Chemistry

2D compound shows unique versatility

Rice chemist, alums named to Forbes 30 Under 30

Rice University chemist Julian West and four alumni have been named to the 10th annual Forbes 30 Under 30.

‘Soft’ nanoparticles give plasmons new potential

Bigger is not always better, but here’s something that starts small and gets better as it gets bigger.

Weak force has strong impact on nanosheets

Vitamin boosts essential synthetic chemistry

Inspired by light-sensing bacteria that thrive near hot oceanic vents, synthetic chemists use vitamin B12 to catalyze valuable hydrocarbons known as olefins, or alkenes, useful precursor molecules for the manufacture of drugs and agrochemicals.

People, papers and presentations Dec 7,2020

Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of computer science, is co-author of the introduction to “The Science of Deep Learning,” a special issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Chemists get peek at novel fluorescence

Rice chemists find a second level of fluorescence in single-walled carbon nanotubes. The phenomenon may be useful in solar energy and optoelectronic applications.

Understanding frustration could lead to better drugs

Atom-scale models of proteins that incorporate ligands, like drug molecules, show a strong correlation between minimally frustrated binding sites and drug specificity. Such models could lead to better-designed drugs with fewer side effects.

Rice researchers top two categories in ‘Create the Future’ contest

Rice University was a double winner in the annual Create the Future Design Contest, an international competition in its 19th year.

In a hurry to develop drugs? Here’s your cHAT

Rice University scientists develop cHAT to simplify the reduction of alkenes to more useful intermediate molecules for drugs and other useful chemical compounds.

Flash graphene rocks strategy for plastic waste

Rice scientists advance their technique to make graphene from waste with a focus on plastic.

Rice finds path to nanodiamond from graphene

Rice University researchers expand their theory on converting graphene into 2D diamond, or diamane.

Rice rolls out next-gen nanocars

Rice researchers continue to advance the science of single-molecule machines with a new lineup of nanocars, in anticipation of the next international Nanocar Race in 2022.

At our cores, we’re all strengthened by ‘dumbbells’

Scientists at Rice’s Center for Theoretical Biological Physics detail the structure of dumbbell-like sequences in DNA during interphase that suggest several unseen aspects of chromosome configuration and function.

There’s a reason bacteria stay in shape

A primal mechanism in bacteria that keeps them in their personal Goldilocks zones -- that is, just right -- appears to depend on two random means of regulation, growth and division, that cancel each other out. The same mechanism may give researchers a new perspective on disease, including cancer.