Rice to host international conference in Paris on ‘Human Flourishing in the Age of AI’
What does it mean for human beings to flourish in a world shaped by AI?
The NASA Reauthorization Act of 2026, sponsored by Texas Rep. Brian Babin (R-Woodville), moves tomorrow to consideration by the full U.S. House of Representatives following unanimous approval by the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. As lawmakers consider the legislation, Rice experts are available to provide perspective on the bill’s implications for space science, engineering and aeronautics, artificial intelligence, public-private partnerships and the future aerospace workforce.
“Let’s begin with a very simple premise — simple but extremely important: Sound policy depends on sound data,” said David Satterfield, director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy when welcoming the audience to an armchair dialogue between the institute’s John Diamond and William Beach, the executive director of the Fiscal Lab on Capitol Hill and a senior fellow in economics at the Economic Policy Innovation Center.
At Rice, ‘The World at Play’ turned soccer into space for connection, conversation, care
a spirit of conversation defined the two-day conference organized by Rice’s School of Humanities and Arts faculty Jacqueline Couti and Caroline Fache ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Rice’s Baker Institute announces spring public event calendar
Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, ranked the world’s No. 1 university-based policy research institution, today announced its spring slate of public events, featuring conversations with leading world leaders, policymakers and thought leaders on the most timely domestic and global issues of the day.
Experts available to discuss economic, health, policymaking in partial US government shutdown
With a partial U.S. government shutdown increasingly possible by the end of the week, Rice experts can provide insight into what is at stake, how a shutdown could happen and the likely effects on the economy, public health and federal policymaking.
Incoming winter storm: Rice experts available to discuss forecast and impacts
As a major winter storm is expected to move into Texas beginning Friday night, Rice experts are available to provide insight into the storm’s impact on transportation.
Rice has launched the Global Brain Economy Initiative.
Rice will play a central role at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, anchoring signature Bloomberg House programming that spotlights how research universities, cities and states are translating innovation, talent and investment into durable social and economic returns.
Chief Justice Roberts to visit Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy March 17
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will return to the Rice campus and join the Baker Institute for Public Policy March 17 from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Stude Concert Hall for a public conversation reflecting on the state of the American judicial branch and his two decades of service on the nation’s highest court.
What US engagement in the Middle East looks like today: Insights from Satterfield and Deutch
David Satterfield, director of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, sat down Jan. 12 with Ted Deutch, CEO of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East, for a wide-ranging discussion on U.S. engagement in the Middle East. Drawing on decades of diplomatic and policy experience, the two explored the evolving dynamics shaping the region today.
Drug policy expert available to speak about fentanyl executive order
President Donald Trump’s executive order designating fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a significant escalation of efforts to curb the fentanyl supply, said Katharine Neill Harris, the Alfred C. Glassell III Fellow in Drug Policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Harris is available to speak to the news media about drug usage and U.S. drug policy.
Study finds employer health insurance costs have tripled relative to employee pay since 1999
A new Rice University study examines how the cost of employer-provided health insurance and the consumer price index have changed over the past 25 years to help explain why insurance premiums continue to rise and are becoming increasingly difficult for families to afford.
US elections in review: Carter Center and Baker Institute examine 25th anniversary of Bush v. Gore
Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Carter Center hosted their fifth annual elections conference Dec. 8 that focused on the 25th anniversary of the presidential race of George W. Bush v. Al Gore.
Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy has received a landmark $7.5 million gift from entrepreneur Claudio X. González, the largest individual contribution in the institute’s 32-year history. The gift endows and renames the institute’s leading research hub on U.S. and Mexico relations as the Claudio X. González Center for the United States and Mexico. The naming honors González’s long-standing leadership and generosity in promoting collaboration, understanding and shared prosperity across North America.