From the Institute Executive Director

As we close out the calendar year and the fall 2022 term at Dartmouth, it feels like a good moment to pause and reflect. After a summer of working closely with our campus partners, stakeholders, and collaborators to frame our strategy for our next five years (and beyond!), the Institute team hit the ground running for our first fall term in our new home. We hosted and helped support an array of energy and climate focused activities, from lectures to symposia to new educational programs and more. We've also built and strengthened connections to the many Dartmouth community members who are working across the disciplines to find solutions to urgent climate challenges.

The end of the year is also a time to look ahead. Advancing an affordable, sustainable, and reliable energy future in order to avoid the worst impacts of climate change is a big challenge, and we have a lot to do to meet that challenge. But I see good cause for optimism. From the Inflation Reduction Act's historic investment in climate change mitigation and a renewable energy transition to the ongoing collaboration among nations that we saw at the recent UN climate summit, I'm filled with hope. I am also deeply grateful to have the opportunity to collaborate with our Dartmouth community and our many friends beyond campus as we continue this work in the days and years to come.

On behalf of the Institute team, I wish you a wonderful holiday season and a happy, healthy, and productive 2023.

~ April M. Salas

A Look Back at Fall 2022

The Arthur L. Irving Institute for Energy and Society had a busy fall hosting the Dartmouth community and visitors from near and far in our brand-new, highly energy efficient home in Dartmouth's West End Innovation District.

We welcomed new and returning students at our Student Open House and Scavenger Hunt; convened our new Faculty Advisory Board; launched our Faculty Affiliates program, our new research hubs, our new collaborative educational opportunity, TuckLAB: Energy, and our Building Ambassadors program. We continued to host our New Energy series and our Class of 1972 Speaker Series and hosted Dartmouth's first Energy Week, which featured a faculty Symposium on Climate, Energy and Society, the Tuck Renewable Energy Finance Challenge, and the Dartmouth Energy Alliance's first annual Energy Hackathon. Enjoy some images from the many energy-and-climate-related events and activities from fall 2022.

Institute Welcomes Liana Frey ’92, TU’98

Students Explore the Multi-faceted Challenges of the Energy Transition in the First Edition of TuckLAB: Energy

TuckLAB: Energy, a collaboration between the Irving Institute and Tuck's Revers Center for Energy, Sustainability, and Innovation and Undergraduate Programs Office, kicked off during fall 2022. The six-week certificate program enrolled 26 Dartmouth undergrads who, through a mix of lectures, workshops, and other hands-on activities, explored the complex landscape of energy systems and gained capacity to manage and lead energy transitions across all sectors of society. Read more.

Gulf Coast Energy Immersion Trip Returns After Nearly Three-Year Pause

Dartmouth Gulf Coast Energy Immersion trip participants learn about the systems controlling the Calpine facility in Deer Park, Texas.Calpine is America's largest producer of electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources.

After nearly three years of pandemic-related travel restrictions, the Energy Immersion program, co-sponsored by the Irving Institute and the Dartmouth Sustainability Office, is back! Ten Dartmouth undergraduates, accompanied by Dartmouth staff, traveled to Texas and Louisiana during early December to explore one of the most energy-rich regions of the United States. Over the course of ten days, the students toured a range of energy production sites, met Dartmouth alums and others who are involved in the industry, and explored and learn from the communities and ecosystems that shape and are shaped by our energy systems. We'll share a full report on the trip in a future newsletter, but if you're on Instagram, you can view some images and reflections from trip participants.  

Student Perspectives on Dartmouth's Energy Justice Clinic

Opening: Director, Tuck's Revers Center

Dartmouth Energy News

'Stubbornly Hopeful': Dartmouth Perspectives on COP27: Climate scientists and Irving Institute Affiliates Melody Brown Burkins, Justin Mankin, and Jonathan Winter, and Kate Yeo '25, a participant in Dartmouth's Energy Justice Clinic, reflect on the recent UN climate summit.

Dartmouth Team Conducts First Radar-based Archeological Survey at the Weirs: The Laconia Daily Sun talked with Anthropology Postdoctoral Fellow and Irving Institute Affiliate Nathaniel Kitchel about his team's archeological research on the shore of Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire and how the artifacts provide information about how communities from the end of the Ice Age responded to environmental change.

Kudos: Joanne Liu ’23, an economics major and leader of the Dartmouth Energy Alliance student energy club was part of Dartmouth's 2022 Fed Challenge team, which came in first in this year's Boston District competition and third nationally out of 84 schools. Congratulations to Joanne and the team!

Two Professors Honored by National Academy of Inventors: Charlie Sullivan, the Sue and John Ballard ’55 TT’56 Professor of Engineering and director of the Power Management Integration Center at Dartmouth was named as a fellow by the National Academy of Inventors recently.

Alumna and Thayer Student Receive Schwarzman Scholarships: Michelle Wang ’21, TH’22, ’23, a past recipient of Irving Institute student grants to support her 2020 internship with Solar Stewards and her participation in the Marine Energy Collegiate Competition ins 2021, has been selected as a Schwarzman Scholar. Michelle will receive a one-year, fully funded graduate fellowship to a master’s degree program in global affairs at Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

IRA Invests in the Future of Clean Energy Technology, Work: Thayer Dean Alexis Abramson discusses the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act for clean energy and how Dartmouth is preparing the future energy workforce.