Alex Latham’09
Engineering Sciences
F08-S09 D-plan: R-R-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: Engineering is in many ways a double edged sword. By far and away, the professors are what make the engineering department so amazing. One would be hard pressed to find a group more dedicated to their students. However, the same dedication is often expected from the students. Engineering courses are extremely time and effort intensive, especially since most of them have labs. The labs, as well, have their good and bad sides. While some of the labs can be tedious and all of them are long, for the most part, they are interesting, well organized, and help with learning the material. Everyone works hard in the engineering department, but they get a lot out of it at the same time.

Important info for potential majors: Plan ahead! While the requirements for the major are flexible, it is your responsibility to tailor your course load to the field of engineering you’re interested in. Also, many of the courses are sequenced and only offered certain terms. Look through the ORC, decide what courses you’d like to take, and then make a spreadsheet of when you’ll take each course. Don’t end up taking courses you’re not interested in just to fulfill the major.

Talk to me if: you’re interested in Electrical Engineering; though, like most Dartmouth engineers, I know a little about each of the main fields of engineering.

Most valuable academic information learned: An engineering degree is in many ways an advanced technical degree, and, for that reason, what you learn in the classroom is often directly related to what you will do when you start working. In the short term, the most valuable knowledge for me has been lab skills. Knowing one’s way around the lab, being able to use all of the equipment, and having basic troubleshooting/ debugging skills is invaluable at internships.

Favorite class and professor: Though I’ve enjoyed most of my engineering classes, my favorite would most likely be Engs 32, Intro. Analog and Digital Electronics. It was well taught, and I happen to really enjoy designing/prototyping analog circuits. As for my favorite professor, that would be Prof. Hansen. He puts a lot of time into making his classes the best they can be. He’ll work you hard, but you’ll learn a lot.

Major classes taken: MATH 15.1, 15.2, 23; PHYS 13, 14, 19, 43; CHEM 5; ENGS 20, 21, 22, 24, 26, 31, 32, 33

Major journey: After my freshman year, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be an engineering or physics major. In order to help myself make the decision, I took upper level courses in both disciplines my sophomore fall. In the end, I found that what I had really enjoyed in physics was the problem solving. While upper level physics courses tend toward theory, engineering courses continue to be about problem solving and practical application.

Major specific activities: Engs 20 TA, Engs Workshop Leader P13

Thesis status: I’m intending to do an Honors thesis, but I have yet to decide on the topic. It will most likely be within the field of electrical engineering.

Other activities: Alpha Chi Alpha- Houseman; Ultimate

Off Campus Program: German LSA in Berlin, 06W

Internship experience: OLPC (One Laptop per Child); Intern (QA engineer); 07F; Cambridge, MA Allegro Microsystems; Intern (Systems engineer); 08X; Manchester, NH

Charnice Barbour’10
Engineering Sciences
F08-S09 D-plan: R-O-L

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: My favorite thing about being in the engineering department is that you really build a sense of community. You tend to take your pre-requisites and your major classes with most of the same people, so you really get to know each other. Also, the professors and the people working in Thayer are amazing. They are very friendly and willing to help you out in any kind of way.

Important info for potential majors: Start your pre-reqs early because they do take a while to complete. Also, some of the classes can be very time consuming, especially those with projects.

Talk to me if: you want to incorporate other things with your major such as the WISP program, LSA’s, etc…Also, if you are concerned with being a woman or even a minority in this major.

Most valuable academic information learned: The most valuable information I learned was never to fall behind in your classes. It can be very hard to catch up, so if you do, talk with your professors.

Favorite class and professor: My favorite class so far was Engs 21 with Professor John Collier. You really learn the fundamentals to solving a problem in this class. Plus, Collier is such an amazing guy who really wants to see you succeed

Major classes taken: Engs 21, 22, 31

Major journey: My interest in engineering started when I was in high school because my school was based on math and science. I enjoyed the basic engineering classes I took, so when I came to Dartmouth I decided to stay on that path.

