3D Magazine :: April 2019

DARTMOUTH IN ALL ITS DIMENSIONS NO. 5 | APR 2019

ADMISSIONS.DARTMOUTH.EDU

On the cover: Julia Huebner ’20 atop Mount Ascutney The Stretch Students congregate around a campfire in Dinosaur National Monument Cover photograph by Don Hamerman

Admissions Editorial Board

Student Writers

Hayden Lizotte Editor

Caroline Cook ’21 Newark, DE

Topher Bordeau Contributing Editor

Brian Drisdelle ’21 Burlington, CT

Sara D. Morin Production Editor

Kaj Johnson ‘22 Minneapolis, MN

Isabel Bober ‘04 Senior Associate Director of Admissions

Sarah LeHan ’20 Darien, CT Ioana Andrada Pantelimon ‘22 Bucharest, Romania Sofía Carbonell Realme ’20 Mexico City, Mexico

Dartmouth College is defined by its people, and 3D is a magazine that tells their stories. It’s not meant to be comprehensive, but an evolving snapshot as vibrant and prismatic as the school itself. 3D is Dartmouth in all its dimensions.

LAURA HUTCHINSON ‘19

APRIL 2019 // ISSUE 05

02

07

22

40

First Hand

Humans of Hanover

Living the Green Life

Courses of Study

03

10

26

44

It’s a Fact

LIVE @ Dartmouth

Oh, the places you’ll go!

Points of Departure

06

12

28

48

Hanover Hot Spots

Reinventing Invention

Innovators & Agitators

Threads

18

34

Walking the Walk

On Course

2 | admissions.dartmouth.edu

Lee A. Coffin Vice Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

I

n the long, celebrated history of American higher education, few colleges match Dartmouth’s storied tenure.

One of the nine colonial colleges across Great Britain’s American colonies, Dartmouth was Dartmouth before America was America. Across portions of the past four centuries, this ruggedly independent college in New Hampshire has been a presence: renowned for excellence in undergraduate teaching, for the pristinely iconic campus we enjoy, and for the impact our graduates make in all realms of human endeavor. Statesmen and poets, scientists and activists, entrepreneurs and thought leaders have emerged from this venerable place. Honoring the College’s mission statement to “prepare students for a lifetime of responsible leadership,” the fingerprints of Big Green alumni are everywhere. They have left a mark on the way we serve, think, discover, imagine, laugh, and understand.

As Dartmouth celebrates its 250th anniversary—known as a sestercentennial in case you are wondering—a faculty panel convened by Dartmouth Alunmi Magazine reflected on which of Dartmouth’s 100,723 alumni have been most influential (you can see a few of our favorites from the list on page 28). Not surprisingly, American statesman Daniel Webster, Class of 1801,

emerged as Dartmouth’s most influential graduate. The eight professors recognized Webster’s oratorical wonder for arguing more than 200 cases before the United States Supreme Court in the early moments of the nation’s history as well as his long service as United States Senator from New Hampshire. As current senator Jeanne Shaheen told Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, “Webster’s great speeches in defense of our union delivered many timeless truths that are just as relevant today as when they echoed through the old Senate chamber.” And, of course, Webster uttered the singular line that all Dartmouth alumni can recite: “It is, as I have said, sir, a small school, but there are those who love it.” That is an understatement.

“Dr. Seuss” (Class of 1925), Robert Frost (1896), Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon Chase (1826), and abolitionist Thaddeus Stevens (1814) round out the top five, and it’s striking to consider the impact of Dartmouth graduates on the early moments of American history as well as on the nation’s literary tradition during the 20th century. Other notable alumni served as Vice President of the United States (Nelson Rockefeller, 1930), developed the measles vaccine (Samuel Katz, 1948), guided children through lessons in kindness (Fred “Mr.” Rogers, 1950) and designed the 9/11 Memorial in New York City (Michael Arad, 1991). The last of the Ivies to become coeducational, two of Dartmouth’s alumnae made quick marks on our lives in the 40 years since women first enrolled: our faculty panel saluted Native American author Louise Erdrich (1976) and Jeffersonian historian Annette Gordon-Reed (1981) among the College’s 25 most influential graduates. Their contributions—and the variety of fields in which they occurred—underscore the power of Dartmouth’s liberal arts experience. No field dominates this curriculum; excellence is widespread and deep.

Across a quarter millennium of excellence, Dartmouth notched many notable “firsts” that parallel the impact of its graduates. The College opened the first building in the United States dedicated to medical education (1811), enrolled the first African-American student in the Ivy League (Edward Mitchell, Class of 1828), performed the first diagnostic x-ray in the world (1896), and offered the first MBA program (1900) as well as the first undergraduate outing club (1909). And two professors developed BASIC in 1964.

Anniversaries offer convenient moments of reflection. The past offers robust testimony to where Dartmouth has been; our college admissions process points forward, towards where we will go. It’s an opportunity for you to imagine a path through these hallways and classrooms, amidst the pines and the vistas and big sky. As you ponder an invitation to join the Class of 2023 or as you begin your exploration of college options for the Classes of 2024 or 2025, Dartmouth’s living history continues to march on.

This littlest of the Ivies is a force. It always has been, and its promise remains vividly evident.

It’s a fact.

BASIC FACTS

4,417 % 95 % 100

5 360

CAREER AND INTERNSHIP FACTS

Number of Undergraduate Students 6-Year Graduation Rate Demonstrated Financial Need Met

Graduation season is upon us—and with it, a time to reflect on next steps and new beginnings. Here we’ve collected statistics from the Class of 2018, as of their graduation day, on their planned next steps and the experiences that helped lead them there.

90

%

68% employed/fellowships/internships

18% further education 4% other

Fall Term Classes with More Than 100 Students

$70K+

55

%

vs.

have a starting salary over $70K

Fall Term Classes with Fewer Than 20 Students

20K

offered by the Lewin Fellowship, one of many funding sources for service and social impact work

89

55

$ Intended Graduate Degree

7:1

10% were in the job market

HAD FIRM PLANS

48% 16% 15% 11% 6% 3%

Masters Law Degree PhD Medical Degree Other Bachelor in Engineering

%

participated in an internship

%

participated in academic research

Student-toFaculty Ratio

250 YEARS OF PROMISE

Dartmouth’s legacy includes countless moments of indelible impact on our community and beyond. Here are just a few of those moments— with many more scattered through the pages of this issue.

1769

Dartmouth is founded as the 9th college in the United States (before the American Revolution)

1811

1970

2016

Dartmouth opens the first building in the US dedicated to medical education

The Native American Studies program is created

1940

At Dartmouth, a computer is controlled remotely for the first time, a precursor to the internet

Thayer School of Engineering is the first national research program graduating more women engineering students than men

01101001010110

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MATTHEW MONIZ ’20 MAJOR: GOVERNMENT WITH A MINOR IN GLOBAL HEALTH HOMETOWN: BOULDER, CO

Having reached Mount Everest’s summit, Matthew Moniz ‘20 knows what it feels like to have the world beneath his feet. But Matt isn’t one to boast. “A lot of my friends didn’t even know I was there. They just thought I was on an off-term,” he says. For Matt, exploring the outdoors has always been second nature: “My parents would stick us in a backpack and take us hiking and skiing from the time we were babies. I thought it was completely normal for people to start when they were three,” he laughs.

With an adventurous spirit and a slew of impressive climbs under his belt, Matt traveled to Nepal to attempt Everest in 2015.

But when the Gorkha earthquake and subsequent avalanche claimed thousands of lives, he put his skills to work towards disaster relief rather than summiting. With help from the World Food Programme, he stayed for two months after the disaster, supporting ravaged communities, raising money, and using his climbing expertise to assist with high-altitude rescues and deliveries. His relentless efforts earned him the Boy Scouts’ highest honor for lifesaving, as well as an abundance of recognition from national media outlets.

Matt cites unparalleled outdoor opportunities and the tight-knit community as determining factors in his choice to attend Dartmouth. He’s embraced both: a leader in Ski Patrol and Ledyard Canoe Club, Matt helps students and community members on the slopes and in the water. But it was Dartmouth’s D-Plan, the academic system that makes it possible for students to tailor studies around travel, internships, and study abroad, that has arguably had the greatest impact on his experience. Its flexibility allowed Matt to return to Nepal and reach Everest’s summit, but also gave him the freedom to explore academically before settling on a major.

Matt began his first fall intent on computer science, then jumped between biology and engineering, looking for something that stuck. On a whim, he took a government course, and it clicked. “I switched majors right away. Now I’m a government major, and I’m loving it,” Matt says. “They’re super interesting classes.”Supplementing his government major with a minor in global health, he hopes to combine his education and climbing expertise to create new avenues for helping others—in whatever forms those might take.

