Energy and energy systems shape how we power our homes, structure our finances and economy, write our laws, and sustain our communities. At Dartmouth, students find their place in all of it.
The Irving Institute offers curricular and experiential programming for undergraduate students to engage with all aspects of energy and energy systems through bootcamps on Clean Energy Finance and Electricity Grids and Markets; the week-long TuckLAB: Energy program; immersion trips to Appalachia; Student Grants supporting internships and research; the Sustainable Energy Track minor; Energy Justice Course and Energy Justice Clinic. Each year, students arrive curious and leave with direction.
"Once you ignite that spark of curiosity, the momentum to learn more, engage more, connect more—it just gets stronger," said Amanda Graham, Director of Academic Programs and the Master of Energy Transition program. "Watching these students channel their interests and skills into a true passion is one of the greatest joys of our work here."
On May 20th, members of the undergraduate Class of 2026 who engaged with the Irving Institute during their time at Dartmouth gathered for an End-of-Year Celebration alongside faculty affiliates, graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, staff, and campus partners. We caught up with a few of them about what they learned, what shifted, and where they're headed next.
Double Major: Government modified with Philosophy and Economics; and Environmental Studies
Hometown: Hong Kong
Q. How have you been involved with the Irving Institute?
A. I attended both the Clean Energy Finance Bootcamp and the Electricity Grids and Markets Bootcamp, participated in the Appalachia Energy Immersion Trip, received an Irving Student Grant, and served as president of the Dartmouth Energy Alliance.
Q. How has your understanding of energy and energy systems evolved during your time at Dartmouth?
A. The turning point came in two parts. First, Steve Peterson's class, ENGS 19.01 Future of Energy Systems, gave me a systems-level framework—showing how technology, policy, and markets interact in the clean energy transition.
Then, my Irving‑sponsored internship at Gobi Partners put that framework into action: I saw how venture capital can fund and scale clean-tech innovations with both speed and impact. I realized that transformative energy solutions don't just need good science—they need capital deployed strategically to move from lab to market. That's when I understood my role wasn't just to build one solution but to help fund many.
Q. How do you hope to be involved in energy and energy systems, climate, or sustainability in your next steps with education or your career?
A. I will be pursuing an MSc in Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford. After that, I hope to go into climate-tech venture capital and eventually start my own clean-tech venture fund back in my hometown, Hong Kong.
Q. What's your advice for incoming first-year students?
A. Don't be afraid to try different things and change. I arrived thinking I'd follow a straight path, but my best experiences came from saying yes to things I didn't plan. Take the unexpected class, join the mildly interesting club, and let curiosity lead. Also, don't be afraid to ask for help, and when you reach out, make sure you are sufficiently prepared.
Major: Bachelor of Engineering modified with Geography, Energy Engineering Program Area (AB & BE)
Hometown: San Jose, California
Q. How have you been involved with the Irving Institute?
A. I've been involved with the Student Grant Program across three terms. My first grant supported research in the Offshore Wind Lab under Professor Elizabeth Wilson, where I wrote a case study on the Empire Wind 2 offshore wind project, examining the political and community dynamics behind the collapse of its transmission infrastructure agreement.
My second and third grants have supported ongoing research in Professor Erin Mayfield's Sustainable Transitions Lab, where I'm expanding a model of the residential space heating transition—first applied to Vermont, then expanded to New Hampshire, and then a modular form generalizable to any state.
Finally, I have bloomed under the mentorship of the Energy Justice Clinic's Dr. Sarah Kelly, who has encouraged and supported a dream project of mine: traveling to China to record the history of my family for my short film "mermaid" (2026). The film tells the story of my family's intertwining with the Three Gorges Dam—my father's side employed in its construction, my mother's side displaced and their hometown underwater.
Q. How has your understanding of energy and energy systems evolved during your time at Dartmouth?
A. Two experiences stand out. The first was making my documentary about the Three Gorges Dam. Standing in Yichang and Wanzhou (my parents' hometowns), interviewing my grandfather who worked on the Gezhouba Dam, and visiting the waterline where my mother's hometown used to be, I first understood that the energy systems I had been studying in engineering courses were not abstract infrastructure problems. They were the reason my family was displaced, the reason my mother always cut her reminiscing short, but also the reason my grandfather found dignity in his life's work. The scale of a hydroelectric megaproject finally became real to me through a profoundly personal connection.
The second was ENGS 86: Campus as Living Lab, taught by Karolina Kawiaka. Working with Energy Program Manager Scott Hening on real facilities projects, we were trekking through the basement of Steele Hall, hoisting ourselves into the dusty roof of Blunt, running blower door tests, and building cost and energy models for actual campus systems.
Q. How do you hope to be involved in energy and energy systems, climate, or sustainability in your next steps with education or your career?
A. This summer, I'll be working in building performance at a sustainable design and engineering firm in Chicago. I want to pursue a career in sustainable design, decarbonization of the built environment, and energy systems at large. I'm drawn to work that connects small-scale decisions to grid-scale outcomes: how the choices we make about heating systems in individual homes add up to something that matters at the state or regional level.