Other activities: African American Society – Financial Secretary; Link –Up; Programming Board; Math tutor

Off Campus Program: Italian LSA in Rome, 08S and Exchange Program in Thailand, 09W

Internship experience: I am a WISP intern in the BioMedical Engineering department at Thayer School working under John Collier and Kimberly Lyford. I interned there in 08W measuring and analyzing the wear of Nexgen knee replacements. Currently, I am working with a grad student on testing the mechanical properties of PCL knee replacements.

Greg Detwiler ’09
Engineering Sciences
F08-S09 D-plan: R-R-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: The engineering department has a lot of very engaged professors and a great support system. Engineering career services is great at helping you find internships and perfecting your resume. Another great thing about engineering is the direct interaction you have with upperclassmen and grad students- a benefit unique to the department. My least favorite part of the department is that with so many classes for both the A.B. and B.E., I haven’t been able to take as many electives as most people do.

Important info for potential majors: Get started early with prerequisites. It’s good to get them out of the way freshman year so that you have plenty of time to complete the major and even get started on your B.E. They provide the basis for most of the major classes and also they will be easier while you are still fresh with the material from high school.

Talk to me if: you’re interested in controls or off-term research.

Most valuable academic information learned: The most important academic lesson I’ve learned at college was how to budget my time and prioritize my obligations. By scheduling specific times for both academics and socializing, I have been able to maintain a good work/life balance, despite the rigor of classes. Also getting started early on big problem sets goes a long way in reducing stress (and mistakes).

Favorite class and professor: I really enjoyed Engs 26, Control Theory, with Professor Reza Olfati-Saber. We got to do several fun lab experiments, including the coolest lab I have done to this point- levitating a metal ball in a magnetic field. This class introduced me to mechanical control and I found out that it was a topic I really enjoy.

Major classes taken: ENGS 20, 21, 22, 25, 26, 31, 33, 76, 145; MATH 23

Major journey: I came to Dartmouth knowing that I wanted to do engineering. Both my dad and my sister are in the engineering field and with my interest in applied math and science, engineering was a natural choice.

Major-specific activities: Bio-tech Research, Presidential Scholars Program

Other activities: Phi Delt- House Manager, Rush Chairman; Rugby; Academic Tutoring

Off Campus Program: German LSA in Berlin, 07S

Internship experience: Dean & Company: Strategy Consultants. Summer Analyst. 08X. Washington, DC.

Joseph Friedman ’09
Engineering Sciences Major concentrating in Electrical Engineering (BE), Math minor.
F08-S09 D-plan: R-R-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: The interdisciplinary nature of the Engineering Sciences department has some very unique positive and negative effects. We learn about a wide variety of Engineering concentrations, unlike Engineering curricula at most colleges that force students to immediately specialize in a particular field. This creates a relatively flexible program for students, allowing students to choose their specialization gradually. It is also useful because the knowledge acquired about other related topics will certainly be applicable to future projects, but limiting because we must choose classes outside of our concentration instead of delving more deeply into our concentration. Most professors are very available outside of class, and classes usually have between 10 and 30 people, but Engineering certainly requires a lot of work.

Important info for potential majors: The earlier you plan what classes to take the better, especially if you plan to complete the BE. If you are going to do Engineering, try to get the prerequisites out of the way as soon as possible. Engineering is not an easy major, but it can be very fulfilling.

Talk to me if: you're interested in Electrical Engineering or you plan to complete the BE.

Most valuable academic information learned: When a class has a prerequisite, it is there for a reason. Talk to the professor before you enroll in order to figure out if you are well-prepared for the class. Also, consider using the non-recording option (NRO) on the Math, Physics, and Chemistry prerequisite classes, as those might end up being the most appropriate times to use them.

Favorite class and professor: Engineering 61 with Professor Trembly – It was a fairly difficult class, but it was exactly what I was interested in. I liked his teaching style and thought he challenged us with difficult but reasonable expectations. He was very accessible outside class, and was usually around until 10 or 11 pm the day before problem sets were due, which was very helpful. The final project reinforced what we learned during the course very well.