— Kaj Johnson ’22

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Peak Pictured: In front of Dartmouth’s newly renovated Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, the start of many outdoor adventures

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Performance

The Hood Museum “And this,” my art history professor said as she clicked to the next slide, “is an artifact we actually have here on campus in the Hood Museum.” When I took my first-year seminar on ancient Roman art in Pompeii, the Hood was undergoing a $50 million renovation. Now, it’s open to the public again, free, and located right in the heart of the Dartmouth arts community.

Students and professors alike often note that Hanover’s rural setting is perfect for focusing on study, research, and community. True enough, but what’s most special to me is the rare and powerful access to top-notch museums. As an art history minor, I find the ability to interact with an amazing collection of work whenever I want invaluable, but not surprising. That’s the philosophy of hands-on experiences that I’ve come to expect.

—Caroline Cook ’21

Looking across the Lathrop Gallery’s installation of contemporary African art into the new north wing. Photograph © Michael Moran, Courtesy of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth

HANOVER

HOT SPOTS

HUMANS OF HANOVER ^ OFF-TERM EXPERIENCES AT DARTMOUTH ARE VARIED AND DYNAMIC. THE D-PLAN ALLOWS STUDENTS TO BOUNCE ACROSS THE COUNTRY OR AROUND THE GLOBE PURSUING DIVERSE INTERESTS LIKE WORLD-CLASS SKI JUMPING OR EPIDEMIOLOGY. THESE DARTMOUTH STUDENTS SHARE WHAT THEY’VE BEEN ABLE TO DO WITH THEIR OFF-TERMS.

Jack Burgess ‘20, Tucson, AZ I just finished my term abroad studying computer science at the Aquincum Institute of Technology (AIT-Budapest). I was lucky to have the opportunity to experience another institution’s educational style and a culture completely different from my own. I confess I knew hardly anything about Hungary or the surrounding countries before I arrived, but now I have a better global understanding and a motivation to learn more. All while I gained valuable computer science knowledge in the classroom!

Amrit Ahluwalia ‘19, Newtown, PA I spent the winter of my junior year in Tanzania doing clinical research and shadowing at the Dar Dar Pediatric Clinic, which serves HIV+ children and their families.

This work was inspired by another off-term—the summer after my first year, when I worked at a community health center in Boston serving HIV+ individuals through Dartmouth’s Center for Social Impact. I learned firsthand from colleagues at the center and from members who shared their life experiences, and it inspired me to pursue infectious diseases and epidemiology as a career.

Logan Sankey ‘20, Steamboat Springs, CO With my off-terms, I’ve traveled around the world, training and competing in ski jumping. From Norway to Kazakhstan, I’ve been able to ski in some incredible places. The flexibility of the D-Plan allows me to be internationally competitive in the sport I love while pursuing an engineering degree. I love looking at all the cool designs of ski jumps around the world. Some really are feats of engineering!

Victoria Meyer ‘20, Scottsdale, AZ I spent my junior fall in Washington, DC, interning for an economist at the World Bank. I had the opportunity to explore the field of development economics and, from attending seminars to working with my supervisor on a long-term research project, I could feel my passion for the field amplify daily. I also loved exploring the city with other Dartmouth students, whether it be our weekly trivia night, going to museums, or seeing concerts downtown.

Michael Harteveldt ‘19, Greenwich, CT I spent an off-term on a Language Study Abroad program in Beijing, China. It was an incredible experience and extremely helpful for both my Chinese language skills and my cultural understanding and appreciation of China. This photo was taken in Tibet and shows just some of the natural and cultural beauty we were so fortunate to experience on one of the many trips during the program!

Tim Holman ‘20, Cleveland, OH After taking numerous government classes my first two years at Dartmouth and spending my first summer in DC as a First-Year Fellow, I wanted to extend my study of politics to the international stage. Since then, I’ve been abroad twice, studying Spanish in Barcelona and government at the London School of Economics. Seeing Catalonia vote to secede from Spain and exploring the complexities of the UK’s “Brexit” challenge have given me a greater understanding of the state of democracy in the US and the rise of populism across the world. admissions.dartmouth.edu | 7

CHRISTINE DONG ’19 MAJOR: ECONOMICS HOMETOWN: COQUITLAM, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

& NINA PAVCNIK NIEHAUS FAMILY PROFESSOR IN INTERNATIONAL STUDIES, CHAIR OF ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT

CHRISTINE DONG ’19 AND PROFESSOR NINA PAVCNIK OF THE ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT SAT DOWN WITH 3D TO DISCUSS THEIR RECENT COLLABORATION ON A RESEARCH PROJECT FOR THE FEDERAL RESERVE BANK.

Where did the idea for your project come from?

So why Dartmouth? Why do this here?

Nina: I was invited to write one of four papers for a Jackson Hole symposium organized by the Federal Reserve Bank on how international trade affects inequality in labor markets in developing countries. I wanted to present longterm trends on the global economy. Christine’s role was to review reports produced by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization.

Nina: I really wanted a place where I could work directly with students and engage with them in research. Not many schools enable professors to do high-level research and interact meaningfully with undergraduates every day; Dartmouth is really unique.

How did you two end up working together?

Christine: Sophomore year, I joined the Dartmouth Economic Research Scholars (DERS) Program. At one of their dinners, I talked with another professor about doing research, and he introduced me to Professor Pavcnik.

Nina: The economics department faculty wanted to make the experience more personal for students, so we created the DERS program to identify students interested in economics research during their sophomore years. The idea is to help them understand what economists really do. Economists try to find answers to a broad range of questions, so whatever social issue you’re interested in, economics gives you tools, theoretical and empirical, to help you understand how those issues affect lives and society.

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Nina: When you’re here, you can focus on what matters for you, professionally and personally. Economists like to talk about ‘transaction costs,’ and transaction costs for having a balanced life here are low. I think the location strengthens the bonds of the community.

Many still think of economics as a male-dominated space.

How important is an experience like this?

Christine: It’s so cool to see how Professor Pavcnik balances her professional life with her personal life. She’s chair of the department now and is always running to a conference or working on a paper, but at the same time, she always talks with such love about her family. It’s inspiring.

Nina: Thank you. I’ve relied on female mentors throughout my life, and I’m very thankful for them. One of my goals now, as chair, is to make sure that students understand what economics really is and the value of majoring in it to engage in key issues facing society, like health care, education, and globalization. We want the major to appeal to everyone, regardless of gender. The focus on teacher-student interactions helps facilitate that kind of mentorship.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Christine: Unfortunately, the reports didn’t actually include data that went back as far as the early ’80s. Once we realized that, we started from scratch and created a few key figures that helped us understand how the world economy has changed.

Christine: I knew I wanted a place that prioritizes the undergrad experience.

The opportunities that I’ve had here—inside the classroom and out—have been exactly what I was looking for.

Pictured: In Pine restaurant, where students and professors can get free lunch as they build mentor-student relationships

LIVE @ DARTMOUTH DARTMOUTH’S CAMPUS IS VIBRANT IN ANY SEASON, THANKS IN NO SMALL PART TO THE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY WHO INVEST IN EVENTS AND TRADITIONS THAT KEEP IT THAT WAY. HERE, WE SHARE THE THOUGHTS OF A FEW DARTMOUTH STUDENTS ON RECENT ON-CAMPUS EVENTS.

Four years ago, the women’s rugby club at Dartmouth became a full-fledged varsity team. Today, they are NIRA National Champions. The nail-biting championship match highlighted the strength of the Big Green’s unbeatable combo of seasoned seniors and dedicated newcomers. With a national championship under its belt, the women’s rugby team has a lot to live up to…and the talent and spirit to do just that.

Dinertoure Student groups at Dartmouth can bond over something as simple as a passion for breakfast. As part of the club Dinertoure, students venture out every Wednesday morning to explore local diners and their take on breakfast classics. It’s a wonderful opportunity for students who want to experience more of what the area around Dartmouth has to offer—and who doesn’t love a good diner waffle?

Gina Adams Dartmouth artists-in-residence spend a full term on campus creating art and interacting with the community.

When artist-in-residence Gina Adams, an Ojibwe artist, recently exhibited her remarkable collection “Broken Treaty Quilts” in the Hopkins Center, she embraced the role, transforming the glass rotunda of the Hop into her studio and inviting the community to join her. She created an inclusive space where she could connect authentically with the community while building something beautiful and impactful.

—Colleen O’Connor ‘19 and Anna Reed ‘19 10 | admissions.dartmouth.edu

Physicians for Human Rights Conference The Geisel Student Chapter of Physicians for Human Rights hosted its annual conference at Dartmouth, exploring “Planetary Health: Life in Our Changing World.” The speaker line-up included environmental and biological researchers, nonprofit directors, management professors and, of course, MDs. Like most events at Dartmouth, undergrads had full access to the event, where they could rub shoulders with world-renowned professors, attend pioneering lectures, and learn from individuals who are committed to using science to stop mass atrocities.

