Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Marquise Bell @quisebell.bsky.social · Sep 6

Sic ‘Em Bears!! 🐻

Baylor University @baylor.bsky.social · Sep 6

BEARS WIN!!!! 🐻🏈

Baylor Football comes back from down 14 in the 4th quarter to beat No. 16 SMU in double OT, 48-45!! #SicEm

Marquise Bell @quisebell.bsky.social · Aug 29

I am excited to share that next week I start @upenn.edu as a Provost Postdoctoral Research Fellow! I am looking forward to this next step in my academic journey, as well as the new challenges, research, and experiences this chapter will come with.

research.upenn.edu/news/2025-20...

2025 — 2026 Cohort of Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellows Named - Office of the Vice Provost for Research

The Office of Postdoctoral Affairs and Senior Vice Provost for Research Dawn Bonnell are excited to announce the 2025–2026 cohort of Provost’s Postdoctoral

research.upenn.edu

Reposted by Marquise Bell

Science Magazine @science.org · Jul 28

Researchers’ chances of winning a grant from the National Institutes of Health have dropped under a new policy. scim.ag/4f7uew2

Odds of winning NIH grants plummet as new funding policy and spending delays bite

Funding multiyear grants up front will sharply cut number of investigators receiving awards

scim.ag

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Reposted by Marquise Bell

Daniel J Preston @danpreston.bsky.social · Jul 18

Congratulations Dr. Marquise Bell on defending your PhD thesis in @ricegradschool.bsky.social Mechanical Engineering today! Dr. Bell is the fourth PhD graduate from the PI Lab. He will move to the @upenn.edu this fall as a Provost's Postdoctoral Fellow working with Prof. Kevin Turner. Great job!

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Rice Grad School @ricegradschool.bsky.social · Jul 18

Congrats @quisebell.bsky.social on your Ph.D. thesis defense!

Daniel J Preston @danpreston.bsky.social · Jul 18

Congratulations Dr. Marquise Bell on defending your PhD thesis in @ricegradschool.bsky.social Mechanical Engineering today! Dr. Bell is the fourth PhD graduate from the PI Lab. He will move to the @upenn.edu this fall as a Provost's Postdoctoral Fellow working with Prof. Kevin Turner. Great job!

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Reposted by Marquise Bell

Dan Garisto @dangaristo.bsky.social · Jun 24

NEW: NSF will be kicked out of their building. Announcement will be made tomorrow by HUD Sec. and Governor of VA. HUD will take over the NSF building over the next two years.

NSF staffer: "There is no planning for NSF, no identified future location, appropriation for a new building or a move."

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C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · Jun 26

A federal judge in Boston has rescinded the National Science Foundation’s new 15% cap on reimbursement of facility and administrative costs (F&A)—called indirect expenses—related to research grants. cen.acs.org/policy/resea... #chemsky 🧪

Judge overturns NSF’s 15% cap on reimbursing indirect costs of research

Agency’s action deemed in violation of federal law

cen.acs.org

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Marquise Bell @quisebell.bsky.social · Jun 23

Thanks for highlight! Checkout this neat story highlighting my research direction and perspective on the role of mentorship.

Rice Grad School @ricegradschool.bsky.social · Jun 19

How do you design a better space suit? Just ask Rice Ph.D. candidate Marquise Bell! His NASA-funded research on soft wearable materials is out of this world. 🚀
Inspired by his mentors, he's now empowering others. #PhDLife #SpaceTech #MentorshipMatters
Read his story: giving.rice.edu/gift-mentors...

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Rice Grad School @ricegradschool.bsky.social · Jun 19

How do you design a better space suit? Just ask Rice Ph.D. candidate Marquise Bell! His NASA-funded research on soft wearable materials is out of this world. 🚀
Inspired by his mentors, he's now empowering others. #PhDLife #SpaceTech #MentorshipMatters
Read his story: giving.rice.edu/gift-mentors...

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Reposted by Marquise Bell

Rice Grad School @ricegradschool.bsky.social · Jun 19

@quisebell.bsky.social

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Ritu Raman @rituraman.bsky.social · Jun 16

Please share widely: the MechE Rising stars program will be hosted at MIT this year on October 23-24, 2025! Our program provides mentorship for top women graduate students and postdocs pursuing careers in academia. Nominations are due *July 11*:
risingstarsme.mit.edu

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Reposted by Marquise Bell

Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · Jun 9

RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines.

apnews.com

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Reposted by Marquise Bell

Skylar Grayson @skylargrayson.bsky.social · Jun 2

The proposed NSF and NASA budgets would absolutely decimate astronomy. I wrote about for @astrobites.bsky.social you can check it out here: astrobites.org/2025/06/02/b...

