April 2024

From the Institute Directors

Signs of spring in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire are everywhere — colorful flowers, budding trees, students sunbathing and studying on the Green, and as is customary in Northern New England spring, the occasional dusting of frost or snow. For the Irving Institute, spring also means we are in the final weeks of our pilot session of the Greenshot Climate Solutions Accelerator. For the past three months, Greenshot has engaged nine climate solutions startups in weekly sessions geared toward helping these young companies to scale up and prepare for market. 

We have been so impressed with the focus, dedication, and energy that our inaugural Greenshot cohort has exhibited over the course of the program and are looking forward to hearing their pitches on May 9 at Greenshot Demo Day in New York City. (More information and a link to RSVP to attend the event are below.) Each of these companies is working to help deliver solutions to the massive challenge of a changing climate, and it is an honor to have been a part of their journey to success. 

Whether you're able to make it to Demo Day, one of the upcoming events listed below in this newsletter, or are just on campus for a visit, we're looking forward to seeing you soon. 

Warmly,

April M. Salas, Executive Director
Geoffrey Parker, Interim Faculty Director

Dartmouth to Invest $500 Million in Decarbonization

The Dartmouth Climate Collaborative will reduce campus emissions 100% by 2050

In a message to the Dartmouth community on Earth Day 2024, President Sian Leah Beilock announced the launch of the Dartmouth Climate Collaborative, a comprehensive commitment to meaningfully addressing climate change and sustainability on campus and beyond. 
 

The plan calls for investments of more than $500 million in the next five years to accelerate campus decarbonization efforts and meet new targets for reducing carbon emissions on campus by 60% by 2030 and 100% by 2050—the largest investment in sustainability in Dartmouth history. Learn more. 

DECAN Launch Draws Energy- and Climate-Focused Alumni From Across the Globe

More than 80 alumni joined the Dartmouth Energy and Climate Alumni Network launch on April 19.

More than 80 Dartmouth alumni from around the world joined us for the virtual launch of the Dartmouth Energy and Climate Alumni Network, a brand-new Dartmouth alumni group created to connect alumni to alumni, alumni to the College, and the College and alumni to the world. 

"We were thrilled so many of our alumni shared their time, excitement, and ideas with us for our first official DECAN meeting," said Irving Institute Executive Director April Salas. "While Zoom fatigue is a real thing, neither physical distance nor a screen could dampen the incredible excitement and energy this group showed for the College and this new network!" 

Learn more, enroll, and RSVP for our next meeting on June 21

Climate Startups Aim to Help Save the Planet at NYC Greenshot Demo Day on May 9

Nine climate solutions-focused startups will be pitching their businesses to a panel of sustainability experts and leaders in hopes of securing up to $75k in funding at the Greenshot Climate Solutions Accelerator Demo Day in New York City.

Three finalists will emerge from the Thursday, May 9 Demo Day event at Alumni Ventures in New York City from 1-4:30 pm and will go on to compete for up to $75k at the finals, held as part of the Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship's Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Forum (DEF) on Friday, May 10 at the CUNY Graduate Center.

Both events are open to the public. Learn more and register for Demo Day and the Dartmouth Entrepreneur's Forum here. 

Institute Interim Director Geoff Parker Speaks at Hannover Messe

Geoff Parker speaking at the Leaders' Dialogue during the 2024 Hannover Messe

Irving Institute Interim Faculty Director Geoff Parker was in Germany in April at Hannover Messe, one of the world's largest industry-focused trade fairs, which brings together decision-makers from across sectors including energy, R&D, automation, industrial IT, and more. 
 

Dr. Parker participated in a number of panel discussions, including "Highlighting the Potential of Industrial Data Ecosystems" and "How Can B2B Platforms Follow the Success of their B2C Counterparts?" as well as in the "Leaders' Dialogue of the Plattform Industrie 4.0," highlights of which can be seen in this video posted on LinkedIn. (Dr. Parker can be seen at around the 20 second mark in the video!)

Former Eskom CEO André de Ruyter Delivers Spring Class of 1972 Lecture

André de Ruyter, Senior Fellow at Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs and former head of Eskom, Africa's largest electricity supplier, in Dartmouth's Cook Auditorium on April 9. 

Access to affordable and reliable energy is essential to economic growth and prosperity. Yet in a climate-changing world, it is equally essential that we do not increase global greenhouse gas emissions. In his April 9 Class of 1972 lecture, “Financing a Clean Energy Transition in Africa and the Global South,” André de Ruyter, Senior Fellow at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs and former CEO of Eskom, Africa’s largest electricity provider, shared his perspective on how to address the need for substantially increased access to energy in Africa and the developing world while at the same time reducing global carbon emissions. You can watch the video of his talk here. 