PHOTOGRAPHY: (TOP TO BOTTOM, LEFT TO RIGHT) XIAORAN (SEAMORE) ZHU, JEFF WOODWARD, GETTY IMAGES, KEVIN YANG)

Women’s Rugby

Trip to the Sea

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT GILL

Every year, in an homage to Dartmouth alumnus and explorer John Ledyard, Class of 1776, a group of seniors canoe 220 miles from campus to Long Island Sound. In a testament to the power of the outdoors to bring people together, participants bond and make some of their best friends on the week-long trip.

Reinventing Invention

ILLUSTRATION BY HARRY CAMPBELL

T

he first incandescent light bulb. The first clinical x-ray. Radar.

Artificial intelligence. All had their roots at Dartmouth.

A school with a legacy of invention as long and as storied as Dartmouth’s has a lot to prove in a contemporary world that prizes innovation. Dartmouth scientists and engineers, artists and social scientists, management brains and entrepreneurs are all turning out world-shifting discoveries at an impressive pace, a feat made possible by innovating the very climate of innovation.

Sounds good, but how do you reinvent invention platforms? We crisscrossed the campus talking to professors, students, and administrators, and here’s what we found.

First stop: the DALI Lab to meet with Director Tim Tregubov, senior lecturer in computer science, and Faculty Director Lorie Loeb, research professor and director of Dartmouth’s digital arts programs. The Dartmouth Applied Learning and Innovation Center (DALI) is a new-solution think tank where students pool their skills to solve challenges using digital invention. Blabl is one example. It’s an app that encourages kids with speech impediments to practice speaking. Codeable is another—a Peruvian coding bootcamp designed to give urban youth in Lima the job skills they need to rise out of poverty.

“Dartmouth has extraordinarily smart, capable students and DALI Lab is an opportunity for them to apply their knowledge, their skills, and their creativity to real-world problems,” Loeb says. “In the course of increasing their coding expertise, they also learn about octopus cognition, autism, protein structures, feminism—whatever a particular project entails. And they learn how to collaborate.”

Inspired collaborations lead to inspired products Undergraduates apply for highly competitive paid internships at DALI Lab just as they would for jobs out in the marketplace. At any given time, the Lab has 65 students on the payroll for ongoing projects, which might be the brainchild of students, faculty, or corporate or nonprofit partners.

The student leadership team is responsible for hiring, onboarding, mentoring, and keeping the Lab forward-looking and evolving. It’s akin to running a whole stable of startups, Loeb and Tregubov say, with students learning the hard lessons of hiring and firing personnel, motivating teams, setting goals, and evaluating metrics of success.

The skills students learn can lead to real-world success. CEO and Founder Terren Klein ’17 and CTO Robin Jayaswal ’18 worked with the DALI Lab to take their mobile app College Pulse to the next level—the academic marketplace.

The app is designed to gauge campus opinion through reliable, transparent, and cost-effective polling. Pulse now operates on dozens of college campuses and just closed a $1.35M funding round after its leaders participated in the country’s top new-business accelerator Y Combinator.

“There isn’t anything like DALI Lab anywhere,” says Loeb. “Even freshman have the opportunity to participate in the DALI experience. DALI Lab is more than research. It’s more than a learning experience. Students exercise true impact. It’s a revelation to them to see how much their individual efforts truly matter.”

Busting barriers to learning A brief stroll across the Green from DALI Lab is DCAL—the Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning. DCAL is sending seismic waves through academic tradition. Knowledge, their team believes, cannot be delivered; it must be constructed anew by each learner.

“DCAL’s primary objective is to advance, invigorate, and extend pedagogical training to faculty so that coursework and extracurricular work is as rich as it can be,” director Scott D. Pauls explains. “The programs we’re running are tools to break out of the mold of more traditional course offerings and provide opportunities for students to learn in fresh, revelatory avenues.”

admissions.dartmouth.edu | 13

veterans and anti-war activists to conduct oral histories related to the Vietnam War. • The “Black Theater, USA” course gives students the chance to help curate exhibits for the new National Black Theater Museum in Memphis, TN. • The “Biologic Lessons of the Eye” course brings students to Aravind Eye Hospital in Tamil Nadu to present research and observe the delivery of eye care in India.

• The Hop Curricular Connections program supports faculty in integrating Hopkins Center for the Arts performances and artist visits into their courses.

• Social Impact Practicum courses send students out into the community to lead innovations such as a digital storytelling project at a local park.

Pauls notes that DCAL also offers the ambitious Stamps Scholars program, which gives students up to $10,000 to design their own experiential learning plan. Stamps Scholar Saba Kaboly Nejad ’18, for example, was inspired by a discussion in physics class to consider approaching cancer treatment from a physics perspective—far outside the traditional biological approach. In keeping with the cross-disciplinary nature of her project, Nejad was guided by a trio of faculty mentors from physics, astronomy, and engineering.

The diversity of interests among Stamp Scholars is striking. Allyson Block ’19 is examining the normalization of gun violence in Australia and the US. Connor Bondarchuk ’19 is investigating HIV treatment adherence in South Africa. Evan Morgan ’19 is analyzing data-driven journalism of the opioid epidemic, and Michael John ’20 is looking at ethnic tension in connection with political and economic development in the Caribbean.

Replacing the “sage on the stage” model Anthropology professors Sienna Craig and Laura Ogden credit DCAL’s Gateway Initiative with changing the face of a core introductory course and increasing student interest in their discipline. The Gateway Initiative helps faculty reinvent courses in collaboration with dedicated experts in instruction design, project management, and analytics. “We’ve been able to reinvent ‘Introduction to Cultural Anthropology.’ It’s now a more engaged class, rather than a ‘sage on the stage’ model of lecturing,” Craig says. “Students are encouraged to relate what they are learning to their own lives and Dartmouth culture, using the tools of anthropology.”

The redesigned course now includes ethnography labs that help students learn how anthropologists come to know what they know—the tools and practice of anthropology. Projects might include analyzing a particular scene on campus or nearby. Some students have observed social norms and cultural practices in a particular dining hall. Others have spent time as participant-observers at local farmers’ markets or at annual festivals like Winter Carnival, applying anthropological thinking to these familiar places. The class also visits the Hood Museum and learns through collections-based experiences.

“Ironically, students often think they prefer lecture classes because they can sit back and take notes without having to make too much of an effort to engage,” says Ogden. “The experiential aspect is pushing them. It’s less comfortable and demands more of the student as a person and as a scholar.

It requires that they learn in new ways.” Indeed, the new model is a lot more challenging for faculty, too. “Instead of correcting multiple choice or short essay tests,” Craig notes, “we’re reading upwards of 60 student essays for each course and evaluating a host of other small assignments. It’s more work, but worth it. The new model is so much richer and the students are so much more engaged.”

Wheelchairs need snow tires, too We wrapped up our innovation tour at Thayer School of Engineering.

Students and faculty at Thayer have produced advances in everything from healthcare technologies to green energy. With the help of experienced faculty

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“ The beauty of a liberal arts college like Dartmouth is that students have the flexibility to traverse as many disciplines as they want to in pursuit of an idea.”

entrepreneurs and extensive Dartmouth resources, they have turned their ideas into vital discoveries and successful startups.

In fact, one in three members of Thayer faculty have spun their innovations into companies. Thayer professors Tillman Gerngross and Charles Hutchinson, for example, invented proprietary technology for turning yeast cells into therapeutic protein factories. They sold their company GlycoFi Inc. to Merck for $400 million, the third-highest price paid for a private biotech firm.

While Thayer students have the benefit of direct mentorship from professors like Gerngross and Hutchinson, they also have access to Dartmouth’s entrepreneurial support system. Thayer professors are continually focused on reengineering courses so that students learn to innovate productively and across disciplines early in their academic careers.

Engineering professor Vicki May is an earthquake engineer who takes groups of students to Haiti to work on pioneering water projects and earthquake-resistant affordable housing. May is heavily invested in delivering high-impact learning experiences, and she says that Dartmouth’s “Intro to Engineering” (ENGS 21) totally makes the grade. The course is the dynamic synthesis of engineering, sustainability, mathematics, economics, management, and communications.

“What distinguishes ENGS 21,” May says, “is that the projects are student-driven. At other schools, students are assigned an engineering problem—make a robot that does this or a drone that can fly that high. Here at Dartmouth, undergraduate teams in ‘Intro to Engineering’ are charged with devising—and solving—their own challenges. Because they come up with the sticky problem themselves, they’re more invested and more motivated to channel all their ingenuity into a solution.”

Projects are evaluated in terms of their technical feasibility, economic viability, and social significance. Notable ENGS 21 inventions include a gyroscopic bicycle flywheel that makes it easier for children to learn to ride, snow treads for wheelchairs, and a high-pressure hand pump that keeps vaccines cold when electricity is out in disaster-torn regions. Many products end up getting patented, and some have developed into thriving startups, often under the guidance of The Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship at Dartmouth, which helps campus innovators spin their breakthroughs into successful companies.

