Rice University and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT) have selected three faculty-led projects for the inaugural IIT Madras & Rice University Strategic Partnership Collaboration Awards, supporting new multidisciplinary research collaborations between the two institutions.
The awards are part of the Rice-IITM Strategic Collaboration Initiative, which was launched following the signing of a strategic collaboration agreement in November 2024 during a visit to India by Amy Dittmar, the Howard R. Hughes Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. The initiative aims to deepen partnerships in research and education while fostering projects that address complex global challenges.
The three selected projects bring together faculty expertise from both universities in areas ranging from sustainable materials and entrepreneurship research to nuclear physics and detector technology.
“AI-Guided Upcycling of Industrial Wastes for Cement Decarbonization” is led by Rice assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering Kai Gong and Piyush Chaunsali, associate professor in the building technology of construction management at IIT Madras. The research team will explore how artificial intelligence and advanced materials science can transform industrial byproducts into new cement binders. By analyzing materials such as red mud and using machine-learning models to optimize performance, cost and carbon reduction, the project aims to develop more sustainable pathways for cement production while reducing industrial waste and greenhouse gas emissions.
A second project titled “Does CSR Legitimize or Stigmatize? CSR Support and Perceptions of Women-Led Ventures in India” is being led by Rice assistant professor of strategic management
Diana Jue-Rajasingh and Rupashree Baral, professor of organizational behavior and human resources at IIT Madras. The team will investigate how corporate social responsibility programs influence perceptions of women entrepreneurs in India. Through field experiments, interviews with entrepreneurship ecosystem actors and large-scale online studies, the project seeks to better understand how funding and support programs shape credibility, stigma and access to resources for women-led ventures. The findings are expected to inform both academic research and practitioner-oriented recommendations for organizations supporting entrepreneurship.
The third project, “Next-Generation Nuclear Physics and Detector Innovation for the LHC and EIC,” is led by Rice professor of physics and astronomy Wei Li and Prabhat Pujahari, associate professor of physics at IIT Madras. The collaboration focuses on advancing detector technologies and data analysis methods used in high-energy nuclear physics experiments, including those at the Large Hadron Collider and the upcoming Electron-Ion Collider. Planned activities include joint workshops, collaborative physics analyses and training researchers in advanced silicon detector instrumentation. The project also aims to establish a permanent silicon sensor testing laboratory at IIT Madras, strengthening both institutions’ capacity to contribute to global physics collaborations.
Together, these projects highlight the breadth of the Rice-IIT Madras partnership and the shared commitment to advancing innovative research with global impact. Supporting collaborative research between Rice and leading institutions across India is a central focus of Rice Global India, which was announced in 2024 to expand Rice’s academic partnerships, research collaboration and student mobility across the region. By investing in faculty teams working across disciplines and continents, the Strategic Partnership Collaboration Awards help create new pathways for discovery, training and long-term institutional collaboration.