Eco-influencers Doria Brown and Caulin Donaldson Share Strategies for Using Social Media for Social and Environmental Impact

Caulin Donaldson and Doria Brown lead a group of around 20 Dartmouth students in a workshop to demonstrate how to use social media to influence and inform communities about environmental and other issues.

Dartmouth's Energy Justice Clinic recently had Nashua, NH Energy Manager and social media influencer Doria Brown (aka @theearthstewardess) back to campus, this time accompanied by fellow social media influencer Caulin Donaldson (aka @trashcaulin), to host a second workshop in the "Can TikTok Save the Planet?" series. The duo shared their backgrounds and journeys to using social media as a tool to inform and make an impact. They also engaged the workshop attendees in some hands-on exercises to show the importance of understanding your audience and approaches to getting them interested in and excited about your topic. A recording of the workshop is available here.

Dartmouth Energy and Climate Student Clubs Host Mixer 

Students at the recent Dartmouth Energy and Climate Student Mixer in the Irving Institute atrium. 

Students from the Dartmouth Energy Alliance, Tuck School of Business Energy Club, Thayer School of Engineering Energy Club, and Fossil Free Dartmouth hosted a student mixer in April in the Irving Institute atrium. The gathering gave the clubs and their members a chance to connect, chat about energy and climate topics of interest, and introduce their clubs to a broader group of students who have not yet joined in. 

Alaskan Scholar Bax Bond Visits Dartmouth

NYC Energy Efficiency Corporation CEO Curtis Probst Returns to the Irving Institute to Lead Clean Energy Finance Bootcamp for Undergraduates

25 Dartmouth undergraduate students participated in the Irving Institute's popular Clean Energy Finance Bootcamp in early April. Led by Curtis Prost, CEO of the NYC Energy Efficiency Corporation, the two-day bootcamp explored how finance can help drive the clean energy transition. 

Senior Fellow Liana Frey ’92, TU’98 Launches "Dare to Green" Podcast on Business and Sustainability

How do business leaders incorporate sustainability into their business strategy? How did economic innovation for vaccine markets lead to a financial market innovation that has helped grow carbon removal markets? What are the biggest challenges for business leaders addressing climate? These and many other questions are front of mind for Irving Institute Senior Fellow and program director of the Greenshot Climate Solutions Accelerator Liana Frey '92, TU'98 as she talks with guests like Dartmouth economist Chris Snyder, Stripe Head of Climate Nan Ransohoff, and McKinsey Global Institute partner Mekela Krishnan on her new podcast, Dare to Green. 

Learn more about the podcast and find links to listen here. 

Other Upcoming Events

Other Dartmouth Climate and Energy News

New Study Aims to Improve Equity in Flood Risk Management: A study led by Adam Pollack, postdoctoral researcher, and Klaus Keller, Hodgson Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Irving Institute

faculty affiliate, 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. The paper was published in Nature Sustainability. 

Three 2024 Guggenheim Fellowships to Dartmouth Faculty: Laura Ogden, Professor of Anthropology, Special Advisor to the Provost on climate and sustainability, and Irving Institute affiliate, was one of three Dartmouth faculty to receive a Guggenheim fellowship this year.

Snowpack Loss Study by Dartmouth College: A new study from Dartmouth College researchers Alexander Gottlieb, a Ph.D. student in the Ecology, Evolution, Environment, and Society graduate program and Justin Mankin, Associate Professor of Geography and Irving Institute affiliate, revealed that seasonal snowpacks have significantly decreased in size over the past 40 years across the Northern Hemisphere because of human-driven atmospheric pollution.

Fossil Fuel Companies Linked to Climate Damages: At a hearing in Vermont's state capital, Montpelier, in April, Dartmouth Associate Professor of Geography Justin Mankin told House lawmakers there is robust science linking climate damages to the emissions caused by individual oil companies.

Dartmouth Launches Climate Futures Initiative: The Climate Futures Initiative is a year-long effort to identify Dartmouth’s strengths and opportunities for climate scholarship and education locally, regionally, nationally, and internationally. The initiative is being led by Professor of Anthropology Laura Ogden, who was recently appointed special advisor to the provost on climate and sustainability. 

Gavin Fry '25 Wins Truman Scholarship: Gavin Fry, an Irving Institute student grantee and an alum of the inaugural Baltic LEAP FSP, who is pursuing a custom major in climate science, was one of 60 recipients from across the nation.