Current News

On heels of national championship, Rice speech and debate keeps raking in wins

The past several months have been a whirlwind of success for Rice’s George R. Brown Forensics Society, the university’s award-winning student speech and debate team with a track record of racking up championships and awards by the dozens. After tremendous success amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, including two national championships in as many years, the team’s penchant for top-tier performances has continued this fall alongside a much welcomed return to in-person competition.

People, papers and presentations for Dec. 5, 2022

Richard Gordon, the W. M. Keck Foundation Professor of Geophysics in Rice’s Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, is to receive the European Geosciences Union (EGU) Stephan Mueller Medal for 2023. Jonathan Ajo-Franklin, a professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences, has been named president of the American Geophysical Union Near-Surface Geophysics focus group.

After beating Aggies and Frogs, Rice women 7-0 for first time

The Rice women’s basketball team scored a pair of victories over major conference foes

Comic Art Teaching & Study Workshop receives original comic art gift worth six figures

A rare art collection featuring some of the most famous cartoon characters in American history has been acquired by Rice University’s Comic Art Teaching and Study Workshop (CATS) within the School of Humanities’ Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts.

Rice volleyball team bows out in second round of NCAA Tournament

Rice’s volleyball team dominated the final two sets to claim a 3-1 victory (26-24, 24-26, 25-16, 25-14) over the University of Colorado Boulder in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Dec. 1 in Waco, Texas, before dropping a five-set battle with Baylor University (16-25, 25-22, 25-23, 14-25, 15-11) in the second round Dec. 2.

Religious violence increases anxiety among Muslims and Jews, even if they have never been personally targeted

Fear of hate crime looms especially large in the minds of Jews and Muslims, even if they have never been personally targeted, according to a new study from Rice University and West Virginia University.

Rice organizes drive to house, assist international students over winter break

Hosted by the Office of International Students and Scholars — International Connections (OISS), the International Holiday Hospitality Help Program aims to provide amenities such as low-cost/no-cost housing accommodations, meals and gift cards/cash to international undergraduate students who cannot return to their home this holiday season.

Owls land in LendingTree Bowl, will face Southern Miss

Rice is headed to a bowl game for the first time since 2014. The LendingTree Bowl will pit the Owls (5-7) against the University of Southern Mississippi (6-6) Dec. 17 in Mobile, Alabama. The 4:45 p.m. game between the former Conference USA foes will be televised by ESPN.

Debt-ceiling decision could complicate foreign policy, Baker Institute diplomacy expert argues

Joe Barnes, the Bonner Means Baker Fellow, argues in a new issue brief that a Republican-led House could complicate President Biden’s ability to achieve his goals regarding China and the Russia-Ukraine war.

Evelyn Tang wins CAREER Award

Evelyn Tang, an assistant professor of physics and astronomy and a member of Rice University’s Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, has won a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

HIV ‘drug factory’ implant promises once-a-year therapy

A Rice University lab is developing encapsulated cellular “drug factories” to treat patients with HIV through a once-a-year implant.

Rice, coalition of Texas universities ink historic library agreement with research publisher Elsevier

The Texas Library Coalition for United Action (TLCUA), a coalition of 44 Texas university libraries chaired by Rice University Vice Provost and University Librarian Sara Lowman, recently reached an agreement with leading science research publisher Elsevier to receive a significant discount on journal subscriptions and to revamp policies around open access and copyright ownership of research.

De Lange Conference to focus on technology, culture and society

Technology’s two-edged sword will be the subject of the two-day De Lange Conference Dec. 5-6 at Rice University’s BioScience Research Collaborative and the Ion. Themed “Technology, Culture and Society,” the conference will address the advances and consequent challenges of information technology, health and medicine, and climate change from the three perspectives.

Eugene Ng named IEEE Fellow

Eugene Ng, a professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering, has been named an IEEE Fellow.

IEEE honors Kavraki, Richards-Kortum, Truchard

Two renowned Rice University professors and a longtime backer have won prestigious honors in the 2023 IEEE Awards.