Doug Van Citters ’99, Th’03, Adv’03, Th’06, arrived at Dartmouth as a first-year in the fall of 1995—and has hardly ever left. On the Thayer School of Engineering faculty since 2007, Van Citters was appointed dean in June. He still leans into what drew him to Dartmouth: the “unparalleled” ability of undergrads to focus on both engineering and the liberal arts and still have time for athletics and the outdoors.
He double-majored in engineering and earth sciences and rowed all four years. He worked as a hydrogeologist, then returned for his B.E. “Everything changed,” he says, when he discovered biomedical engineering. He mentored others, guest lectured, and stayed on to earn a master’s and a Ph.D. “I discovered the joy of teaching and the joy of research—they converged.”
He continues to direct the orthopedics lab that specializes in biomaterials, biomechanics, and medical device design and recently began to collaborate on tissue engineering. Mending the rift between higher education and society is a key focus. “I think engineers are very well positioned to heal that because we create things that improve the human condition.”
