Dane Powell is motivated by order and challenge.

When looking up at the side of a cliff, the Rice University mechanical engineering graduate student sees opportunity to climb high when others may see an insurmountable obstacle.

“There’s something about looking up and knowing you can find your way to the top,” he said, “and then actually doing what’s needed to get there.”

That means immediately deriving tactics to get from one handhold to another, and having the strength to grasp and push from one objective after another.

“There’s also a lot of finesse involved. And you’ve also go to make sure you have the right equipment beforehand, plus the confidence to know how to use it,” he explained.

He has enjoyed teaching others the skills and techniques involved as a trip leader in Rice Outdoor Programs and Education (ROPE). He has also promoted his love of outdoors as a member of the Rice Outdoors Club. While leading the club, he helped triple the group’s membership, allowing it to become the largest club at Rice.

Powell’s passion for rock climbing has taken him from from local trips to central Texas, including rock walls in Europe and other distant locales. He said he hopes to make it to Thailand and other challenging locations, when and if he has the time and money to do so.

It all fits with Powell’s childhood. His father was a transportation consultant, which meant the family was often uprooted to someplace new. That experience has helped Powell quickly become comfortable in new surroundings and in dealing with ambiguity. His background may also have something to do with his self-described need to be organized and create order when there is none.

“I fit the classic stereotype of an engineer,” he said. “I’ve always been fascinated with how things work and took things apart and put them back together.”

Powell, 23, is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science. He works in Dr. Marcia O’Malley’s Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces Lab. He also completed his undergraduate degree at Rice and says that being involved in research during his senior design project—a requirement for engineering students at Rice—inspired him to continue his studies at the university.

He has worked on many exciting projects involving robotics, including the development and design of software for a computerized joystick that tracks the accuracy of movement in stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation.

Powell’s long-range goal is to become involved in aerospace engineering, perhaps working for NASA or a large aerospace firm.

In the end, he believes he’ll return to academic life, however. “I love sharing what I know with others,” he said, “whether it’s rock climbing or engineering. I see myself as a professor some day, sharing my passion for engineering with others.”