News Releases

Persona AI expands in the Ion as Rice and Ion District support growth of AI innovation

Persona AI, the Houston-based humanoid robotics startup that recently closed $25 million in pre-seed funding, is significantly expanding its operations at the Ion, the Houston innovation hub powered by Rice.

OwlSpark announces students, alumni and staff selected for its 13th cohort

OwlSpark, Rice’s startup and small business accelerator for Rice-affiliated ventures, brings together 11 companies in the program’s 13th year who represent a new wave of entrepreneurs tackling challenges across technology, consumer products, health care and more. Since 2013, the accelerator has supported 229 founders and launched 104 ventures with participants collectively raising more than $116 million in funding.

New roadmap advances catalytic solutions to destroy ‘forever chemicals’

A team of researchers from Rice, Carnegie Mellon University and other leading global institutions has outlined a bold new roadmap for harnessing heterogeneous catalysis to destroy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the so-called “forever chemicals” that have contaminated water supplies worldwide.

Kosmos 482’s return being watched closely by Rice experts

Rice University experts are available to discuss Kosmos 482.

Rice to break ground on Moody Center Complex for Student Life May 8

Rice will break ground on the Moody Center Complex for Student Life at 3 p.m. May 8, marking a transformative moment for the university’s commitment to student engagement, development and success.

Kinder Institute study shows Houstonians may be underprepared for disasters

As hurricane season approaches new insights from Rice’s Kinder Institute highlight Harris County households’ disaster preparedness.

Rice scholar available to discuss selection of next pope

As the Vatican prepares to choose the next leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Rice University sociologist Craig Considine is available to provide analysis and commentary on the conclave to select the next pope, the critical issues facing the Catholic church and the potential direction the next Pope may take on a number of issues.

Biologist Scott Solomon named Piper Professor for excellence in teaching

Scott Solomon, a biologist, science communicator and teaching professor in the Department of Biosciences, has been named a 2025 Piper Professor by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation.

Matthew Tyler receives NSF CAREER award to improve reliability of survey-based research

Matthew Tyler, an assistant professor of political science at Rice, receives NSF CAREER award.

Electricity-generating bacteria may power future innovations

A team led by Rice's Caroline Ajo-Franklin has discovered how certain bacteria breathe by generating electricity.

New national survey reveals what American consumers truly value across 18 key industries

The 2025 Customer Value Report, authored by marketing researchers at Rice and the University of Miami Patti and Allan Herbert Business School, evaluates 18 sectors representing the full spectrum of American consumer life — from banking, education and health care to streaming services and law enforcement.

National Academy of Sciences elects Lydia Kavraki as a member

Lydia Kavraki, a leading researcher in robotics, computational biomedicine and artificial intelligence at Rice, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the world’s foremost professional societies dedicated to honoring achievement in science and outstanding original research.

Rice engineer awarded NSF CAREER Award to advance decentralized learning for next-generation computing systems

Rice’s César A. Uribe has won a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to advance the mathematical foundations of decentralized learning, a critical area for the future of artificial intelligence, data science and distributed systems.

Extreme price variation at Houston hospitals continues, expert says

Houston hospitals show significant pricing differences in their procedures, according to a new brief from Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The research revisits the websites of the four largest Texas Medical Center (TMC) hospitals to assess whether they have followed federal hospital price transparency laws. The analysis focuses on the listed prices from Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center, HCA Houston Healthcare Medical Center, Houston Methodist Hospital and Memorial Hermann-TMC.

A new shape for energy storage: Cone and disc carbon structures offer new pathways for sodium-ion batteries

A new study led by researchers from the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice has introduced an innovative solution that could impact electrochemical energy storage technologies.