Smitkashi Goswami is a PhD candidate in the physics and astronomy department. Her poster, Rethinking Solar Energy with Cleaner Materials, recently won an award at the Guarini Poster Session, and well as the inaugural People’s Choice Award.
Where did you grow up, and where did you study as an undergraduate? Was there a class, a mentor, or a moment there that first sparked your scientific curiosity?
I grew up in Dibrugarh, a town in northeast India in the state of Assam, and completed my undergraduate studies in Physics at Dibrugarh University. My scientific curiosity truly took shape during my first internship at IIT Guwahati, where I had the opportunity to work in an experimental lab. That experience made me realize how much I enjoy hands-on work. Being able to see and visualize the things I was studying sparked my interest in pursuing experimental research.
What graduate program are you in at Dartmouth, and what’s a question your field is working to answer right now?
I am a PhD candidate in the physics and astronomy department at Dartmouth, and my research sits at the intersection of physics and materials science at the Thayer School of Engineering.
A central question in my field right now is how we can discover and develop stable, easily available materials that go inside a solar panel. My work focuses on experimentally understanding the properties of such materials to determine whether they can realistically be used in next-generation solar technology.
What is your area of research? What inspired you to pursue this area?
My early experiences working in experimental labs showed me that I was most excited by using physics to solve real-world problems, especially in energy. This led me to the Clean Energy Project at Dartmouth, where I work with Prof. Jifeng Liu as part of a collaborative effort with researchers from different institutions, bringing together theory, material synthesis, and experiments. It’s been an honor to be part of a team working together to develop better materials for solar energy.
Your poster won recognition at the Guarini School Poster Session, as well as the audience’s People’s Choice Award. What was the hardest thing to communicate, visually or conceptually, and how did you solve it?
The hardest part was deciding how much detail to include without overwhelming the audience. My work involves many technical steps, but I realized that what mattered most was clearly communicating why the research is important and what I hope to achieve. So I focused the poster on the motivation and big-picture goals, and used the visuals to guide people through the story. If someone was interested, I could then go into more detail during the discussion.
Imagine your research findings reached a non-specialist audience, such as a city council, a patient community, or the general public. What would you most want them to understand?
Solar energy can only be truly clean if the materials used to make it are themselves sustainable, which is something my work aims to address as we move toward more affordable and accessible solar solutions.
Which resources, career support programs, or professional development opportunities at Dartmouth have been most valuable to you, and how have they impacted your experience?
I am closely associated with Dartmouth Center for the Advancement of Learning (DCAL), trying to join any series or session as time permits from almost my first year at Dartmouth. I have also participated in programs organized by the Irving Institute of Energy where I meet people from social sciences, arts and other related fields and talking about my research in those groups has helped me a lot over time.
I have always been very passionate about communicating science to a broader general audience so that people could be interested to approach different things and clearly understand the research that is going on in the world for at least dinner table conversations, that is my goal.
What brought you to Dartmouth specifically? Has anything about the experience surprised you?
Coming to Dartmouth began with being selected into the physics and astronomy department for graduate school, but what truly shaped my experience was the community. I was inspired by how engaged students were in solving real-world problems. Through conversations with Maya Beauvineau and initiatives like Fossil Free Dartmouth led by Dartmouth students, I was inspired to apply my physics background into meaningful ways which led me towards research in energy and materials
Which Guarini resource or program made a real difference in your development, and what would you tell a first-year student who hasn’t discovered it yet?
One of the most impactful resources for me has been the Guarini workshops on research and scientific communication, along with support from staff like Cindy Rosalbo and Kerry Landers. They helped me think more intentionally about how I present my work.
I would encourage first-year students to talk about their research with people outside their field, friends, peers, even family because if they can understand and connect with your work, it makes your science stronger and more meaningful. Research is ultimately a shared effort to better understand the world.
