 was invited to deliver an oral presentation.

Apr 24, 2025

Machine Learning + Human Expertise

Professors Vikrant Vaze and Peter Chin are co-authors of "Implementation of a Machine Learning Model and Direct-to-Patient Outreach Program for Targeted Screening for Familial Hypercholesterolemia" published in Journal of Clinical Lipidology. "Machine learning by itself may not make a big difference," says Vaze. "The difference is what you do with the results. Ultimately, the combination of expert knowledge and careful operationalizing of machine learning can make a major practical impact."

Apr 17, 2025

Poster Session Award Winner

PhD student Prabhat Hegde was one of four to be recognized at the Guarini Graduate Student Poster Session for the clarity, accessibility, and engagement of his presentation titled, "Considering Retreat Can Lead to More Robust Adaptation Strategies in Nourishment-Dependent Coastal Communities." Each winner received a $200 prize.

Mar 27, 2025

Numerical Modeling Workshop

Professor Hélène Seroussi—along with Earth Sciences Professor Mathieu Morlighem, and Academic Cluster Initiative Program Coordinator Amy Flockton—organized and hosted the Ice-sheet and Sea-level System Model (ISSM) Workshop at Thayer. "The workshop was attended by about 60 participants and sponsored by Dartmouth's Changing Polar Regions Academic cluster and NASA's Earth Surface and Interior Program," said Seroussi.

Mar 20, 2025

Novel Piezo-Composites

PhD students Huan Zhao, Ya Tang, and Xiangbei Liu, undergraduate students Andrew Kim and Jace Henry, and Professor Yan Li co-authored "High-temperature piezoelectric composites with enhanced structural integrity" published in Ceramics International. "This article reports a novel piezoelectric composite that can increase the temperature limit to 500°C while maintaining good structural integrity and mechanical performance. This innovative piezo-composite opens new possibilities for sensing, energy harvesting, and actuation in high-temperature environments," said Li.

PhD candidates in the medical physics program

Mar 13, 2025

NEAAPM Symposium Winners

Jacob Sunnerberg and Conner Ubert, PhD candidates in the Medical Physics Education Program, respectively won first and second place at the New England chapter of the American Association of Medical Physicists Early Career Symposium. They were one of eight Dartmouth students and researchers to compete in the Early Investigator Competition.

Feb 27, 2025

Early Detection of Internal Bleeding

PhD student Navid Rashedi (pictured), Professor Ethan Murphy, Alexandra Hamlin '16 Th'17 Th'19, research associate Victor Borza, and Professors Jonathan Elliott, Ryan Halter, and Vikrant Vaze are co-authors of: "Detection of occult hemorrhage using multivariate non-invasive technologies" published in Physiological Measurement. "This work investigated machine learning to combine multiple technologies—electrical impedance and near infrared spectroscopy—to better detect internal bleeds in a porcine study. Internal bleeds are often not detectable until it's too late. This approach appears to detect them earlier and more accurately," said Murphy.

Feb 27, 2025

Thin Film Transistors

PhD students Samuel Ong, Simon Agnew, and Md Saifur Rahman, and Professor Will Scheideler co-authored "Sub-nm kinetically controlled liquid metal printing of ternary antimony indium oxide transistors" published in Matter. "Our study shows how to harness the kinetics of liquid metal oxidation to control the thickness at the single-nm scale for synthesizing 2D transparent semiconducting films with finely tuned electrostatics for thin film transistors. These ultrathin metal oxides could enable flexible electronics capable of withstanding extreme bending stress and deformation," said Scheideler.

miniaturized low-power, high-voltage step-up ratio capacitive load driver

Feb 27, 2025

IEEE Predoctoral Achievement Award

PhD candidate Yanqiao Li, advised by Professor Jason Stauth, received the 2024–25 IEEE Solid State Circuits Society (SSCS) Predoctoral Achievement Award, their highest honor for PhD students, at the IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) in San Francisco. The award recognizes Li's research on "miniaturized low-power, high-voltage step-up ratio capacitive load drivers" which enable microrobots to be fully autonomous and energy-efficient for medical, consumer, and industrial automation, as well as for haptics, printing, and ultrasound applications.

Schematic depicting topics of active research in fabrication, design, and applications of 3D printed electrodes.

Feb 20, 2025

Design & Fabrication for Energy & Sensing

Professor Will Scheideler is co-author of "Recent Advances in 3D Printed Electrodes – Bridging the Nano to Mesoscale" published in Advanced Science. The review covers applications in energy and sensing, including emerging fabrication methods. "We report on strategies for transforming polymers into 3D architected metals and ceramics, and how the use of machine learning and artificial intelligence is changing the design of 3D-printed materials," said Scheideler.

Jan 30, 2025

IEEE Best Paper Award

PhD candidate Varsha Shukla received the Best Paper Award at the IEEE International Conference on Gender and Technology for her research: "On Addressing Bias and Fairness in Large Language Models for Responsible Innovation in Gender Contexts." This recognition highlights her contributions toward advancing gender-sensitive AI research. "Technology shapes our society in incredible ways, and ensuring fairness and equity in AI systems is critical for fostering inclusivity," said Shukla.