Emily Liu '24

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Emily Liu

Engineering a Sustainable Future

Emily Liu '24, a Mechanical Engineering major pursuing both a BA and BE who is from Shanghai, China, has made significant strides in sustainability and renewable energy during her time at Dartmouth. Her journey, marked by hands-on experiences and a passion for clean technology, exemplifies the interdisciplinary approach fostered by the Irving Institute for Energy and Society.

Transformative Experiences

Emily's engagement with the Irving Institute came through two main avenues: her participation in TuckLAB: Energy and her involvement with Dartmouth Humanitarian Engineering (DHE). "I'm personally interested in sustainability and renewable energy, and I took TuckLAB: Energy to learn more about that topic," Emily explains. Her awareness of Irving's role in funding engineering projects in clean and renewable energy grew through DHE's Uganda project, which received support from Irving's student grant program.

Among the many programs offered by Irving, Emily highlights TuckLAB: Energy as particularly impactful. "I was definitely very interested in impact and sustainability, but I hadn't met a ton of people who worked in that space or in that kind of career path until I was doing TuckLAB: Energy," she reflects. The program exposed her to numerous guest speakers from the energy industry, providing valuable insights into potential career paths. "It really helped me feel more confident about where I was going as an engineer," Emily adds.

This exposure catalyzed Emily's pursuit of opportunities in the clean tech sector. During her junior winter, she worked at a solar materials startup called Alumina, which she discovered through Breakthrough Energy Ventures, an investment group founded by Bill Gates that focuses on funding clean tech startups.

Academic Highlights

Emily's coursework at Dartmouth has been instrumental in shaping her understanding of energy systems and sustainability. She particularly highlights two courses:

1. ENGS 174 (Energy Conversion) with Professor Mark Laser: This senior fall course allowed Emily to develop a renewable energy plan for a USA-based island community. "It was a really great opportunity to look at a building or center or community and think about how they can decarbonize," she explains.

2. ENGS 89/90 (Capstone Project): Emily's team put together a solar plan for Dartmouth. This project provided valuable insights into the complexities of renewable energy implementation. "It was actually a great study in how solar isn't the answer to everything and just kind of the different trade-offs that are involved in decarbonization," Emily reflects.

Another standout course for Emily was ENGS 76, which she took in her senior fall. The course involved designing and building robots, providing a holistic engineering challenge. "It was really great to put together what I've learned all these different things on paper into an actual realistic engineering project," Emily says. She particularly appreciated Professor Hillary Johnson's thoughtful approach to helping students grow in confidence as engineers.

Looking to the Future

After graduation, Emily plans to pursue a Master of Engineering at Dartmouth, focusing on mechanical engineering. Her long-term career aspirations lie in the clean tech sector. "I'm definitely interested in working in clean tech again, and I'm pretty open-minded about what kind of technology to look at," she says, mentioning areas like carbon capture, electron transportation, and clean energy generation as potential fields of interest.

Advice for Future Students

For incoming freshmen, Emily emphasizes the importance of persistence and openness to new experiences. Reflecting on her own journey with DHE, she advises, "Don't be afraid to try things and also it's really not the end of the world when you get rejected from something, you can always apply again." She shares her personal experience of initially not being accepted into DHE as a freshman, but later becoming one of the club's presidents in her junior year. Emily also highlights the value of diverse experiences, mentioning her involvement in an improv comedy group, Casual Thursday, as another important community at Dartmouth.