For this emergent class of materials, ‘solutions are the problem’
Rice materials scientists developed a fast, low-cost, scalable method to make covalent organic frameworks (COFs), a class of crystalline polymers whose tunable molecular structure, large surface area and porosity could be useful in energy applications, semiconductor devices, sensors, filtration systems and drug delivery.
Rice-Hamburg U. of Technology launch research collaboration
Rice chemical engineer Walter Chapman is spearheading a collaboration with the Hamburg University of Technology’s SMART Reactors Collaborative Research Center, which aims to develop solutions in support of a transition from fossil fuel to renewables-based economic and production chains through innovative reactor design and development.
The increasing use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) — and a proposal in the European Union to ban the entire class of materials — highlights the need for an updated and standardized approach to assess human and environmental impacts of CNTs and products that contain them, according to a new collaborative study co-authored by Rice University researchers.
Kavli Exploration Award backs Rice-led sustainable carbon materials research
An international team of scientists led by Rice’s Matteo Pasquali has won a $4.1 million grant to optimize carbon nanotube synthesis. The award is a joint effort by The Kavli Foundation, with a $1.9 million Exploration Award in Nanoscience for Sustainability, and Rice’s Carbon Hub, which contributed an additional $2.2 million.
Rice announces strategic collaboration agreement with Indian Institute of Science
As part of its strategic global initiative, Rice University leadership recently traveled to the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) where the two institutions agreed to collaborate to develop shared research and industry engagement around the themes of data science, energy and materials.
Rice’s Naomi Halas wins Mildred Dresselhaus Prize
Naomi Halas, a pioneering researcher in the fields of nanophotonics and plasmonics at Rice University, has been awarded the 2024 Mildred Dresselhaus Prize for Nanoscience/Nanomaterials from the American Physical Society.
Three from Rice elected fellows of the American Physical Society
Rice University faculty members Sibani Lisa Biswal , Kaden Hazzard and Andriy Nevidomskyy have been elected fellows of the American Physical Society.
Tiny CRISPR tool could help shred viruses
Rice scientists mapped out the three-dimensional structure of one of the smallest known CRISPR-Cas13 systems then used that knowledge to modify its structure and improve its accuracy.
Split gene-editing tool offers greater precision
To make a gene-editing tool more precise and easier to control, Rice University engineers split it into two pieces that only come back together when a third molecule is added.
Device makes hydrogen from sunlight with record efficiency
Rice University engineers’ have created a device that turns sunlight into hydrogen with record-breaking efficiency by integrating next-generation halide perovskite semiconductors with electrocatalysts in a single, durable, cost-effective and scalable device.
Michael Wong named fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Rice University’s Michael Wong was named a fellow to the Royal Society of Chemistry, the oldest chemical society in the world, whose mission is to “advance excellence in the chemical sciences.”
Electrochemical device captures carbon dioxide at the flick of a switch
New carbon capture technology developed by Rice University engineers can generate a continuous, high-purity carbon dioxide stream from diluted, or low-concentration, gas streams using only electricity and a water-and-oxygen-based reaction.
New enzyme could aid anticancer drug development
Retracing nature’s steps, Rice University engineer Xue Gao and her team mapped out the full series of enzyme-powered reactions a marine fungus uses to produce a complex molecule with anticancer properties. In the process, the Gao lab uncovered the first fungal enzyme of its kind known to break an amide bond.
Rice U. grad student wins DOE research award
Winnie Shi, a Rice University chemical and biomolecular engineering graduate student, has been selected to participate in the Office of Science Graduate Student Research Program at the U.S. Department of Energy.
New priming method improves battery life, efficiency
Rice University engineers have developed a readily scalable method to optimize a silicon anode priming method that increases lithium-ion battery performance by 22% to 44%.