I've also been sitting with a parallel question, one that my engineering alone can't answer: how do communities carry the memory of landscapes that energy infrastructure has transformed or erased? After I finish my BE, I'll embark on my Brooks Travelling Fellowship project, "Listening to the Hyperobject," an attempt to pursue that question through multimedia methods, tracing how energy systems are lived and remembered at the human scale.
Q. What's your advice for incoming first-year students?
A. Bring your whole self to your energy interests, even parts that might seem unrelated at first. My most meaningful work has connected energy to something personal: a family history, a place, a community. Dartmouth is small and resourceful enough that you can actually pursue a specific thing if you're willing to ask. So ask early, ask often, and don't wait until you feel like you know enough—trust you will figure it out along the way.
Major: Economics
Hometown: East Burke, Vermont
Q. How have you been involved with the Irving Institute?
A. I have been involved with the Energy Justice Clinic.
Q. How has your understanding of energy and energy systems evolved during your time at Dartmouth?
A. Collaborating with residents in the Upper Valley and learning about the energy insecurity and burdens they are facing has been one of the most pivotal experiences of my time at Dartmouth. The Energy Justice Clinic has enabled me to see the gap between how energy issues are taught in the classroom and how these issues are experienced by residents in underserved communities.
Q. How do you hope to be involved in energy and energy systems, climate, or sustainability in your next steps with education or your career?
A. I am in the process of applying to law school. I hope to continue pursuing energy and environment-related issues there.
Q. What's your advice for incoming first-year students?
A. Take Dr. Kelly's Energy Justice class (GEOG 40.04/ANTH 50.48) freshman spring and get involved with the clinic early!
Double Major: Environmental Studies and Italian
Hometown: Little Rock, Arkansas
Q. How have you been involved with the Irving Institute?
A. I have been involved with the Energy Justice Clinic (EJC) for three years. In the Energy Justice course, I revised the High Hazard Dam Mitigation Plan with the Vermont Department of Emergency Management and created community resources.
As a Community Resilience Fellow, I worked closely with community partners in Vermont to assess rural drainage infrastructure and clear ditches and culverts. I also undertook a communication project called "Big Green Law School," outlining important climate cases on EJC social media.
Since Winter 2025, I have been researching with two other students—Harper '27 and Nick '28—on the Climate Litigation Project, assessing 2,000+ U.S. climate court cases to discover strategies for using litigation as a form of climate activism. Our paper is titled "Climate Futures and Thinking Outside the Box: Aggregating strategic data from US climate litigation in search of effective mitigation tools."
Q. How has your understanding of energy and energy systems evolved during your time at Dartmouth?
A. The Energy Justice course opened a world I never knew existed: community-based qualitative research. By engaging in real, meaningful research that made a positive impact with community partners, I developed communication and research design skills that inspired me to build my own projects on climate litigation and climate communications. Working in the Energy Justice Clinic under the mentorship of Dr. Sarah Kelly, has taught me how the environment, policy, academia, communities, and kindness intersect.
Q. How do you hope to be involved in energy and energy systems, climate, or sustainability in your next steps with education or your career?
A. I hope to go to law school, building a foundation to pursue environmental policymaking or working as an attorney at a clean energy company or environmental nonprofit.
Q. What's your advice for incoming first-year students?
A. Reach out to professors to meet with them about their work. Engage with research and resources on campus—Dartmouth, and the Irving Institute in particular, do an incredible job of supporting students in pursuing their passions. Find ways to be curious and learn outside of the classroom, as that is where some of the most important lessons can be.
Major: Bachelor of Engineering, Energy Engineering Program Area (AB & BE)
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
Q. How have you been involved with the Irving Institute?
A. I got involved with the Irving Institute in my freshman year where I partook in the Gulf Coast Energy Immersion trip. Since then, I've attended seminars and speaker events, and participated in the Electricity Grids and Markets Bootcamp.
Q. How has your understanding of energy and energy systems evolved during your time at Dartmouth?
A. The turning point came midway through the Gulf Coast Energy Immersion trip. I was journaling the things I learned thus far, from visiting a natural gas power plant to engaging with leaders in a geothermal startup, and I realized just how incredibly vast and important this industry really is. Energy systems are truly the foundation of modern life, and I wanted to play a role in shaping its future.
Q. How do you hope to be involved in energy and energy systems, climate, or sustainability in your next steps with education or your career?
A. I will be working in industry on improving energy usage and sustainability in data centers and buildings. I hope to continue pushing the world to be more sustainable.
Q. What's your advice for incoming first-year students?
A. Take advantage of the numerous learning opportunities Dartmouth offers and figure out what you're passionate about. For me, getting involved with Irving in my freshman year awakened my passion for energy, which guided the rest of my college studies and my career.
These graduates leave Dartmouth with research published, litigation mapped, buildings analyzed, capital deployed, and documentaries in progress. The Irving Institute is proud to welcome them into its alumni community, and looking forward to the moment they come back to share what they've learned with the next generation.