Current News

Rice event at Moody Center spotlights intersection of art, activism

Artist jackie sumell is set to speak at Rice University’s Moody Center for the Arts for a presentation titled “Growing Abolition.”

Rice goes pink and blue with an azalea celebration March 1

Rice University welcomes members of the Owls community to visit the pathway between Entrance 1 and the Sallyport to enjoy the colorful flowers, community, a food truck and entertainment in celebration of the crown jewel of the university’s welcoming driveway from 12-1:30 p.m. March 1. As an added bonus, the first 100 people dressed in Rice blue will receive a free cupcake.

Miguel Harth-Bedoya to lead Rice Shepherd School symphony, chamber orchestras March 2-3

Miguel Harth-Bedoya, music director laureate of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and director of orchestral studies at Baylor University, will lead the Rice Shepherd School of Music symphony and chamber orchestras March 2 and 3, respectively.

Energy and computing collide at annual Rice event

The 17th annual Energy High Performance Computing Conference hosted by Rice University’s Ken Kennedy Institute March 5-7 is the premier meeting place for the energy industry to engage in conversations about challenges and opportunities in high performance computing (HPC), computational science and engineering, machine learning and data science.

Data-processing tool could enable better early stage cancer detection

A team of Rice researchers has developed a tool that is better at integrating single-cell DNA and RNA data than more recent, state-of-the-art technologies. The findings could lead to better early stage cancer detection.

Public school enrollments will continue to decline unless they become customer-focused, Rice study suggests

In September 2023, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona issued a warning call stating “Public schools are approaching a ‘make or break moment.’” This week, several North Texas schools announced potential school closures and staff position eliminations. Nationally, public schools lost over 1.2 million students to private and charter schools over the first two school years of the COVID-19 pandemic with Texas witnessing a 2.2% decline.

Rice’s Angela Wilkins named to Texas’ Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council

Angela Wilkins, executive director of Rice’s Ken Kennedy Institute, is one of four members appointed to the Texas Artificial Intelligence (AI) Advisory Council, which studies and monitors AI systems developed, employed or procured by state agencies.

Rice hosts Dr. Bernard Harris, first Black American astronaut to walk in space

Rice University continued its celebration of Black History Month with a special installment of the Ion’s “Visionary Voices” speaker series featuring Dr. Bernard Harris Jr., a NASA astronaut and the first Black American to walk in space. He is also a physician, company founder, CEO, philanthropist and venture capitalist. 

Fondren Library redesigns, upgrades digital repository platform

Fondren Library is relaunching the digital platform it uses to make accessible and preserve Rice University research under a new name and with new features.

2024 scholar athletes honored at annual banquet

Rice Athletics and the Office of Academic Advising (OAAA) jointly hosted the 38th annual Scholar Athlete Celebration Feb. 25 at the Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center. The award winners were chosen based on character and accomplishment in school and in sport.

Rice’s Office of Innovation awards inaugural One Small Step Grants

The Office of Innovation at Rice announced four awardees of the inaugural One Small Step Grants, marking a significant milestone in accelerating the transition from lab to market for Rice-developed technologies. Launched in September 2023 the grant aims to support lab-stage projects across Rice, providing crucial capital for projects to spin out of the university and successfully attract investment from angel investors and venture capital.

Coastal resilience, improved cancer care, Latinx communities and more in focus as Rice announces investment in research centers

The centers are the Rice Center for Nanoscale Imaging Sciences, Synthesis X Center, Center for Environmental Studies, Center for Latin American and Latinx Studies, and Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience.

Owls show Texan and Rice pride on Go Texan Day

Two Houston traditions aligned Feb. 23 as Owls celebrated Rice University’s tradition of wearing blue on Fridays as well as dressing in western wear for Go Texan Day.

‘The Amazon wasn’t an empty place’: Visiting professor discusses past, future at Rice event

Rice University hosted professor Eduardo Góes Neves from the University of São Paulo, Brazil Feb. 22 for a discussion titled “Roads of Creation, Roads of Destruction: Landscapes in Conflict in Contemporary Amazon.”

Rice baseball players connect with newest Owl fan at Texas Children’s Hospital

The Rice baseball team unknowingly gained a special fan during its game against Sam Houston State Feb. 20.