Phil Marquis

What have you been doing since you graduated?

I am currently a graduate student in nuclear engineering at North Carolina State University. Since high school I have been very interested in nuclear electricity generation, and my experiences with computing have led me to a career path in nuclear reactor modeling and simulation. Currently I am pursuing a Master of Nuclear Engineering degree and soon I will spend six months working on my thesis at General Electric. I have selected a minor in Computational Engineering and Sciences and I continue to take computer science courses to supplement my nuclear engineering coursework.

Why did you choose to pursue a BS in Computer Science at Bucknell?

My interests in computer science primarily entail software (e.g. algorithms, coding techniques). While it was important to gain a basic understanding of the underlying hardware, I selected the B.S. in Computer Science because of its focus on software. However, I supplemented by computer science courses with a minor in physics as well as electives in thermodynamics and mathematics in preparation for graduate school.

What did you enjoy the most about studying at Bucknell?

At Bucknell class sizes are very small and there is a remarkable amount of student-professor interaction. I was able to get to know many of the CS faculty very well, which was a huge asset for learning complicated concepts. In addition, I was able to participate in computer science research and also apply my computing knowledge to research in the physics department.

Research interests

My research at Bucknell consisted of computer modeling applied to a wide variety of topics in computer science, physics, and biogeography. Summer internship experiences allowed me to get a first-hand experience of the nuclear power industry and develop graphical tools for computer simulation codes. I look forward to studying computational modeling of nuclear reactors and applying this knowledge to a career in commercial nuclear power.