Electrical and Computer Engineering

Artist's impression of aluminum nanocatalysts of different shapes

Shape matters for light-activated nanocatalysts

Points matter when designing nanoparticles that drive important chemical reactions using the power of light, according research from Rice University's Laboratory for Nanophotonics.

Someone micro-pipetting liquid into a test tube

Three research teams earn Dunn Awards

Three teams of Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine researchers have been named winners of the 2020 John S. Dunn Collaborative Research Awards.

Atoms in the crystal lattice of tantalum disulfide arrange themselves into six-pointed stars that can be manipulated by light, according to Rice University researchers. The phenomenon can be used to control the material’s refractive index. It could become useful for 3D displays, virtual reality and in lidar systems for self-driving vehicles. (Credit: Weijian Li/Rice University)

Ambient light alters refraction in 2D material

Microscopic crystals in tantalum disulfide have a starring role in what could become a hit for 3D displays, virtual reality and even self-driving vehicles.

Welch Foundation

Largest gift in Rice history establishes The Welch Institute

The Robert A. Welch Foundation announces the largest single gift in the history of Rice University, $100 million, to establish The Welch Institute for world-leading advanced materials research.

Richard Baraniuk and Moshe Vardi

Researchers set sights on theory of deep learning

Rice's Richard Baraniuk and Moshe Vardi are part of a multiuniversity team of engineers, computer scientists, mathematicians and statisticians tapped by the Office of Naval Research to develop a principled theory of deep learning.

3DML

NSF backs first community platform for smarter wireless

Rice University researchers, with National Science Foundation backing, develop a community platform, 3DML, to accelerate machine learning for next-generation wireless networks and mobile applications.

A photo and infographic of the RAMBO system

Rice’s RAMBO-II: A sequel better than the original

First-of-its-kind spectrometer is getting stronger magnets, wider range of lasers.

An overview by the U.S. Geological Survey shows the location of the Nuugaatsiaq landslide (yellow star) relative to five broadband seismic stations (pink triangles) within 500 km of the landslide. Nuugaatsiaq (NUUG) was impacted by the resulting tsunami the reached a height of 300 feet at sea, though it was much lower before it reached the village. The inset shows the geometry of the fjords relative to the landslide and Nuugaatsiaq. (Source: USGS)

Small quake clusters can’t hide from AI

A deep learning algorithm developed at Rice University analyzes data from a deadly landslide in Greenland to show how it may someday predict seismic events like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

The cross-section of a fiber produced at Rice University contains tens of millions of carbon nanotubes. The lab continually improves its method to make fibers, which tests show are now stronger than Kevlar. Courtesy of the Pasquali Research Group

No limit yet for carbon nanotube fibers

Rice University researchers report advances in their quest to make the best carbon nanotube fibers for industry.

Ghasempour receives 2020 Marconi Society Young Scholar Award

A model by Rice University scientists shows how two positively charged spheres attached to springs are attracted to the electric field of light. Due to the motion of the spheres, the spring system scatters light at different energies when irradiated with clockwise and anticlockwise trochoidal waves. (Credit: Link Research Group/Rice University)

Cartwheeling light reveals new optical phenomenon

Researchers at Rice University have discovered details about a novel type of polarized light-matter interaction with light that literally turns end over end as it propagates from a source.

Rice University physicists discover that plasmonic metals can be prompted to produce “hot carriers” that in turn emit unexpectedly bright light in nanoscale gaps between electrodes. The phenomenon could be useful for photocatalysis, quantum optics and optoelectronics. (Credit: Illustration by Longji Cui and Yunxuan Zhu/Rice University)

Rice lab’s bright idea is pure gold

Physicists discover plasmonic metals can produce “hot carriers” that emit unexpectedly bright light in nanoscale gaps between electrodes.

PPP

People, papers and presentations Jun 29, 2020

Topics to be discussed are agriculture, energy, women’s health and plastics.

Naomi Halas is a Rice University engineer and chemist who's spent more than 25 years pioneering the use of light-activated nanomaterials.

Purifying water with a partly coated gold nanoparticle

Rice's Naomi Halas has collaborated with Yale University engineers on the creation of a light-activated nanoparticle for clearing water of pollutants. The research is part of an effort by NEWT, the Rice-based Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment.

Figure depicting the action of an aluminum-palladium antenna-reactor nanocatalyst that harnesses light energy to break chemical bonds in fluorocarbons

Fluorocarbon bonds are no match for light-powered nanocatalyst

Rice University engineers have created a light-powered catalyst that can break the strong chemical bonds in fluorocarbons, a group of synthetic materials that includes persistent environmental pollutants.