“The beauty of a liberal arts college like Dartmouth,” May adds, “is that students have the flexibility to traverse as many disciplines as they want to in pursuit of an idea. We do everything we can here to promote exploration.

Students who come to Dartmouth engage in enough rich and varied experiences to discover their own passions.”

ILLUSTRATION BY HARRY CAMPBELL

Here are just a few of those avenues: • The Dartmouth Vietnam Project connects undergraduates with both

In Praise of Epic

HANNAH CHERENFANT ’20 MAJOR: CLASSICAL LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES HOMETOWN: WAYLAND, MA

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Quests Pictured: Standing in the Baker River, a short walk from Dartmouth’s Moosilauke Ravine Lodge

“I’m one of those people who really doesn’t do anything I don’t want to do,” says Hannah Cherenfant ’20. A pre-health classics major who still makes time for piano lessons and event planning, Hannah’s insistence on doing what she loves has empowered her Dartmouth experience.

Arriving on campus with a clear set of academic goals, she convinced classics professor Margaret Graver to break with the department’s usual requirements and let her jump into an advanced Latin class. Somewhere between burying her nose in De Rerum Natura and using her musical background to better understand Latin meter, she experienced her first major revelation. “There’s a huge difference between just translating something and actually reading it,” she realized. “Graver had us read Lucretius as a Roman would have read it, and that really got me rethinking how I interpret language.”

In pursuit of further revelations she again worked with Professor Graver—“I’m now effectively her protégé,” Hannah laughs—to delve into some research of her own. Remembering her childhood confusion about why anyone would worship the temperamental Olympians (whom she describes in decidedly unholy language), she set out on a quest for understanding. “The short answer,” she explains, “is that they’re immortal, and since they’re immortal, they’re free from suffering, the suffering that is human life. In Archaic Greek texts you see the words mortal and suffering always linked together.” The project ignited her love of creating original ideas. “We’re the ones making these discoveries and coming to our own conclusions,” she insists. But classics doesn’t conflict with her future in medicine. “I can think of at least four other people off the top of my head who are classics majors and pre-health,” she says. “I’m pursuing my first academic love now, before really devoting the rest of my life to medicine.”

Pursuing her passions has lead to self-discovery. Her love of classics brought her to Rome on Dartmouth’s Foreign Study Program, where she organized a newlywed game and a Halloween party to help students bond in a new environment.

Finding a knack for building community through event planning, she joined Programming Board, the student group that organizes social events across campus. “We brought a bunch of farm animals to campus in the spring for a study break. It’s so worth it to see people’s reactions! Watching everyone freak out over the baby rabbits just warmed my cold heart,” she laughs. Dartmouth is fortunate that she loves building community just as much as she loves Homeric hymns.

— Brian Drisdelle ’21

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PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Walking the Walk ANNA REED

ANNA REED ’19 GREW UP IN MOORE, OKLAHOMA AND STUDIES ANTHROPOLOGY AND SPANISH. SHE’S INVOLVED WITH NATIVE AMERICANS AT DARTMOUTH (NAD) AND SUMMER ENRICHMENT AT DARTMOUTH (SEAD). SHE WORKS IN THE ADMISSIONS OFFICE AS A SENIOR FELLOW AND SPENDS HER FREE TIME TAKING PHOTOS AND PAINTING WITH WATERCOLORS. HERE, SHE REFLECTS ON HOW SHE WAS ABLE TO DISCOVER AND INTERWEAVE HER ACADEMIC PASSIONS.

I started my Dartmouth journey a bit clueless and definitely unprepared. I did well in high school, but I was never truly challenged and just didn’t know how to best participate in my classes. Though I had some struggles in my first year, the Native Americans at Dartmouth (NAD) community became my support group, and older students helped me navigate my path. But I really found my way by finding something I was passionate about.

I took a course in Native American Studies that focused on North America’s tribal nations and fell in love with the study of indigenous groups. Inspired, I resolved to study in Cusco, Peru my sophomore year. That’s when and where I began to realize that issues of indigeneity were much larger than what I’d experienced at home. I’m part Choctaw, and even though I only started exploring this part of my identity when I was 16, Dartmouth helped me understand all the systemic challenges that surround indigeneity. Those lessons were reinforced by being immersed in the diverse indigenous community at Dartmouth, one that helped me gain more and more confidence in my origins.

As I was exploring my roots, I also found myself examining the educational process I had just gone through. To understand the broader landscape of educational equity, I chose to take an off-term during my junior year to

participate in Summer Enrichment at Dartmouth (SEAD), a program geared toward low-income, underresourced, or at-risk high school youth. I worked at a school in the Bronx mentoring ten sophomores affiliated with SEAD. I found both familiarity and challenge within this environment; I knew some of the students’ struggles all too well, but the experience transformed my perception of educational equity as a whole. It helped me understand that there is so much variation in the quality of education based on where you come from.

Our communities of color don’t receive enough support, nor does rural white America. We need more funding for education across the board so that we can equalize the quality of education.

Now in my senior year, I recently returned to Peru to conduct fieldwork in a primary school. My goal: to write an anthropological evaluation of bilingual education practices for my honors thesis. I researched educational equity for students who face a transition from speaking their indigenous language to speaking Spanish. Studying educational equity in an indigenous group through an anthropological perspective taught me something just as profound—how to blend the things I’m passionate about.

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ARUNAV JAIN ’20 MAJOR: ENGLISH WITH A MINOR IN STUDIO ART HOMETOWN: JAIPUR, INDIA

Arunav Jain ’20 loves office hours. “Spending time with professors out of class is such a constructive way of learning their interests and expectations and sharing your aspirations,” he says. Arunav also devotes time to world literature and two on-campus jobs: student coordinator for the Pan Asian Community of OPAL (Dartmouth’s Office of Pluralism and Leadership), and tutor for RWIT (Dartmouth’s Institute for Writing and Rhetoric).

After arriving on campus, Arunav quickly realized how difficult it can be for South Asian students like himself to feel represented in a culture where Asian often equates to East Asian. “Colloquial association of ‘Asian’ with ‘East Asian’ can create alienation among people who identify with non-East Asian cultures,” he says. “I’ve consciously tried to mitigate this effect by broadening the scope of events.” His hard work and understanding of the nuances of social justice and how they intersect with his own international identity has already made an impact.

“OPAL events have seen more participation from South Asian and Southeast Asian students in the last two years,” he says. “And we can do even more.”

Arunav’s growth mindset extends to his own work. One of his favorite aspects of RWIT tutoring is how it heightens his own writing craft. By empathizing with those he helps, he’s been able to pick up ways to improve his own work. “We make a point to appreciate students’ writing strengths,” he says. “I’ve passed on tips learned from my professors and learned tricks from my tutees.”

Arunav’s pursuit of excellence is driven by his fierce curiosity.

His research with Sam Moodie, an English professor of Caribbean and African diasporic literature, exposes him to new analytical techniques and inspirational stories. Professor Moodie’s work, particularly its emphasis on marginalized communities, has demonstrated the importance of highlighting the voices of those underrepresented in academia.

Arunav appreciates the academic immersion he’s found at Dartmouth. “It always has been very important for me to connect with subjects I like,” he says, “so I am grateful for professors who take a personal interest in student learning.” He plans to pursue literature in graduate school and to become a professor of post-colonial world literature. And when the time comes for him to conduct his own office hours, Arunav will make sure the door stands wide open.

—Sarah Lehan ’20

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Through

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Open Doors Pictured: In the Lathrop Gallery of the newly renovated Hood Museum

HOMETOWN: MINNEAPOLIS, MN MAJOR: MUSIC AND ENGLISH FUN FACT: KAJ’S ROOM IS DIRECTLY UPSTAIRS FROM WHERE JOURNALIST JAKE TAPPER ’91 LIVED DURING HIS FIRST YEAR

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

RESIDENT: KAJ JOHNSON ’22

Living the Green

You’re halfway through your first year at Dartmouth. What was your transition like?

How have you been able to build community in your dorm as well?

How are you staying true to your passion for music and writing?

My First-Year Trip was an incredible way to build a community before classes even started. I keep in touch with people I met during that experience all the time. I sit next to them in classes, we study together, and over winterim, I even met up with a few who, like me, live in the Twin Cities. They’re some of my best friends now. I also joined the lightweight rowing team and immediately met great people through that. Dartmouth students have so many different interests. The rowing team is filled with people interested in English, econ, and STEM; I’m a music major, and none of us feels out of place.

Although I was a little nervous about living in a single, the people on my floor feel like my roommates.

Even if we’re just making popcorn and watching movies, it’s a very intermingled atmosphere that I’ve really appreciated.

