News Releases

Rice researchers team up with UT, A&M to help rural Texas communities overhaul flood management system

Avantika Gori, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University, is leading an innovative project to address flooding in rural communities.

British alt-rock band bôa to headline Moody X-Fest

Rice will welcome bôa as the headline music act at the third annual Moody X-Fest April 25 at Founder’s Court. The signature, rain-or-shine event celebrates the Moody Experience and will include free food, swag and games.

Rice-led study finds focused ultrasound therapy improves cancer treatment

Combining an existing small-molecule protein therapy called tumor necrosis factor related apoptosis-inducing ligand with focused ultrasound can significantly reduce tumor size and burden in prostate cancer models, according to a new study published in Advanced Science by researchers at Rice and Vanderbilt.

Rice appoints Susan Christian to lead new campus events unit, establish conference services division

Rice has named seasoned special events executive Susan Christian as the first senior director of campus and community engagement and conference services.

Rice Business Plan Competition, world’s largest and richest intercollegiate student startup competition, selects 2025 ventures

The 2025 Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC) announced today the 42 startups invited to compete for more than $1 million in prizes April 10-12 at Rice University and the Ion in Houston.

US research universities’ innovation and future to be examined at Ion event Feb. 24

Rice President Reginald DesRoches and ASU President Michael Crow, two distinguished leaders in higher education and public service, will discuss the evolving role of U.S. research universities in driving innovation, equity, accessibility and affordability and more Feb. 24 at the Ion — Houston’s innovation hub powered by Rice. The event will include a livestream option with the recording available afterward.

Harnessing failure as an asset: How Rice researchers are innovating smarter wearable tech

A new study by mechanical engineers at Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing explores how programmed failure in heat-sealable, sheet-based systems can be used to protect devices, enable complex sequencing of actions and even streamline control mechanisms.

Rice computer science department invites Houston industry, community partners for discussion on generative AI and DeepSeek

The Rice Department of Computer Science and Ken Kennedy Institute invite Houston industry and community partners to an evening discussion on LLMs, DeepSeek and the future of generative AI.

Rice-led study finds 2D carbon material is 8 times tougher than graphene, resists cracking

Rice researchers found that a carbon material known as monolayer amorphous carbon is eight times tougher than graphene.

Annual event showcases AI and high-performance computing advances in energy

Rice’s Ken Kennedy Institute will host its annual Energy HPC Conference Feb. 25-27.

Rice opens the Rice Nexus, an innovation factory in the Ion focused on AI

Rice is celebrating the grand opening of the Rice Nexus, its flagship innovation hub in the Ion District designed to help faculty, students and alumni founders turn breakthrough research into high-impact startups.

OpenStax algebra curriculum receives unanimous approval in Texas

OpenStax, the world’s largest publisher of open educational resources based at Rice, announced that its algebra curriculum has received unanimous approval from the Texas State Board of Education. With this approval, the curriculum has been added to the Texas Instructional Materials Allocation list, underscoring OpenStax’s commitment to providing secondary educators with affordable, high-quality resources that support student success.

Rice-BCM research achieves gene-editing breakthrough that could improve treatment for liver disease, other disorders

The Rice lab of bioengineer Gang Bao and collaborators at Baylor College of Medicine have developed a new gene-editing strategy that dramatically boosts the effectiveness of gene therapies in the liver, a breakthrough that could lead to new treatments for about 700 genetic disorders in this vital organ as well as in other organs and tissues.

Glasscock School of Continuing Studies launches teaching minor

Rice’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies is now offering a minor in teaching, marking the school’s first undergraduate credential.

Rice’s Lydia Kavraki elected to National Academy of Engineering

Rice computer scientist Lydia Kavraki has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering, one of the highest professional honors accorded to an engineer, for her work on “developing randomized motion-planning algorithms for robotics and robotics-inspired methods in biomedicine.”