Rice’s Pedro J.J. Alvarez, a world leader in environmental nanotechnology and water sustainability, has been awarded the 2026 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Civil Engineering, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and engineering honors in the United States.
Bhalani, Eldridge to receive Builders Award
Rushi Bhalani ’19 and Will Eldridge ’16 ’17 will be recognized with the Builders Award Nov. 7 during the President’s Town Hall, a signature event of Rice’s Alumni Weekend. The Builders Award is given to graduates of the past 10 years who go above and beyond in service to Rice.
Rice, BCarbon join forces with Mexican state government to build community-driven carbon market
Representatives from the Mexican state of Tamaulipas, Earth Carbon and the nonprofit BCarbon met at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy last month to sign a memorandum of understanding recognizing their collaboration in carbon sequestration. Since then, Since then, in accord with an MOU between BCarbon and Rice, the team has been in Mexico meeting with stakeholders and changemakers to create a carbon market that benefits the community.
Rice faculty recognized for national awards in inaugural ceremony
President Reginald DesRoches and Provost Amy Dittmar welcomed winners of highly prestigious and prestigious awards to the Brockman Hall for Opera to celebrate Rice faculty excellence. On Oct. 6, Rice honored those faculty who have earned prestigious and highly prestigious awards, defined as such by the Organization of the National Research Council and the Association of American Universities.
Protecting public health: Rice’s Stadler honored by The Water Research Foundation
The Water Research Foundation recently presented Lauren Stadler, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice, with the 2025 Paul L. Busch Award at the Water Environment Federation’s Technical Exhibition and Conference in Chicago.
New membrane extracts lithium from brines with greater speed, less waste
A team of researchers at Rice has developed a new membrane that selectively filters out lithium from brines, offering a faster, cleaner way to produce the element at the heart of nearly every rechargeable battery.
Rice, Lehigh launch Consortium for Enhancing Resilience and Catastrophe Modeling
Rice and Lehigh University have announced the launch of the Consortium for Enhancing Resilience and Catastrophe Modeling, a research initiative designed to advance catastrophe risk modeling and resilience assessment.
Castellón’s ‘Impluvium Redux’ short-listed for major award in Venice
“Impluvium Redux,” an innovative architectural structure designed by Juan José Castellón of Rice’s School of Architecture, has been short-listed for the 2025 European Cultural Centre (ECC) Awards in the University Project category.
Folding the future: Origami helping Rice engineer Novelino transform materials, structures
Larissa Novelino has built her research on a surprising foundation: the centuries-old Japanese art of paper folding.
AI can help communities prepare for, respond to climate risks during peak hurricane season
As the Gulf Coast heads into the most active stretch of the Atlantic hurricane season — August through September — forecasters warn the region could face heightened storm activity this year, fueled by warm ocean waters and a changing climate.
The course co-taught by Juan José Castellón and Kalil Erazo paired architecture and engineering students to study how sustainable structures are conceived and built.
A smarter membrane for cleaner water
A team of researchers led by Menachem Elimelech and his former postdoctoral researcher Yanghua Duan at Rice has taken a major step toward solving one of water purification’s biggest puzzles: how to best design catalytic membranes that simultaneously filter and transform contaminants in a single step.
Rice SSPEED Center’s FIRST system provides critical flood warnings in real time
In the aftermath of the devastating July 2025 floods in the Texas Hill Country, the need for reliable, real-time flood warning systems has never been more urgent.
Rice engineering student honored for research to reduce surgical complications
Chihtong “Lily” Lee recently earned second place in the undergraduate category at the ASME SB3C Summer Bioengineering Conference, a competition hosted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
Rice-led forum tackles critical water-energy nexus in Washington, D.C.
In a time of escalating climate risks, crumbling infrastructure and ballooning industrial demand, understanding how water and energy intertwine has never been more urgent. That was the resounding message from experts who convened May 19 in Washington, D.C., for “The Intersection of Water and Energy, 2025-2030,” a forum hosted by Rice and Arizona State University.