When I was looking at colleges, I explored their music departments online. I remember seeing Professor Cheng on the Dartmouth page and thinking, “He seems like a cool prof!” Fast forward to my first term. I took “Music and Media in Everyday Life” with him. Five or six weeks into the term, after he’d seen my writing, he offered me a position as a research assistant on a book he’s working on. I’m helping him write and find information, but I’m also providing my perspective on the music of my generation and how social media interacts with the music industry. Right up my alley!

It sounds like you settled well. How has the transition been academically?

I’ve been trying to get my feet wet in multiple areas.

First term, I mostly took classes I felt comfortable with. I’m happy doing any kind of reading or writing or anything related to music, so I took anthropology, a music class, and other humanities classes.

Now I’ve built the confidence to try something I might struggle with, so I’m taking earth sciences this term and calculus next. My academic advisor Professor Toloudi really helped me find a balance of classes that challenge me without overwhelming me, classes that let me explore while staying true to the things I love doing.

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Looking Back to See

VERONIKA FUECHTNER CHAIR OF GERMAN STUDIES, ADJUNCT ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF MEDICAL EDUCATION, AND AFFILIATED FACULTY IN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE, JEWISH STUDIES, AND WOMEN’S AND GENDER STUDIES

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Forward Pictured: In the Richard Eberhart Poetry Room of Sanborn House

Professor Veronika Fuechtner’s work reaches across continents, across academic disciplines, and across time. “I started out studying German culture,” she reflects. “I was interested in literature and theatre, then became curious about the history of psychoanalysis.” This landed her in the Weimar Republic, a time of artistic experimentation, scientific advancement, and new ideas about gender and sexuality. But 1920’s Germany also was marked by the rise of fascism, which forced many German artists and thinkers to flee. While their displacement was a great loss to Germany, their influence was felt the world over. Film noir and Bauhaus architecture in the United States are just two examples of their cultural impact.

The global nature of Professor Fuechtner’s work means that her pedagogy is global, too. While working on a book about the mother of Thomas Mann, the iconic German writer, she brought a Dartmouth student to Mann’s mother’s house in Brazil. There they interviewed historians and conducted archival research.

“That to me is key; working with students and teaching them how to do research,” she says. On another trip with students, this time to Germany, Professor Fuechtner guided a group through the Dachau Concentration Camp. “At Dachau, you really get a sense of how dehumanization is a gradual slope,” Professor Fuechtner says. “Most people in fascist Germany weren’t active perpetrators. They simply looked away.” In this, the students saw a connection: the bystanders of fascism reminded them of bystanders of gender violence. On the bus ride back from Dachau, a tense discussion ensued. “It was a difficult moment,” Professor Fuechtner says, “but I believe everyone walked away thinking about these issues very deeply and were touched by our experience, probably forever.”

Issues of gender identity, gender violence, sex, and sexuality have roots in the past. Professor Fuechtner believes that it’s essential to understand their history to effectively confront the problems they pose in the present. “Many ideas about sexuality today, including those taught in sex ed programs, come to us unfiltered from the 19th century,” she argues. Her expansive work makes connections across space and time, affirming that so many of the divisions we live with are entirely artificial.

—Sofía Carbonell Realme ’20

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Covering everything from glaciers to volcanic fields, geochemistry to topographic mapping, the Stretch is Dartmouth’s off-campus earth sciences program that treks across western North America.

It takes topics covered in class and spatializes them, empowering students to master field techniques while strengthening their understandings of the shaping of North America and the larger world.

Named for the immense swath of land covered in its eight-week trek, the Stretch is one of Dartmouth’s oldest off-campus programs.

Beginning in British Columbia and culminating in Flagstaff, Arizona, students get hands-on geological experience while seeing the Athabasca Glacier,

the Grand Canyon, and a slew of national parks, including Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Zion.

Each week entails a new area of study, and relevant faculty members are flown out to teach in the best possible geological classroom: the outdoors.

Although Katie Bogart ’20 plans to major in engineering, she didn’t find much trouble picking up a new skill set on the trip. “The professors do an incredible job of starting everyone at ground zero and mixing people who have experience in different fields.” But the program isn’t just about building new skills; it’s also about community.

“There were 22 students and not a lot of alone time. We lodged, did fieldwork, and ate dinner

with all the same people,” says Berit DeGrandpre ’20. Katie reminisces similarly: “I’ve never had an experience where people meshed together so well and so quickly. I have so much gratitude for the faculty and graduate students that put in the work to make the Stretch possible.”

For Berit, “the Stretch brings together many of the best things I see in Dartmouth: small community building, great relationships with professors, and an intimacy with the outdoors.” As Stretch students leave the West, they’ll bring their nuanced geological understandings – along with the lifelong friendships they’ve developed – back to Hanover.

— Kaj Johnson ’22

the places you’ll

go!

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PHOTOGRAPH BY KEVIN GROSS ‘19

oh,

“ You’re fully immersed in geology 24/7. It’s the equivalent of language immersion in a foreign country.”

—Zach Berkow ’20

Students hike up the Athabasca Glacier in the Canadian Rockies to collect GPS data useful for measuring glacier velocity

Innovators & Agitators

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Six Dartmouth Alumni who deďŹ ed the status quo and changed the world

Looking back over the last two and a half centuries at the innovators and agitators who populate Dartmouth’s roster of alumni, one commonality emerges. Students come here to build the tools, knowledge, and personal power to move their mountains of choice—and to reinvent the method of shifting them. And they can be fierce in their quests.

Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, for example, was a formidable orator and litigator that nobody wanted to cross. Chief Justice John Roberts admits that the stern expression on Webster’s statue at the Supreme Court intimidated him for years. Other alumni, while more genteel in bringing about their revolutions, have been no less effective. Dartmouth alumni were instrumental in establishing three of the most important museums in the country—the Museum of Modern Art (Nelson Rockefeller, Class of 1930), the American Museum of Natural History (Albert Bickmore, Class of 1860), and the Smithsonian Institution (George Perkins Marsh, Class of 1820).

In celebration of Dartmouth’s 250th anniversary, a faculty panel assembled by Dartmouth Alumni Magazine combed the history books to name the 25 most influential alumni. We’ve decided to share six of their stories here.

Theodor Geisel

ILLUSTRATION BY JOE MCKENDRY

CLASS OF 1925 Author & Artist

No person has made more children happy than Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss).

Upwards of 650 million copies of his 45 books have been published in 20 languages. For decades, children have giggled at the zany doings of Sam I Am, Thing One and Thing Two, Cindy Lou Who, and Mr. Gump (who owned a seven-hump Wump).

But Geisel’s path to literary immortality was decidedly slow. By 1936, 27 publishers had rejected his first book. Geisel was lugging his portfolio home one day, resigned to give up as a writer, when he ran into his old Dartmouth friend Marshall McClintock ’26 on Madison Avenue in New York.

Serendipitously, McClintock had just been hired as a children’s book editor. By day’s end, Geisel had a book deal.

To date, Geisel’s The Cat in the Hat has sold more than seven million copies, making it the ninth bestselling children’s book of all time, according to Publisher’s Weekly, which lists it as one of 15 Seuss titles in its top 100 list.

Seuss, by the way, was Ted Geisel’s middle name, a pseudonym he first used as a contributor to Dartmouth’s humor magazine.

Love of liberty pulses through everything Geisel wrote—perhaps because he knew war firsthand. Assigned to a documentary-filmmaking unit, he was trapped for three days behind enemy lines during the Battle of the Bulge. He courted controversy in 1984 with The Butter Battle Book, which suggested that no nation in a nuclear arms race could claim moral superiority, but Geisel never backed down from his beliefs.

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CLASS OF 1981 Historian

Did Thomas Jefferson father the seven children of his slave Sally Hemings? For two centuries the debate raged. Almost every Jefferson biographer dismissed the story. That is, until historian Annette Gordon-Reed delivered proof.

Gordon-Reed has long been one to upend the status quo. As a firstgrader in East Texas she left the all-black school where her mother taught to become the only black student in a white elementary school. At Dartmouth she served on a committee searching for ways to hire more black faculty.

And it was at Dartmouth that she first delved into the Hemings-Jefferson controversy.

In 1997, during her tenure as a professor at New York Law School, Gordon-Reed put forth the definitive evidence in Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: An American Controversy. The book caused a tremendous stir, but a year later DNA tests vindicated her, indicating that Jefferson almost certainly fathered Hemings’ children. Then in 2008, Gordon-Reed published The Hemingses of Monticello: An American Family. The book blew up long-standing beliefs about slavery, changed the way Monticello approached its past, and forever altered how Americans see the iconic Jefferson.

The Hemingses became one of the most honored books in publishing history, winning 16 major awards, including the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize. President Barack Obama presented her with the National Humanities Medal, The MacArthur Foundation awarded her its “genius grant,” and William & Mary (Jefferson’s alma mater) gave her an honorary degree. Annette Gordon-Reed is now a professor at Harvard Law School.

