Current News

Federal food program needs more 'clearly defined objectives,' Baker Institute expert says

HOUSTON – (Jan. 13, 2020) – Public health and anti-hunger advocates want an effective food assistance program for low-income Americans, but they disagree on several fundamental issues involved in tackling the problem, according to a new issue brief from the Center for Public Finance at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Audrey’s coffee shop now open in Jones School

Audrey’s is the latest project from Houston coffee maven David Buehrer.

People, papers and presentations Jan 13, 2020

George Abbey, senior fellow in space policy at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, was elected to the Lone Star Flight Museum's Texas Aviation Hall of Fame. He will be inducted at a luncheon May 8 at Houston's Ellington Airport.

Glasscock School will offer classes at Ion innovation hub

Rice and the Ion are collaborating to offer courses to the public in technology, entrepreneurship and more.

Gasification goes green

Rice University engineers have created a light-powered nanoparticle that could shrink the carbon footprint of syngas producers.

X-rays show how light transforms photosynthesis ‘switch’

Researchers at Rice and their colleagues get their first detailed look at how plant proteins reconfigure themselves when exposed to light.

Treat nonviolent drug offenses as public health issue, Baker Institute paper recommends

Drug use among people arrested for nonviolent drug offenses should be treated primarily as a public health issue, according to drug policy experts at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition.

Snake-like proteins can wrangle DNA

Theoretical simulations at Rice University suggest structural maintenance of chromosome proteins coil not only around each other but also around the strands of DNA they help manipulate. These strands are formed into loops that regulate transcription and other cellular processes.

Quantum-dot tattoos hold vaccination record

Keeping track of a child’s shots could be so much easier with technology invented by a new Rice University professor and his colleagues.

Rice University launches bold climate change initiative with Shell

With initial support from Shell, Rice University has launched Carbon Hub, a climate change research initiative to fundamentally change how the world uses hydrocarbons. Carbon Hub's goal is a zero-emissions future in which hydrocarbons are not burned. Instead, they are split to make clean hydrogen energy and valuable carbon materials.

Newborn baby deaths in Africa targeted in $68M initiative

A new global health initiative with Rice University roots could save the lives of hundreds of thousands of babies.

Malawi study confirms lasting impact of life-saving technology

A new study finds Malawi made sustained improvements in the survival of babies with respiratory illness by adopting CPAP nationwide.

Reflections on the beloved community

Students from Rice’s Black Male Leadership Initiative convened in Herring Hall Sept. 9 to reflect on their five-day cultural excursion to Atlanta, sponsored by the Dean of Undergraduates and the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance.

The Way I See It: Engineering healthy environments inside and outside the lab

Inspired by their professor, Rice bioengineering students find their mojo on the running track.

Physicists find first possible 3D quantum spin liquid

Rice physicists show cerium zirconium pyrochlore qualifies as the first possible 3D quantum spin liquid.