Chemistry

Rice turns asphaltene into graphene for composites

The flash Joule heating process developed at Rice turns asphaltenes, a byproduct of crude oil production, into graphene for use in composite materials.

ACS taps Rice, Shell for Partners in Progress & Prosperity Award

Collaborators at Rice and Shell receive the American Chemical Society Southwest Regional Partners in Progress & Prosperity Award.

Growing pure nanotubes is a stretch, but possible

Rice engineers have a new strategy for making batches of carbon nanotubes with a single, desired chirality.

New catalyst can turn smelly hydrogen sulfide into a cash cow

Rice engineers and scientists and collaborators have discovered an efficient, one-step process for converting hydrogen sulfide gas into clean-burning hydrogen fuel.

People, papers and presentations for Oct. 31, 2022

Lydia Kavraki and Marcia O’Malley are among 35 scientists named Oct. 25 to a list of the world’s top women scientists in robotics, energy and science at the iROS Kyoto 2022 Conference in Japan.

People, papers and presentations for Oct. 24, 2022

Naomi Halas, the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of chemistry, bioengineering, physics and astronomy and of materials science and nanoengineering and the director of Rice’s Smalley-Curl Institute, touted the findings of a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office study on women inventors Oct. 19 in Houston as part of the Society of Women Engineers’ annual meeting.

Halas, Nordlander honored in Rome

Italian President Sergio Mattarella presented Rice’s Naomi Halas and Peter Nordlander the 2022 Eni Energy Transition Award in an Oct. 3 ceremony in Rome's Quirinal Palace.

Wong named fellow of American Institute of Chemical Engineers

The Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering’s Michael Wong has been elected a fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Bird’s enzyme points toward novel therapies

Rice University chemists find a rare genetic pathway that helps mammalian cells become drug factories or sensors by synthesizing noncanonical amino acids. The clues came from an uncommon bird.

Onuchic wins top Biophysical Society honor

José Onuchic wins the 2023 Founders Award presented by the Biophysical Society.

New weapon targets antibiotic resistance

A new class of molecular motors triggered by visible light kills harmful bacteria by generating reactive oxygen species. The new strategy could be a weapon against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Brushing thin films onto electrodes preserves batteries

Brushing powdered phosphorus and sulfur into lithium anodes helps keep them from forming damaging dendrites in rechargeable batteries.

Smalley-Curl Institute rewards students’ summer research

The Smalley-Curl Institute held its annual Summer Research Colloquium Aug. 5.

Halas, Nordlander win prestigious Eni Energy Transition Award

Rice’s Naomi Halas and Peter Nordlander have won the prestigious 2022 Eni Energy Transition Award.

Water can’t touch this sanded, powdered surface

Rice scientists and engineers develop a one-step method involving sandpaper and powder to make robust superhydrophobic materials.