C. Everett Koop CLASS OF 1937 US Surgeon General

Even before he became the nation’s top doctor, C. Everett Koop was changing the way American medicine was practiced. He began his career as a pediatric surgeon at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 1946, and during the next 35 years developed safer anesthesia techniques for infants and toddlers. He established the nation’s first neonatal surgical intensive care unit where he saved the lives of thousands of children with conditions once considered hopeless.

But C. Everett Koop is most widely remembered as America’s most influential surgeon general. He served from 1982 to 1989, always putting science

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Louise Erdrich CLASS OF 1976 Author

Erdrich arrived in Hanover from her hometown of Wahpeton, North Dakota in red cowboy boots to join Dartmouth’s first coed class. After graduation, she worked odd jobs—waiting tables, editing a newspaper, teaching poetry to inmates—while establishing herself as a poet and short story writer. In 1984, she became a bestselling author with her debut novel Love Medicine, whose “beauty … keeps us from being devastated by its power,” raved Toni Morrison.

A biracial citizen of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Erdrich draws on Anishinaabe oral tradition and Germanic lore in her 30 published books—poetry, memoirs, short fiction, and the 16 epically interwoven novels for which she is most celebrated. “She is, like Faulkner, one of the great American regionalists, bearing the dark knowledge of her place,” Philip Roth once said, referencing the fictional North Dakota reservation where much of her work is set. “She is by now among the very best American writers.”

Today Erdrich, who has won most of America’s top literary honors, runs an independent bookstore in Minneapolis, where she still composes her first drafts by hand. Her latest novel, Future Home of the Living God, published to acclaim, took a dystopian turn, inspiring some to compare her to Kurt Vonnegut. She brushes off comparisons. After all, there will never be another Faulkner or Vonnegut. There will never be another Erdrich, either.

ILLUSTRATIONS BY JOE MCKENDRY, ANNETTE GORDON-REED BY DARTMOUTH COLLEGE/CHRIS MILLIMAN, LOUISE ERDRICH BY JEN ACKERMAN/NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX

Annette GordonReed

and public health above politics and ideology, which meant challenging the Reagan administration’s positions on several controversial issues. Koop authored eye-opening reports that revealed that smoking was a far greater health hazard than previously believed and condemned the tobacco industry’s deceptive advertising practices. He also laid the groundwork for laws that banned smoking in public places. During his watch, the percentage of Americans who smoked fell by nearly 25 percent.

But C. Everett Koop’s greatest achievement may have been educating Americans about AIDS, a then misunderstood disease that threatened to turn into the century’s greatest public health catastrophe. Koop spoke out about intravenous drug use, gay sex, and condom use. “I’m the nation’s doctor, not the nation’s chaplain,” he said, adding that he made policy decisions “dictated by scientific integrity and Christian compassion.” To dispel myths and fight fear, his office sent the plainspoken brochure “Understanding AIDS” to all 107 million US households, the largest mass-mailing in American history.

GEORGE PERKINS MARSH: LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Ernest Everett Just

George Perkins Marsh

CLASS OF 1907 Biologist

CLASS OF 1820 Environmentalist

Born in South Carolina, E. E. Just lost both his father and grandfather by the time he turned four years old. His mother Mary became the sole support of the family, teaching at an African-American school in Charleston. During the summer, she worked in the phosphate mines on James Island. When she noticed acres of vacant land nearby, she persuaded several black families to move there to farm. The town they founded, now part of Charleston, was named Maryville in her honor.

E. E. Just nearly died of typhoid as a child, and the illness was so severe he had to teach himself how to read and write all over again. When he was 16, Mary sent him to a New Hampshire boarding school in the hopes of giving him a better start in life. Later, Just would go to Dartmouth, where he was the sole Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude in his class. One of the first black students to earn a PhD from the University of Chicago, he did most of his research and teaching in Europe because of racism at home.

Just went on to build a laudatory career as a biologist, transforming the world’s understanding of cellular behavior. His study of healthy cells laid a strong foundation for research into sickle cell anemia, leukemia, and cancer.

His extraordinary accomplishments as a scientist were the subject of Kenneth R. Manning’s highly acclaimed 1983 biography Black Apollo of Science: The Life of Ernest Everett Just, which received the Royal Society’s Pfizer Award.

“Man is everywhere a disturbing agent. Wherever he plants his foot, the harmonies of nature are turned to discords.” Written two years before the term “ecology” was coined and over a century before the first Earth Day, George Perkins Marsh’s 1864 book Man and Nature came at a time when people assumed that nature’s bounty was boundless and couldn’t imagine the scale of humanity’s impact on the global climate.

Marsh, whose observations earned him the nickname “The Prophet of Conservation,” saw things differently. He drew upon his proficiency in 20 languages—seven of which he learned at Dartmouth—to document alpine erosion in the Italian alps, the devastating effects of overgrazing and logging in the once-great forests of the Roman Empire, the negative effects on water quality and changed weather patterns around the world, and the cascading side effects of industry.

His lifelong argument that humans were fouling their own nest at a catastrophic rate sparked the Arbor Day movement, inspired the creation of New York’s Adirondack Park, and laid the foundation for the US National Forest System. In these and other efforts, Marsh and contemporaries like John Muir and Henry David Thoreau gave birth to the nation’s environmental consciousness.

A century later, long after Marsh had made his case as a lawyer, sheep farmer, newspaper editor, and member of Congress (where he cut through a decade of partisan bickering to lay out a framework for the creation of the Smithsonian), US Interior Secretary Stewart Udall wrote that Marsh’s Man and Nature was “the beginning of land wisdom in this country.”

Alumni profiles excerpted from Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. Our thanks to George M. Spencer, James Zug ‘91, Jim Collins ‘84, and Savannah Maher ‘17. Review the full list of Dartmouth’s 25 most influential alumni at dartgo.org/25influential.

PHOTOGRAPH PAINTING

BY ROBERT

BY NAME BURNS

Revisiting Dartmouth’s Case for the Greater Good When Daniel Webster, Class of 1801 argued for Dartmouth’s right to serve the public good by operating as a private institution, he was also preserving the ability of every private organization in America—social profit enterprises, corporations, and colleges, too—to operate without government interference.

As part of its 250th anniversary celebration, Dartmouth offered an interdisciplinary course exploring the wide-ranging impacts of the case, highlighted by a two-day trip to the Supreme Court, where students saw former Solicitors General Neal Katyal ’91 and Greg Garre ’87 re-argue the case before Chief Justice John Roberts.

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EMMANUEL AKOSAH ’19 MAJOR: ENGINEERING SCIENCES HOMETOWN: KUMASI, GHANA

& EUGENE SANTOS JR. PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERING

EMMANUEL (MANNY) AKOSAH ’19 AND ENGINEERING PROFESSOR EUGENE (GENE) SANTOS HAVE SPENT THE PAST YEAR WORKING TOGETHER TO DEVELOP MANNY’S UNDERSTANDING OF MACHINE LEARNING, A BRANCH OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE THAT ALLOWS COMPUTERS TO ADAPT THEIR DECISIONS IN RESPONSE TO DATA. MANNY AND GENE SAT DOWN WITH 3D TO DISCUSS THEIR WORK AND THEIR HOPES FOR THE FUTURE.

Gene: Manny basically just popped into my office. He’d been doing some research in computer science and was getting more interested in deeper topics relating to artificial intelligence, so he sought me out. It showed a lot of initiative.

Manny: The first meeting we had was about how I should get started digging in to machine learning. The topic of natural language processing is so rich, we thought that would be a good place to start. I began during spring term and by the end, Gene asked me to present to some of his graduate students.

Manny: My goal is to extend the application of machine learning from just silly filters on our phones to virtually every industry on the planet. As we build more powerful models, we can apply them to tackle problems like climate change, space travel, world hunger. The way I see it, these problems have to be solved by full-scale systematic implementations.

Gene: I haven’t said this to Manny yet, but I’m looking forward to hearing ten years down the line: “Did you know Manny Akosah?” And to be able to say: “Yeah, I actually advised him.”

What do you appreciate most about working together?

Gene: Manny got funding from the Undergraduate Advising and Research office to work full time over the summer. He spent it getting his hands dirty with the basic ideas. Now we’re just letting the reins loose. There are so many directions he can go in with the knowledge he’s developed so far; I think the floodgates will open up.

Manny: When I started getting interested in machine learning and began delving into it more deeply, I realized Gene’s been in the field since before I was born.

What would opening up the floodgates look like?

Manny: I can’t tell you how much I value just being able to walk in and talk to him. Last week, one of my questions reminded him of an old problem, and he gave me papers he was working on in the ’80s and ’90s. I know that’s a memory that’s going to stick.

Gene: Machine learning offers great tools, and you can probably already see how they’ve changed the world. Who would have thought a few years ago that using a facial recognition system to unlock your phone would be an everyday thing? It’s more than just pattern recognition. We’re looking at how language works. It’s about understanding what the human mind is doing. It’s about understanding human intelligence.

