News Releases

Rice scientists harness vacuum fluctuations to engineer quantum materials

Rice researchers and collaborators have developed a new cavity design that selectively enhances the quantum vacuum fluctuations of circularly polarized light in a single direction, achieving chirality — a feat that typically requires the use of a strong magnetic field.

2025 Kinder State of Housing report finds rising vulnerability and shrinking affordability

The newly released 2025 State of Housing report from Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, shows rising home prices, surging insurance premiums and growing climate risks are reshaping how and where residents can afford to live.

DUNE-TECH boot camp at Rice ignites next generation of America’s neutrino scientists

In a milestone moment for science education and collaboration, Rice hosted its first DUNE-TECH (DUNE Training ExperienCe Hub) camp this June, drawing students, researchers and scientists from across the country into the world of neutrino physics and computing.

Lilie Summer Venture Studio accelerator returns with 8 new student ventures 

The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) at Rice has unveiled the eight high-potential ventures selected for the third annual Lilie Summer Venture Studio accelerator program. Summer Venture Studio is Rice’s accelerator for high growth, high ambition founders, offering a deep dive into venture building and equipping student-led teams with the funding, mentorship and resources needed to bring their bold ideas to life.

Rice chemists leap across terpenoid landscapes with enzyme-enabled scaffold hopping

A research team led by Rice has introduced an innovative strategy that uses converted enzymes to streamline synthetic pathways.

New Natural Disaster Resilience dashboard shows need for infrastructure policy, Rice Baker Institute expert says

The Natural Disaster Resilience dashboard from Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy compares combinations of demographics and disasters to show impacts over time and provides evidence that policy and regulation need to prioritize infrastructure resilience.

Biotechnology governance entreaties released, echoing legacy of 1975 recombinant DNA guidelines

Twenty-seven biotechnology governance entreaties echoing the legacy of the 1975 recombinant DNA guidelines are now available for public review.

Turning carbon dioxide into fuel just got easier, thanks to acid bubbles

A team of researchers at Rice has discovered a surprisingly simple method for vastly improving the stability of electrochemical devices that convert carbon dioxide into useful fuels and chemicals, and it involves nothing more than sending the CO 2 through an acid bubbler.

Kinder Institute’s 2025 State of Housing report highlights challenges with affordability and resilience

Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research releases its 2025 State of Housing in Harris County and Houston report.

Nvidia CEO says quantum is next AI frontier — Rice experts weigh in

Rice experts can unpack and contextualize Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's statement at the VivaTech 2025 conference in Paris today that quantum computing is reaching an inflection point

Rice students develop an award-winning adaptive exercise harness for astronauts to use in space

A team of Rice engineering students has designed an innovative space exercise harness that won this year's Technology Collaboration Center’s Wearables Workshop and University Challenge. Their design answered a challenge posed by the HumanWorks Lab and Life Science Labs at NASA and Johnson Space Center.

Rice students win top prize in global design contest with cutting-edge haptic wristband

Rice student engineers have earned top international honors for a novel device that could redefine how humans interact with virtual environments.

Rice360’s Global Health Fellowship program is finding ways to engineer hope

When Mary Seifu Tirfie graduated with a degree in biomedical engineering from Addis Ababa University in 2023, she wasn’t just earning a diploma — she was stepping into a global mission.

Rice experts available to discuss importance of responsible leadership in age of AI

Experts at Rice University’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders are leading the discussion on the prominence of quantifying leader development across platforms to ensure effective leaders are being produced at scale to proficiently deal with the issues artificial intelligence presents.

Rethinking how robots move: Light and AI drive precise motion in soft robotic arm developed at Rice

Researchers at Rice have developed a soft robotic arm capable of performing complex tasks such as navigating around an obstacle or hitting a ball, guided and powered remotely by laser beams without any onboard electronics or wiring.