Current News

People, papers and presentations for April 3, 2023

Badie Khaleghian, a Shepherd School doctoral candidate in music composition, is this year’s recipient of the Presser Foundation’s Presser Graduate Music Award.

A 21st-century remedy for missed meds

Rice lab’s next-level encapsulation technology for drugs and vaccines could solve a $100 billion problem.

Baker Institute report: How do influencers get taxed?

Social media influencers can earn hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars each year. But how are those earnings taxed? A new brief explains what rules apply to influencers and how authorities can improve compliance.

Doerr Institute, Carnegie Foundation launching classification program to evaluate leadership training in higher ed

Higher education institutions across the country have a few more months to begin applying for the Carnegie Elective Classification for Leadership for Public Purpose (LPP) within Rice University’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders. The program aims to improve the practice of leadership education and development.

Report: Youth gun violence in Texas can be impacted with safety training, waiting periods

Over the last 10 years, Texas has experienced the most school shootings in the country. This trend makes effective laws more important than ever, according to a new brief from the Center for Health and Biosciences at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Students travel to Austin to advocate for vaccines

A group of students from Rice, the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M University and Baylor College of Medicine traveled to the Texas Capitol March 29 to advocate for vaccines as a public health strategy. 

Rice psychologist Danielle King wins coveted NSF CAREER Award

Rice University’s Danielle King, an assistant professor of psychological sciences and a member of the faculty since 2018, has won a coveted National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. The accolade includes a five-year grant that will support her research on preventing and overcoming race-based threats and how employers can improve workplace experiences for employees who face such threats.

AMPosium! draws big crowd at BRC

Rice University’s Office of STEM Engagement and ConocoPhillips welcomed 150 past and current participants in the ConocoPhillips Applied Mathematics Program (AMP!) to AMPosium! March 25 at the BioScience Research Collaborative. The yearlong program offers innovative strategies to science and mathematics teachers in grades 5 through 9.

Rice University EMS receives legacy donation

The late Shelley Pennington ’78 was an active member and recent president of the Pennington First Aid Squad, so when it closed its doors earlier this year, the organization looked for other places to responsibly donate its resources. The connection resulted in a $180,000 donation to Rice University Emergency Medical Services. 

Benefits open enrollment begins March 31

Rice’s annual open enrollment period for benefit plans is March 31-April 16 this year.

Architect Lyndon Neri gives lecture at Rice

Lyndon Neri, co-founder of Neri & Hu Design and Research Office, lectured at MD Anderson Hall March 29 as a part of Rice Architecture’s lecture series, Engaging Pluralism.

Rice’s Todd Treangen wins NSF CAREER Award

Todd Treangen wins NSF CAREER Award to develop a comprehensive computational platform for detecting yet-unseen microbial pathogens.

Rice announces launch of Budget Transformation Initiative

I am excited to announce the launch of Rice’s Budget Transformation Initiative, co-led by Provost Amy Dittmar and Vice President for Finance and Administration Kelly Fox. The purpose of the initiative is to build transparency and an understanding of the university’s budget as well as design, develop and implement a new campus budget model built for Rice by Rice leaders and stakeholders that will better reflect our mission, values and priorities.

Ancient DNA reveals entwined African and Asian ancestry along the Swahili coast of eastern Africa

A new genetic study of medieval people who lived along the Indian Ocean coast of eastern Africa — an area often called the “Swahili coast” for its language and culture — revealed that they had both African and Persian ancestry.

US patents chief to discuss research and innovation at Rice U. event

The commissioner for patents of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), Vaishali Udupa, will headline an event April 5 on how to transform research into innovation, and ways in which universities and her office — working separately and together — can pick up the pace.