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Gene: You’re making me feel way too old …

Gene: My favorite part about mentorship is generating new ideas. I find it enthralling to see a different point of view, especially when there’s a really strong basis to the argument. Teaching and education is a two-way street — I live for these things. I’m just happy Manny tracked me down.

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

How did you two start working together?

Pictured: In front of Thayer School of Engineering

COURSE

What are Dartmouth students studying?

In every issue, we feature a class plucked somewhat randomly from a deep reservoir of fascinating courses.

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BIO11.07–The History of Life and the Human Genome

Riddle me this: the origin of life, the rise of atmospheric oxygen, and human language acquisition—how do you connect these topics in a single 10-week course? The answer lies in analyzing the human genome itself. BIO11.07 journeys through major events in the evolution of life on Earth by examining molecular fossils encoded within human chromosomes. It’s one of three sections of BIO11, the pre-foundational course that biology majors—or explorers like me—usually start with. Each introduces key concepts in biology through a different lens.

What truly makes a great class, however, is not just a fascinating topic, but a dedicated mentor. In preparation for the course, Professor Kevin Peterson read more than a thousand scientific papers and spent a whole year developing the PowerPoint presentations for class. He takes the time to craft dynamic and unusual assignments that bring topics to life, including a weeklong take-home midterm that challenged us to explore recent discoveries in biology and a homework assignment that gave us access to human and Neanderthal genomes.

Before BIO11.07, I thought biology involved lots of memorization and a dogmatic perspective. At Dartmouth, I was proven wrong. Professor Peterson trains us to think like scientists—creatively, analytically, and outside the box.

Each lecture is a puzzle, a detective story that resolves at the end, adding yet another layer of complexity to the mystery of life on Earth. The only prerequisites are genuine curiosity and the willingness to deal with uncertainty. The biggest takeaway, perhaps, is that all of us left BIO11.07 with the skills to approach problems as more open-minded, inquisitive, and nuanced individuals.

— Ioana Andrada Pantelimon ‘22

PHOTOGRAPHS BY DON HAMERMAN

ON

JULIA HUEBNER ’20

“I want curious people at my school because I like learning from my peers, and I want kind people at my school because I like learning from my peers,” says Julia Huebner ’20, describing the two qualities she values most in the Dartmouth community. In doing so, she actually sketches a succinct portrait of herself. Julia’s passionate curiosity has carried her through classes in more than 15 departments, an internship at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and a pre-MBA crash course. Genuinely impressed by one of the professors who taught the course, Julia followed up with her. Their casual conversations morphed into a research project on the correlation between weather and customer satisfaction.

Originally, Julia arrived at Dartmouth excited about journalism: “For a long time, I wanted to be on the front page of The New York Times,” she laughs. “But the more I wrote, the more I realized that this may not be what I want to do.” Julia rechanneled her path towards an intriguing combination of design thinking and history. She discovered her passion for human-centered design during her freshman fall when she took ENGS12: Design Thinking.

Two years later she was the lead TA for the course. “I became a big follower of design thinking from the get-go,” she reflects.

“The methodology, which integrates strategy, product design, consumer insights, and consumer psychology, is super interesting.

It’s interdisciplinary, and it can be applied to anything.” Following a long process of trial and error, Julia picked history as a major for its nuanced account of human life and the attached political, economic, and social implications that center it around the human experience.

Though Julia appreciates the inquisitive, creative minds she’s found at Dartmouth, it was the kindness she experienced while touring campus that drew her in. “Out of all the colleges I visited, Dartmouth stood out because the members of the community made the greatest effort to get to know me as a person,” she remembers. A friend of a friend on campus, who was celebrating her 19th birthday, took Julia everywhere, including her own birthday party. Now a vibrant part of Dartmouth’s community, Julia spreads kindness in her own way, often taking the time to write thank you notes to her professors.

Although diverse, the uniting threads of Julia’s intellectual and social pursuits lie in her intense curiosity and her human-centered approach. Asked to briefly describe herself, Julia mentions mentee and mentor, strategist, thinker, and hiker. While these identities are representative of who she is, she leaves out the two that make her a valued community member: her own curiosity and kindness.

—Ioana Andrada Pantelimon ’22

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Pictured: Atop Mount Ascutney in Vermont, a short drive from Dartmouth

PHOTOGRAPH

BY NAME PHOTOGRAPH

BY DON HAMERMAN

MAJOR: HISTORY WITH A MINOR IN HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN HOMETOWN: CHICAGO, IL

Through a Human-Centered Lens

Committed to Supporting the Entire Experience In addition to a commitment to meet full demonstrated need for all undergraduate students, Dartmouth provides resources to ensure that all students have full access to the Dartmouth experience, regardless of their background.

50K

50

Financial Aid travels with you when you study abroad or off campus

Enrichment funds and resources are available for: First-Year Trips, PE classes, research, internships, & more

$

+

Percentage of Class of 2022 on financial aid

106M

$

Amount given in scholarship aid for the 2018–19 year

Students from 43 countries were offered financial aid in the last two years

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Average grant is over $50K

%

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PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Courses of Study The liberal arts shape the Dartmouth experience, creating an academic culture imbued with critical thinking and creativity. One that promotes experimentation, reflection, learning, and leadership.

A curriculum where poetry and neuroscience are natural partners and collaboration across disciplines happens organically. A course of study without boundaries. Forget the intellectual lines people draw. You won’t find them here.

African and African American Studies Ancient History Anthropology Applied Mathematics for Biological and Social Sciences m Applied Mathematics for Physical and Engineering Sciences m Art History Asian Societies, Cultures and Languages Astronomy Biological Chemistry M Biology Biomedical Engineering Sciences M Biophysical Chemistry M Chemistry Classical Archaeology Classical Languages and Literatures Classical Studies Cognitive Science M Comparative Literature M Complex Systems m Computational Methods m Computer Science Digital Arts m

Dartmouth’s theater major starts with the principle that the theory and practice of theater are inseparable and mutually beneficial. Classes like “Human Rights and Performance” inform Main Stage productions of Cabaret that then inspire innovative ideas in classes on lighting design.

Along the way, students explore disciplines across the arts and humanities while building lifelong skills in collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking.

Earth Sciences Economics Education m Engineering Physics M Engineering Sciences English Environmental Earth Sciences Environmental Science m Environmental Studies Film and Media Studies French French Studies M Geography German Studies Global Health m Government History Human-Centered Design m International Studies m Italian Italian Studies M Jewish Studies m Latin American, Latino and Caribbean Studies Linguistics Markets, Management, and the Economy m Materials Science m Mathematical Biology m Mathematical Finance m Mathematical Logic m Mathematical Physics m Mathematical Data Science M Mathematics Medieval and Renassiance Studies m Middle Eastern Studies Music Native American Studies Neuroscience Operations Research m Philosophy

Portuguese (Lusophone Studies) Physics Psychology Public Policy m Quantitative Social Science Religion Romance Languages M Romance Studies M Russian Russian Area Studies Social Inequalities m Sociology Spanish (Hispanic Studies) Statistics m Studio Art Sustainability m Theater Urban Studies m Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies m = minor only M = major only

Can’t decide what to study? It’s not uncommon for Dartmouth students to double major or modify their major.

A modified major consists of 10 courses, six in one field and four in a second— or even third—field. For example, you could modify your biology major with anthropology, public policy, or mathematics, among others.

Financial aid can be confusing.

We’re working to make it less so.

The MyinTuition Quick College Cost Estimator asks only six questions to provide an early estimate of what a year at Dartmouth could cost for your family. Go to dartgo.org/quickcost to get help anticipating your college costs.

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NICOLA CAMERLENGHI ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ART HISTORY

Professor Camerlenghi found his area of focus simply by repeating the question: “What happened before?” Inspired by an introductory architectural history class, he found himself focusing on increasingly older buildings. From an eighteenth-century undergraduate thesis to a sixteenth-century master’s thesis and a thoroughly medieval PhD dissertation, his curiosity kept driving him further into the past. But Camerlenghi’s work is hardly antiquated. In his current research, he merges medieval architecture with cutting-edge technology to rehabilitate contemporary views of a time period he feels is misunderstood.

“We are biased to think that whatever is not the classical tradition—either in initial form or as revived in the Renaissance— is crap,” he says. “In reality, the European medieval period was revolutionary: new ideas, massive migrations, literally new blood mixed with established cultures. It was exciting, unprecedented, and a thousand years long.” He is fond of shining a bright light on the period’s noteworthy achievements. “Think architecturally.

This is not a ‘dark’ age. No one forgot the lights. We built covered spaces the size of football fields, buildings of which we are still in awe. Cathedrals, palaces, mosques—these structures are not insignificant. They deserve attention.”

