News Releases

Shale oil investments may be protected from nationalization, experts say

Shale oil’s short-cycle production protects foreign investors from the risk of expropriation — government taking private property for public use — providing an opportunity for the increasingly risk-averse global petroleum industry, according to a new report.

Rice U. study: Use your team’s emotions to boost creativity

HOUSTON – (Aug. 17, 2021) – If you’re putting together a team for a project, you might be inclined to pick people with cheerful, optimistic dispositions and flexible thinking. But a new management study indicates your team might also benefit from people who are exactly the opposite, according to experts at Rice University, the University of Western Australia, Bond University and the University of Queensland.

Woven nanotube fibers turn heat into power

Carbon nanotubes woven into thread-like fibers and sewn into fabrics become a thermoelectric generator that can turn heat from the sun or other sources into energy.

‘Smart cells’ show promise to treat disease

Laura Segatori wins NIH backing to develop synthetic biological circuits for cells that may someday sense trouble and respond by making just enough of the appropriate drugs.

Helpful house design has an eye on history

Rae Atkinson, a master of architecture student at Rice University, won first place in the American Institute of Architects Houston chapter’s Gulf Coast Green Student Competition to design a “self-help hub” for residents in Houston’s Fourth Ward.

Rice provost, structural engineer available to comment on Haiti earthquake

HOUSTON – (Aug. 15, 2021) – Rice University Provost Reginald DesRoches, a professor of civil and environmental engineering with expertise in structural engineering, is available to discuss this weekend’s magnitude 7.2 earthquake in Haiti.

FEMA disaster recovery funds favor white entrepreneurs, study finds

Federal recovery funding after a disaster may disproportionally benefit white entrepreneurs, according to new research from Rice University’s Department of Sociology.

Rice Alliance to host startup pitch event at OTC

'Cool' kids in the cosmos may not be so unique

Rice University scientists show that "cool" stars like the sun share dynamic surface behaviors that influence their energetic and magnetic environments. Stellar magnetic activity is key to whether a given star can host planets that support life.

Rice expert: Using carbon is key to decarbonizing economy

Rice University carbon materials expert Matteo Pasquali is available to discuss ways to slash carbon dioxide emissions and rapidly decarbonize the global economy.

Rice’s OpenStax to provide 13 educational technology companies with training to develop equitable courseware platforms

HOUSTON — (Aug. 5, 2021) — OpenStax, Rice University’s educational technology initiative, announced today that 13 companies have been selected to participate in the organization’s new equity in courseware training program. The training will help the participating companies learn about and develop educational technology platforms that provide better outcomes for all students, especially those from historically marginalized and underserved communities.

Data scientists go to the mat to learn about microbial networks

A project led by Rice University data scientists will attempt to define "social networks" in microbiomes, starting with microbial mats that thrive in Yellowstone Park's hot springs.

When many act as one, data-driven models can reveal key behaviors

Data science approaches can reveal subtle clues about the origins of such collective behaviors as aggregation of bacteria.

Sustainability alone cannot fix waste management woes, says expert

Both sustainability practices and a circular economy can help maximize the world’s resources, but the ideas are not interchangeable, according to a new brief from Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Iran’s water crisis is a warning for the US

HOUSTON – (Aug. 3, 2021) – Iran’s groundwater depletion and food security crisis is an issue of global importance reflecting not only climate change, but also a pattern of policy mismanagement, according to an expert from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.