From classroom to combine champion: Rice student wins NFL analytics title
Lucca Ferraz won the 2026 NFL Big Data Bowl, the league’s premier annual sports analytics competition, during combine week in Indianapolis.
Extra ‘set of eyes’ for self-driving cars: Roadside radar sensors could reduce blind spots
EyeDAR, a low-power millimeter-wave radar sensor roughly the size of an orange, could provide radar-equipped self-driving cars with critical inputs about surrounding traffic, extending and enhancing their sensing accuracy.
About 1 in 7 Houston-area residents say they know someone detained and potentially deported in 2025. There has also been a corresponding shift in attitude away from mass deportation with most Houston-area residents saying they prefer expanded pathways to citizenship over mass deportation, according to new data from Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Platform to map living brain noninvasively takes next big step
A technology designed to read gene activity in the brain from a simple blood test has now cleared a major translational hurdle.
New technique spots hidden defects to boost reliability of ultrathin electronics
Researchers at Rice have shown that hard-to-spot defects in a widely used two-dimensional insulator can trap electrical charges and locally weaken the material, making it more likely to fail at lower voltages.
On Feb. 17, the SSPEED Center welcomed Jed Anderson, founder and CEO of EnviroAI, for a lecture on environmental AI permitting.
‘Transformative’ Rice course challenges students to reinvestigate wrongful convictions
Undergraduates at Rice are digging into real, possible wrongful conviction cases this semester, examining evidence to bring renewed attention to individuals who maintain they were wrongfully convicted. The work is part of a new experiential program called Making an Exoneree.
Bestselling author, educator John Green to deliver Rice’s undergraduate commencement address May 9
John Green, the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author, influential educator and global YouTube phenomenon, will serve as the speaker for Rice's 113th undergraduate commencement ceremony at 7 p.m. May 9 at Rice Stadium.
Diamond owl swoops in with new method to keep electronics cool
A Rice research lab’s signature keepsake helped perfect a method for growing patterned diamond surfaces that could help decrease operating temperatures in electronics by 23 degrees Celsius.
Rice and Lehigh partner with global industry leaders to revolutionize catastrophe modeling
The Consortium for Enhancing Resilience and Catastrophe Modeling (CERCat) convened at Rice Feb. 5-6 for its semiannual meeting.
More precise DNA base editing could improve treatment for cystic fibrosis
Researchers at Rice and collaborators have refined a DNA base-editing technology to make it more precise, a step that could improve prospects for treating some patients with cystic fibrosis.
A new study from mechanical engineers at Rice describes a surprisingly straightforward fix for superhydrophobic surfaces: Instead of just engineering the surface’s chemistry and texture, they focused on engineering its heat flow.
Part of campus transforms into living laboratory for Rice and visiting Alief students
Rice students in TREEStem class teach visiting Alief students ecological techniques using the campus as a living laboratory.
Wyrczynski, Kam appointed professors of viola at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music beginning fall 2027
The new hires represent the beginning of a new era for the Shepherd School’s viola program as longtime professors Ivo-Jan van der Werff and James Dunham are retiring this spring and spring 2027, respectively.
New Rice-led perspective charts path to next-generation water and energy membranes
A new invited perspective in Nature Water, led by Rice researchers and international collaborators, discusses the future of membrane science.