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Graduate student ambassador and Ph.D. student Marquise Bell

Marquise Bell

Home Country: USA | Program: Mechanical Engineering | Languages: English

CONTACT

Mechanical Engineering Department | Mdb16@rice.edu

WEBSITE(S)| Marquise's Website | Mechanical Engineering Department | Preston Innovation Lab | Marquise's LinkedIn | Marquise's Instagram | Marquise's Twitter | Marquise's YouTube | Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA)

Program: Mechanical Engineering
Undergraduate Institution: Baylor University
Pronouns: He/him/his

I am a (rising) 5th year Ph.D. Student in the department of Mechanical Engineering at Rice University. Before I started at Rice, I completed my undergraduate degree at Baylor University, also earning minors in Math and Computer Science. I started grad school at Rice in July 2020, during the height of Covid.

Coming in with no prior research experience proved challenging, but I’ve learned and grown a considerable amount through my research and involvement of various graduate student organizations on campus. I have served in leadership roles within the Black Graduate Student Association and the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Association, and I have also served as a graduate student mentor to both fellow graduate students and undergraduate researcher, led.

I have been awarded a GEM Associate Fellowship through the GEM Consortium and a NASA NSTGRO fellowship to further research textile materials for integration into spacesuits to decrease their weight and increase functionality. On the side, I co-founded a scholarship for minority men graduating from my alma mater, Hirschi High School in Wichita Falls, TX. In my free time I heavily enjoy visiting coffee shops, playing basketball, grilling, and being outside with friends.

Fun Fact:

I love visiting new coffee shops and have tried about 30+ different local coffee shops in the Houston area! My go-to drink is an oat milk cappuccino.

Favorite thing about Rice:

The foliage is great. I love taking a break from my work and walking around on campus.

Favorite thing about Houston:

The diversity of interests. There is something for everyone here and each neighborhood has a different vibe and culture.

Why did you decide to go to graduate school?

I want to be the change I seek. I had one black professor during undergrad and because of him, I have to confidence to do what I’m doing in engineering. I want to help lead and cultivate the next generation of underrepresented minorities in the engineering academic landscape. Grad school has also allowed me the freedom to pursue problems important and interesting to me, and I have found this aspect of grad school to be fulfilling.