News Releases

The ethics of studying ancient DNA: Rice scholar helps craft global guidelines

Geneticists and archaeologists studying ancient DNA should engage with stakeholders in the places where they conduct research, minimize damage to human remains and share their data, according to new guidelines outlined in a paper co-authored by a Rice University anthropologist and published today in Nature.

Rice’s Baker Institute among finalists for Climate Challenge Cup

An innovative project led by Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy is among 12 finalists named today in the first international Climate Challenge Cup competition. The winners will be announced at an innovation showcase and ceremony Nov. 10 at COP26, the United Nations 2021 Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, Scotland.

HP CEO to discuss future of science and technology sector, impact of remote work

Antonio Neri, president and CEO of Hewlett Packard Enterprise — which recently relocated its global corporate headquarters to the Houston area — will discuss the role of funding in scientific innovation and the future of science and technology companies in an upcoming webinar from Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Anticorrosion coating sets new benchmark

Rice engineers adapt a compound to serve as a universal anticorrosive coating for steel.

Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers Conference celebrates top university-based programs, instructors

The GCEC, hosted by Loyola University Maryland and the University of Baltimore on Oct. 13-16, showcased higher education’s role in supporting underrepresented entrepreneurs who have been most affected by economic crises and hold the most potential for growth. The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at the Jones Graduate School of Business is the administrative home for the GCEC.

New members elected to Baker Institute Board of Advisors

The Baker Institute Board of Advisors added eight new members in 2021, with expertise ranging from business and health to energy, finance and technology. The new members are Jay Brown, Benjamin Cheng, Thomas Falk, Robert Ladd, Fred Lummis, Gerald Smith, Ann Stern and Guillermo “Memo” Trevino.

Nanoscale lattices flow from 3D printer

Rice University engineers are printing 3D lattices of glass and crystal with sub-200 nanometer resolution. The technique could make it practical to print micro-scale electronic, mechanical and photonic devices.

Packard Foundation backs Rice bioengineer

Rice University bioengineer Jerzy Szablowski wins a prestigious Packard Fellowship to pursue noninvasive brain research.

Working mothers who feel in control of schedule more likely to embrace healthy habits

A present-focused mindset made mothers more likely to maintain a feeling of control as demands on their time increased.

Dr. Rola El-Serag named director of Baker Institute’s Center for Health and Biosciences

Dr. Rola El-Serag will join Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Oct. 18 as the L.E. and Virginia Simmons Senior Fellow in Health Policy and director of the institute’s Center for Health and Biosciences.

Consumers see diverse organizations as moral ones, study shows

When people see diversity in a corporate team, they’re more likely to believe the team behaves in a moral fashion, according to research conducted by by Ajay Kalra, the Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Marketing at the Jones Graduate School of Business, and Uzma Khan, associate professor of marketing at the University of Miami Herbert Business School. Their work has just been published in a paper entitled "It's Good to Be Different: How Diversity Impacts Judgments of Moral Behavior."

Rice University’s OpenStax welcomes nine new educational technology partners

OpenStax, Rice University’s educational technology initiative offering free and flexible texbooks and other resources, has added nine new technology partners to its OpenStax Ally program.

Manganese makes its mark in drug synthesis

Rice University chemists find manganese far superior to silver and cerium as a way to make building blocks for drug design and manufacture.

Urban mining for metals flashes electronic trash into treasure

Flash Joule heating recovers valuable and toxic metals from electronic waste. The process allows for “urban mining” of resources that could be a win for the environment as well as for manufacturers.

Renewable energy will increase security and lower geopolitical risk, study shows

The transition to renewable energy will make the U.S. energy supply significantly more secure not only by decreasing the mining and materials required to build fossil fuel systems, but also by avoiding the political risks that threaten fossil fuel supply chains, according to new research from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.