NSF and NASA Budget Requests Pose an Unprecedented Threat to Astronomy

The president's budget requests for NASA and the NSF were released last week. This post summarizes the major cuts and the impacts they would have, and provides resources to help fight back against thi...

astrobites.org

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Reposted by Marquise Bell

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences @pnas.org · May 30

One of the most-viewed PNAS articles in the last week is “Active learning increases student performance in science, engineering, and mathematics.” Explore the article here: ow.ly/Q1BB50VZrJZ

For more trending articles, visit ow.ly/OEGQ50VZrJW

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Reposted by Marquise Bell

The New York Times @nytimes.com · May 27

Breaking News: NPR said it was suing President Trump over his executive order that aimed to end its federal funding, saying it violated the First Amendment.

NPR Sues Trump Over Order to Cut Funding

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Marquise Bell

Federico Adolfi @fedeadolfi.bsky.social · May 22

Me: let’s look alive, brain, section 3 of our paper still needs a lot of work!

Brain: here’s a variation on the title we were already happy with

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Marquise Bell @quisebell.bsky.social · May 22

Alright… I’ve been just as baffled at the barrage of headlines recently, however…

THIS is insane.

Stand Up for Science! @standupforscience.bsky.social · May 22

International students upend their lives to join American science, bringing their novel insights that drive innovation.

Now, they are being illegally targeted by Trump, because Harvard won't back down.

Classic bully behavior.

We Stand Up for International Students.

www.npr.org/2025/05/22/n...

Trump administration revokes Harvard's ability to enroll international students

International students make up more than a quarter of Harvard University's student body. Harvard says the government's actions, which could cut off a major revenue stream, are "unlawful."

www.npr.org

Marquise Bell @quisebell.bsky.social · May 14

Check out this nice story highlighting my experience with mentorship, both as a mentee and a mentor!

giving.rice.edu/gift-mentors...

Many thanks to Sarah Meals at Rice University for the interview and opportunity chat about my experiences and how they relate to The Rice Fund.

giving.rice.edu

Reposted by Marquise Bell

Matt Lanza @mattlanza.bsky.social · May 13

As the partner of someone who works heavily in the NIH space, I can tell you with 100% certainty that valuable, important, helpful science is being crushed by this administration.

Sam Stein @samsteindc.bsky.social · May 13

Bernie Sanders' office has put out a report this morning on Trump's NIH cuts: "Trump officials effectively cut $2.7 billion in [NIH] funding in the first three months of 2025 – including a 31 percent cut to cancer research through March, compared to the same timeframe last year."

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Christie Wilcox @nerdychristie.bsky.social · May 9

This totally tubular robot doesn’t need a centralized processing system to hop around on land or swim in the water—it relies instead on air and simple physics. That and more of the best from @science.org and science in this edition of #ScienceAdviser: www.science.org/content/arti... 🧪

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Reposted by Marquise Bell

Alberto Comoretto @albertocomoretto.bsky.social · May 8

Autonomous locomotion simply with tubes as limbs, and no brain? 🎈🤖

Yes, through physical synchronization! Our article is out today in Science (@science.org)

Article: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Authors: @albertocomoretto.bsky.social, H.A.H. Schomaker, J.T.B. Overvelde

More below 🧪 ⚛️
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C&EN (Chemical & Engineering News) @cenmag.bsky.social · May 3

The US National Science Foundation has terminated 1,042 active grants over the past 2 weeks, according to a list provided to C&EN by an internal NSF source, who insisted on anonymity out of fear of retribution. cen.acs.org/policy/resea... 🧪

NSF terminates over 1,000 grants in 2 weeks

Chemistry education researchers and others hit by cuts weigh appeals and lawsuits

cen.acs.org

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Marquise Bell @quisebell.bsky.social · May 3

A little late, but I had a fantastic time at the 2025 IEEE RoboSoft conference!

I had to the opportunity to share my recent work in a flash-talk format and poster, and I was honored to be named a Rising Star!

It was great to reconnect and meet with with many brilliant scientists in soft robotics!

Reposted by Marquise Bell

NPR @npr.org · May 2

The National Science Foundation, a major government funder of basic science research, is being shaken up with over 1,000 grants already terminated and the White House looking to halve its budget.

Scientists reel as turmoil roils National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation, a major government funder of basic science research, is being shaken up with over 1,000 grants already terminated and the White House looking to halve its budget

www.npr.org

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Science Magazine @science.org · May 2

President Donald Trump today asked Congress to make massive and unprecedented cuts to the 2026 budgets of major federal science agencies. scim.ag/3Yszqnm

Trump’s proposed budget would mean ‘disastrous’ cuts to science

Key research budgets would shrink by one-third to one-half in 2026 spending plan

scim.ag

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