Rachel Leeson

A white man smiles at the camera. He is sitting in front of a wall of books and wearing glasses.

New tool shines light on hidden protein mystery

Rice professor Zachary Ball recently published a paper describing a new way to target a common but understudied posttranslational modification called pyroglutamate. 

a close up of the moon's surface, which has many craters in it.

NASA grant supports Rice research on next-generation lunar dating technology

Rice University professor Bidong Zhang has received a grant to develop next-generation lunar radiometric dating techniques that will acquire more accurate ages for lunar samples.

A smiling South Asian woman writes on a whiteboard. Behind her, a smiling East Asian man looks at what she is writing.

Physicists find electronic agents that govern flat band quantum materials

Qimiao Si’s group at Rice University collaborated with researchers from the Weizmann Institute to visualize the building blocks of flat band quantum materials.

A brunette white woman, the Crown Princess of Sweden, stands pointing at a framed medal on a wall.

Crown Princess of Sweden visits Rice

Swedish professors Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede and Anna-Karin Gustavsson, welcomed Victoria Ingrid Alice Désirée, Crown Princess of Sweden, to campus March 16.

A white, older man with a white beard stares at the camera.

Replicating bacteria DNA relies on accordionlike folds to separate

Rice researchers discover that bacteria rely on repulsive forces, strengthened by the SMC family of proteins, to separate their DNA during replication.

A woman holds a lightbulb. Above the lightbulb are graphics representing different sources of energy.

Rice energy, innovation experts presenting at CERAWeek 2026

Rice experts in innovation and energy will be presenting throughout the upcoming CERAWeek conference.

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New gel-based system allows bacteria to act as bioelectrical sensors

Rice researchers developed a safe bioelectronic sensor that allows for effective electronic communication even in liquid environments.

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Rice scientists unveil new tool to watch quantum behavior in action

Rice University researchers Jianwei Huang and Ming Yi have developed a new capability, magnetoARPES, building on angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) that allows researchers to study quantum behaviors they have been unable to resolve using ARPES alone. 

Two men, one older and white, one younger and Asian, stand at the bottom of a staircase

Granular activated carbon-sorbed PFAS can be used to extract lithium from brine

James Tour and his research team developed a process to use PFAS to extract lithium from high-salinity brine pools in a study recently published in Nature Water.

A close-up of a satellite orbiting the Earth, passing over a city.

Rice selected to lead US Space Force Strategic Technology Institute 4

Rice University has signed an $8.1 million cooperative agreement to lead the United States Space Force University Consortium/Space Strategic Technology Institute 4 (SSTI), called the Center for Advanced Space Sensing Technologies (CASST) at Rice.

A white woman with a shovel stands smiling in a prairie. A group of people are working on the prairie behind her. In the distance is a large commercial building

Urban prairie gives birth to new ecological restoration site at Rice’s Harris Gully

Prairie grasses are transported to Harris Gully and other city prairies by volunteers from Rice and the Greater Houston Area.

An older Asian man in a lab coat stands at a lab bench.

Material previously thought to be quantum is actually new, nonquantum state of matter

A recent study found that the material cerium magnesium hexalluminate (CeMgAl11O19) was not actually in a quantum spin liquid phase despite evidence suggesting it was. 

A male Asian graduate student stands in front of a poster, explaining science to a diverse group of kids

From moonquakes to Mars rovers: Rice science open house sparks curiosity in local community

Rice's second annual Earth, environmental and planetary science (EEPS) open house generated interest in science

A group of people standing outside on a sunny day. A row of shovels and tools is laid out on the ground in front of them.

Rice joins Alief community efforts to cool campuses and neighborhoods with tree-planting event

The Rice Sustainability Institute has joined the effort to reduce heat in Alief with a focus on school environments.

A group of students, including Black, white, and Muslim students stand circled around a tree, with their back to its bark. They are looking at each other or down at the ground.

Part of campus transforms into living laboratory for Rice and visiting Alief students

Rice students in TREEStem class teach visiting Alief students ecological techniques using the campus as a living laboratory.