Key to his quest is resurrecting visually what has been lost to the ages. “We want to share this work, viscerally,” he explains, “not just through articles in a journal.” One project is Mapping Rome, a multi-institution collaboration that combines archival scholarship with digital innovation through a team of art historians and programmers, many of them Dartmouth students. The goal is to create a map and an interface that allow students and scholars to experience Rome, street-by-street, through the centuries.

In another project, Professor Camerlenghi is developing a 3D virtual reality panorama of St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, a basilica that burned down in 1823. Some might think it lost to history— but not Camerlenghi. Stitching together old paintings, drawings, descriptions, and contemporary buildings, he partnered with computer programmers to create a digital interface that, when viewed through special goggles, presents the viewer with the thousand-year-old interior of the church. The experience is akin to being suspended midair in a stadium-sized basilica rendered in detail that is so vivid and realistic, those who experience the digital rendering say they can practically hear choirs singing and children fidgeting in the pews. A dynamic combination of history and innovation, Nick Camerlenghi’s work brings past centuries into the present so that the wider world can appreciate what the innovators of the day contributed to humankind.

—Sarah Lehan ’20

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Past Pictured: Outside of Baker-Berry Library

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

Forward

POINTS

MUSINGS ON THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS

DEPARTURE

You will take classes with them, eat dinner with them, learn with them, argue with them, find support with them, and grow with them. To give you an authentic sense of who might surround you here at Dartmouth, we’re sharing introductions from seven members of the Class of 2023—students who could someday turn out to be your classmates. In fact, these are actual excerpts from their answers to the question “Why Dartmouth” on their college applications.

ILLUSTRATION BY JAN KALLWEJT

Your time in college will be shaped by the people who surround you.

OF

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I CAN’T THINK OF ANOTHER PLACE WHERE I CAN DOCUMENT GROUNDHOG SWIMMING BEHAVIOR ON THE CONNECTICUT RIVER BANK IN THE MORNING AND THEN DESIGN AWARD-WINNING FORMULA ONE RACING CARS IN MY SPARE AFTERNOONS. DARTMOUTH’S IMMERSION IN NATURE OFFERS MANY OPPORTUNITIES FOR A UNIQUE ENCOUNTER—A HANDS-ON, FIELD RESEARCH-TYPE SCIENCE THAT I’VE NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE.”

As an aspiring scientist who paints landscapes and dies over Yayoi Kusama exhibitions, I embrace the STEM to STEAM movement and adore that Dartmouth emphasizes interdisciplinary learning. I see myself researching the science of creativity or coding an app that analyzes the physics behind sculptures, aspiring to join Dartmouth’s tradition of finding magic in the collision of disparate ideas.”

As I walked the sidewalks of Main Street and East Wheelock, I couldn’t help but notice the way that each student carried themselves. I was overwhelmed by the sense of warmth I felt with each student I met. It’s this feeling of community that continually beckons my return to Hanover.”

MY MOTHER ALWAYS ENCOURAGED US TO GO SEEK OUR FORTUNES. I’VE ALWAYS YEARNED FOR ADVENTURE, HOPING TO FIND TREASURE IN THE CORNERS OF THE WORLD. DARTMOUTH PROVIDES ME WITH OVER 70 EXCEPTIONAL OFF-CAMPUS STUDY PROGRAMS THROUGH THE GUARINI INSTITUTE FOR INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION. WITH DARTMOUTH, I HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEEK MY FORTUNE ANYWHERE FROM THE WOODS OF NEW HAMPSHIRE TO THE STREETS OF BANGKOK.”

Surrounded by women in the engineering classes I visited, I felt empowered. After ENGS22, I saw one student explaining a challenging math problem to another, tailoring her explanation to his understanding and continuing until he grasped the concept. This unique culture of mutual success convinced me Dartmouth is the place I belong.”

Walking into the women’s cross-country locker room, I was overwhelmed with emotion. The Abby D’Agostino poster, various self-painted renditions of Lone Pines, and inspirational quotes written on sticky notes presented a blend of rich history and tradition. I felt a sense of family, pride, and appreciation that culminated into love for the school.”

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GRAHAM SISSON ’21 MAJOR: UNDECIDED HOMETOWN: MEMPHIS, TN

Like many first-year students, Graham Sisson ’21 came to Dartmouth entirely unsure of his academic interests. When perusing the open houses of each department, he used the criteria of any student electing classes: “This class sounds intriguing, the department is fascinating, and the professor has an awesome beard,” he laughs. “Let’s do it.”

Graham’s openness to new things drew him from his small high school outside Memphis to Dartmouth, where his school size grew tenfold. “During orientation, it was somewhat overwhelming,” Graham reflects. “But pretty quickly, I met people through classes and the clubs I’m involved with, and it started to feel really manageable.” Graham’s experience with First-Year Trips, Dartmouth’s pre-orientation outdoor program, was a valuable starting point: “I absolutely loved my First-Year Trip and developed a solid group of friends during the experience. Now, when I walk across the Green, I know I’ll see friends. You quickly get a feeling of home here.”

That comfort gave Graham the confidence to explore broadly.

After experimenting with courses in human-centered design and geography, he discovered environmental studies. “Every class in that department sounded interesting, and the outdoors have been a huge part of my upbringing,” Graham says. During class, a lecture on ecological economics gave Graham a lightbulb moment. “Even though I didn’t have a background in economics, talking with the lecturer afterward helped me realize I was super into that intersection. Environmental studies is such an interdisciplinary program, so I was really able to connect those two mindspaces.”

Dartmouth’s size, described by Graham as “not too big, not too small,” empowered him to forge meaningful connections with his professors. “Dartmouth’s focus on undergraduate teaching was a big deal for me. I knew that I would be able to foster the same quality of relationships that I’d had with my teachers back home.” Graham’s geography professor exemplifies this connection: “He’s a leader in his field doing some really cool research, but he was also hilarious and fun to talk to. During office hours, he was happy to answer my questions beyond what would just help my grade.”

Outside the classroom is a similar story. Between ultimate frisbee, Christian Union, and rock climbing, his eclectic pastimes allow him to engage deeply with many facets of Dartmouth’s diverse student body. “It’s not just people who look like me or who are from the same part of the world as me,” he notes. “I get to experience an entirely new culture and environment.” By expanding his worldview and engaging his passions, Graham is doing more than just experiencing Dartmouth’s culture: he’s shaping it.

—Kaj Johnson ’22

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Frien Pictured: In one of Dartmouth’s indoor tracks, located in West Gym

PHOTOGRAPH BY DON HAMERMAN

dly Terms

: Finding our voices Just past Dartmouth’s Shattuck Observatory and the North Park cluster of classically collegiate dorms sits a serene clearing in the woods called the BEMA (which colloquially stands for Big Empty Meeting Area). Like many corners of campus, this one is peaceful, and it always feels like I’ve found a spot all my own. Perhaps what’s most special about the BEMA, though, is an event that only happens once a year.

During Orientation, incoming first-years enter the BEMA to the cheers of the upperclass students lining the pine-needle-paved pathway. The new class lights candles, passing the flame to the person beside them. Once through to the clearing, the class unites in singing the alma mater.

It’s the first time they hear how strong their voices can be together, weaving the disparate threads of their perspectives, ideas, and experiences into a shared and open community. It won’t be the last. I’m already looking forward to repeating the tradition, as all classes do, the night before graduation, surrounded by the lifelong friends I’ve made.

I love going back to the BEMA on walks with my friends. We’re brought back to that wonderful time and place where all of Dartmouth stretched out before us.

—Caroline Cook ‘21

Note: The officers of the College believe that the information contained herein is accurate as of the date of publication, and they know of no significant changes to be made at the College in the near future. However, Dartmouth reserves the right to make, from time to time, such changes in its operations, programs, and activities as the Trustees, faculty, and officers consider appropriate and in the best interests of the Dartmouth community.

Equal Opportunity: Dartmouth is committed to the principle of equal opportunity for all its students, faculty, staff, and applicants for admission and employment. For that reason, Dartmouth prohibits any form of discrimination against any person on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, sexual orientation, marital or parental status, national origin, citizenship, disability, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other legally protected status in the administration of and access to the College’s programs and activities, and in conditions of admission and employment. Dartmouth adheres to all applicable state and federal equal opportunity laws and regulations.

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Produced by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions of Dartmouth College Editor: Hayden Lizotte Production Editor: Sara D. Morin Contributing Editor: Topher Bordeau Writing/Editing: Thurston-Lighty, Ltd. Design: Hecht/Horton Partners

PHOTOGRAPH BY JOSHUA RENAUD

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On January 12, 2019, buildings and landmarks around the world went green to celebrate Dartmouth’s 250th year. As CNN anchor Jake Tapper ’91 and actor David Harbour ’97 hosted “Greenlighting Day,” the Empire State Building and One World Trade Center glowed green just outside. Meanwhile, Dartmouth alumni around the world celebrated by illuminating landmarks like the Saraswati Temple in Hampi, India, CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, and the Great Wheel in Seattle, Washington, among others.