Anna Hugney '24

Engineering a Sustainable Future

Anna Hugney '24, a Mechanical Engineering major with a minor in Earth Sciences who hails from western Massachusetts, has made the most of her time at Dartmouth by diving deep into sustainability and climate change mitigation. Her focus on "technology and strategies to mitigate climate change" has led her to exciting projects both on and off campus.

Hands-On Experience in Uganda

Anna's involvement with Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering (DHE) during her sophomore year opened doors to real-world applications of her studies. "We've applied a few times to get money from Irving through the student grant program," Anna explains. This funding enabled her to travel to Uganda last summer to implement an engineering prototype at Uganda Christian University.

The project, a collaboration with Ugandan engineering students, involved designing and implementing a solar thermal hot water system for the university's cafeteria. "What this does is cost effectively preheat water and displace some amount of firewood consumption," Anna explains. The system addresses multiple issues, including reducing carbon emissions, mitigating health risks from indoor cooking with firewood, and combating deforestation in Uganda.

Bridging Classroom and Real-World Applications

Anna's academic journey at Dartmouth has been enriched by courses that complement her hands-on experiences. She highlights two courses in particular:

1. Sustainable Design (ENGS 44) with Professor Karolina Kawiaka: "The goal of the class is to design a net-zero sustainable building with a lot of real-world constraints," Anna explains. "It's a really great class for thinking about sustainability holistically."

2. Introduction to Environmental Engineering (ENGS 37): This course exposed Anna to various climate technologies, reinforcing concepts she encountered in her practical work.

Anna also participated in the TuckLAB: Energy program, which she found "really awesome." The program allowed her to explore the Inflation Reduction Act and consider energy issues from a policy perspective, broadening her understanding beyond pure engineering.

Looking to the Future

Anna is set to embark on an exciting career path in climate technology. "I'm going to do a summer internship at a carbon capture company in San Francisco called Heirloom Carbon," she shares. "I'll be working on their mechanical engineering team."

Anna's interest in carbon capture, particularly direct air capture, stems from its status as an emerging technology. Looking beyond the internship, she plans to either pursue a full-time position at Heirloom Carbon or explore other engineering or consulting roles in decarbonization.

Advice for Future Students

For incoming first-year students, Anna emphasizes the importance of exploring various sustainability-focused groups on campus. "There's a lot of different ways to get involved in sustainability at Dartmouth, and I think it's worthwhile to try out several of them," she advises. She encourages students to find where their passion lies and commit to it, noting that it's never too late to get involved.

Anna also stresses the value of being open to new opportunities, sharing her own experience of becoming a first-year program manager for the Sustainability Office in her senior year.