Dartmouth Engineering Leadership

Douglas Van Citters joined the Dartmouth faculty in 2007, and since 2019, served as Thayer's associate dean for undergraduate education until his 2024 appointment as interim dean. Over his time at Dartmouth, his dedication to student well-being is reflected in his service on numerous campus organizations, ranging from the Committee on Off-Campus Activities to working groups committed to student success in the Arts and Sciences transformation. He proudly served as Dartmouth's Faculty Athletics Representative and has long enjoyed working with the Men's Heavyweight Rowing team as their faculty advisor.

His lab, the Dartmouth Biomedical Engineering Center for Orthopaedics (DBEC), conducts research in musculoskeletal biomaterials, biomechanics, tribology, and device design, and includes one of the largest and oldest IRB-approved retrieval programs in the world with over 23,000 artificial knees, hips, shoulders, and ankles in the collection. Using the design and engineering problem-solving approach he learned at Dartmouth, Van Citters and his team are addressing current challenges in the areas of implant failure and analysis, polymer processing and properties, biomaterials for implants, and implantable and wearable devices in biomechanics. His team holds over a dozen US patents with several more pending.

Van Citters' teaching portfolio includes courses in biomaterials, design, and introductory mechanical engineering, and in 2019 he received the Woodhouse Excellence in Teaching Award. In 2020, he led Thayer's transition to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic and received the Outstanding Service Award for Faculty for his enthusiasm, dedication, and perseverance both in and out of the classroom. Van Citters is an advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration and holds adjunct faculty appointments in the departments of chemistry and orthopaedics. He serves as a biomaterials advisor for projects in those departments as well as in plastic surgery, pediatrics, radiology, physiology, and vascular surgery at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine.

Van Citters earned his bachelor of arts, bachelor of engineering, master of science, and PhD in engineering sciences from Dartmouth. Outside of Thayer, he is active in the community as the past president of the Friends of Hanover Norwich Schools and the current President of the Montshire Museum of Science Corporation.

Douglas Van Citters Faculty Profile