Major classes taken: ENGS 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 31, 32, 33, 61, 91, 122; MATH 13, 39, 43

Major journey: I came to Dartmouth planning on double-majoring in Engineering Sciences and Mathematics, and I sought out to complete the BE in 4-years. After my sophomore fall, I decided to pursue a Math minor instead of a Math major, and I am currently on pace to complete the BE as planned.

Major specific activities: Engineering Workshops for Math 13

Other activities: Cross Country/Track & Field, Bones Gate Fraternity, Hillel-Executive Board, Chabad-Gabbi, Republican Club

Internship experience: Sophomore summer, I was a Software Engineering Intern at Tele Atlas in Lebanon, NH. I worked with their Product Engineering team to develop methods to test code for failures. Junior summer, I was a research intern at Columbia University in New York City. I worked with an Electrical Engineering professor on circuit design problems.

Kathryn Boucher ’09
Engineering BE
F08-S09 D-plan: R-R-R

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: FAVORITE: The engineering department has a wonderful sense of community; classes are small, professors make themselves very available for help, and teamwork and group projects help one to really get to know other students. It’s also a department in which there are many graduate students who take classes and work on problem sets with undergraduates, so there are plenty of older mentors and diverse academic backgrounds present in classes.
LEAST FAVORITE: Some classes run infrequently

Important info for potential majors: The engineering major is a lot of work, but is well worth it if you’re passionate about problem solving, excited about science and motivated enough to explore which convergence(s) of the two are really interesting to you. Plan ahead and get pre-requisites done early so that you can capitalize one some of the upper-level or new courses.

Talk to me if: you’re interested in chemical/biochemical engineering or need help planning coursework.

Most valuable academic information learned: If you need help, ask for help. It’s a great way to get to know your classmates and professors, and most members of the Thayer community are happy to share knowledge and talk about interesting problems. Also, because engineering is a lot of work, it’s important to learn to analyze a problem, identify road-blocks, and get more information or assistance in order to get everything done.

Favorite class and professor: Engineering 23 with Professor Hansen was a great course. It really taught me to take the time to analyze a problem thoroughly and to make sure that my solutions were well-aligned with my conceptual knowledge of a problem.

Major classes taken: ENGS 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 34, 35, 36, 103, 156, 157, 158, 161, 190, 199, 290 (Protein engineering).

Major journey: I came to Dartmouth planning to be a chemistry major, but quickly realized that I was most interested in the practical applications of chemistry. My first class in the engineering department was Engs 21, which is an intense, term-long group project with four major reports and presentations. I loved the combination of technical work, teamwork, and reporting, and decided to make engineering my major.

Major specific activities: Engineering workshops leader for Math 3, 8, and 13.

Thesis status: None planned

Internship experience: I worked at Adimab, an antibody engineering start-up in Lebanon, NH, in the high throughput screening department throughout my junior year. During my junior summer, I worked at Resource Systems Group as a summer associate consultant.

Marc Shapiro ’10
A.B./B.E. Engineering
F08-S09 D-plan: R-R-O

Favorite and least favorite thing about department: The engineering school teaches you how to think. You are given the tools of innovation, then given the opportunity to use them. Unfortunately, learning all these tools requires a good amount of work.

Important info for potential majors: If you are at all interested in this stuff, you’ll be fine. Engineering requires a dedication that’s not present in many other disciplines. Engineering is easily the best major at Dartmouth, but you have to get excited by this stuff or else it's painful.

Talk to me if: you are interested in sustainable design or a “green” engineering major.

Most valuable academic information learned: Go to study sessions and office hours. Don’t let your ego get in your way.

Favorite class and professor: Thermodynamics, ENGS 25, with Horst Richter. Professor Richter is an incredibly lucid professor of a subject commonly regarded as impossible to learn.

Major classes taken: ENGS 20, 21, 22, 25, 31, 33; MATH 23; ASTRO 15

Other activities: Coordinator of ECO, Mountaineering Club

Off Campus Program: University of Sydney, Winter ’08. Transferred to the land down under for a term.

Internship experience: The Boulevard Group, working on a job for the Newark Housing Authority. Architectural Librarian, Newark, NJ.