News Releases

Rice University’s OpenStax welcomes nine new educational technology partners

OpenStax, Rice University’s educational technology initiative offering free and flexible textbooks 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.

Director of Baker Institute announces retirement

Ambassador Edward Djerejian, director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, this week announced his retirement effective at the conclusion of his 28th year, on June 30, 2022.

Corps of Engineers funds bid to ‘flash’ waste into useful materials

A $5.2 million U.S. Army Corps of Engineers grant will expand Rice efforts to recycle waste into valuable products through flash Joule heating.

US Army backs ‘sleeping cap’ to help brains take out the trash

Rice engineers are developing a noninvasive device to understand how the brain disposes of metabolic waste during sleep.

American Chemical Society honors Gustavo Scuseria

Rice University’s Gustavo Scuseria wins the American Chemical Society Award in Theoretical Chemistry.

NSF-backed ‘team of teams’ raises stakes for master’s students

Four institutions will share an NSF grant of nearly $5 million to support scholarships for students seeking master’s degrees in engineering and related fields.

NSF extends Physics of Living Systems network at Rice

The NSF awards nearly $3 million to the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics to continue its leadership role in the Physics of Living Systems graduate research network.

Sex and the symbiont: Can algae hookups help corals survive?

Scientists have discovered that symbiotic single-celled algae that live inside of and feed corals can reproduce not only by mitosis, but also sexually. Encouraging sex in these algae can accelerate their evolution to produce strains better able to help reefs cope with climate change.

Moody Foundation grants $100 million to Rice University

The Moody Foundation has granted Rice $100 million to build a transformative new student center designed by one of the world’s premiere architects and to create endowments supporting student opportunity and success, both as part of the center and in other areas of the university.

Rice lands grant to improve time-release drugs

HOUSTON – (Sept. 21, 2021) – Time-released drugs are about to get a geometry lesson, thanks to bioengineers at Rice University.

Grant backs effort to build useful bacterial colonies

Rice scientists have won a grant to advance the development of custom-designed microbial colonies for a variety of applications.

Physicists probe light smashups to guide future research