Dr Douglas Van Citters

Biography

Douglas Van Citters is interim dean and professor of engineering at Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth. A musculoskeletal scientist and expert on the materials, mechanics, and design of artificial joints, Van Citters brings decades of experience and a passionate commitment to Dartmouth Engineering's human-centered approach to education, research, and entrepreneurship. His lab, the Dartmouth Biomedical Engineering Center for Orthopaedics (DBEC), focuses on musculoskeletal biomaterials, biomechanics, tribology, and device design research and houses one of the largest IRB-approved retrieval programs in the world with over 23,000 artificial joints in its collection. His team holds over a dozen U.S. patents, with more pending. As a teacher-scholar, Van Citters has earned numerous recognitions, including the Woodhouse Excellence in Teaching Award in 2019 and the Outstanding Service Award for Faculty for his leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Van Citters earned his bachelor of arts, bachelor of engineering, master of science, and PhD in engineering sciences from Dartmouth. He joined the Dartmouth faculty in 2007, and over the years, served in a variety of leadership roles at Thayer, including as the associate dean for undergraduate education. An advocate for interdisciplinary collaboration, Van Citters currently holds adjunct faculty appointments in chemistry and in orthopaedics and serves as biomaterials advisor in various departments within Dartmouth and at the Geisel School of Medicine.