Rice University President Reginald DesRoches and Provost Amy Dittmar welcomed winners of highly prestigious and prestigious awards to Asha and Farid Virani Hall Oct. 21 to celebrate Rice faculty who have earned these accolades, demarcated by the Organization of the National Research Council and the Association of American Universities.
“These awards are more than individual recognitions — they represent the extraordinary talent and dedication of our faculty, their brilliance as researchers, their commitment as mentors and their impact as teachers,” DesRoches said.
“Each honor strengthens Rice’s reputation as a university defined by excellence, where world-class faculty push the boundaries of knowledge and prepare the next generation of great minds. I am deeply proud of the accomplishments we celebrate today. I am also grateful for your work and how proudly you enrich our university and the entire world,” he told the recipients.
Following a performance by a Shepherd School of Music student woodwind quintet, award winners from fiscal year 2025-26 were brought on stage to accept custom-made commemorative crystal awards to commend achievements such as the National Science Foundation CAREER Awards, American Association for the Advancement of Science election, Association for Psychological Science Fellow election, the Guggenheim Fellowship and more.
Highly prestigious award winners
Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences election
- Corey Abramson, professor of sociology
The Benjamin Franklin Medal in Civil Engineering
- Pedro Alvarez, George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
American Academy of Arts and Sciences election
- Pengcheng Dai, Sam and Helen Worden Professor of Physics and Astronomy
National Academy of Medicine election
- Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Malcolm Gillis University Professor
Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship
- Kenneth Tam, assistant professor of art
Prestigious award winners
National Science Foundation CAREER Awards
- Guha Balakrishnan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering
- James Doss-Gollin, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering
- Kai Gong, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering
- Noemi Vergopolan, assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences
Sloan Research election
- Jerzy Szablowski, associate professor of bioengineering
The American Association for the Advancement of Science election
- Edward Knightly, Sheafor-Lindsay Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering; professor of computer science
- Marcia O’Malley, Thomas Michael Panos Family Professor of Mechanical Engineering
- Volker Rudolf, professor of biosciences
- Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede, professor of chemistry
Walter L. Huber Civil Engineering Research Prize
- Lauren Stadler, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering
Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences
- Christina Tringides, assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering
Arthur L. Day Medal
- Cin-Ty Lee, Harry Carothers Wiess Professor of Geology
Lawrence Bogorad Award for Excellence in Plant Biology Research
- Bonnie Bartel, Ralph and Dorothy Looney Professor of Biosciences
Walter H. Bucher Medal
- Richard Gordon, W.M. Keck Foundation Professor of Geophysics
Radcliffe Institute election
- Qimiao “Frank” Si, Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of Physics and Astronomy
Association for Psychological Science election
- Jing Chen, associate professor of psychological sciences
- Simon Jacob Fischer-Baum, associate professor of psychological sciences
Humboldt Research election
- Evelyn Tang, assistant professor of physics and astronomy
The Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Research Grant
- Chang Xu, assistant professor of transnational Asian studies
The Middle East Studies Association Academic Freedom Award
- Abdel Razzaq Takriti, Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair of Arab Studies; associate professor of history