Rice U. expert available to discuss Llama 2 launch
The new open-source large language model, Llama 2, launched by Facebook parent company, Meta, last Tuesday allows users to adapt and develop artificial intelligence tools ⎯ including for use in commercial products ⎯ but the move raises urgent questions about the risks and potential benefits to how information is produced and disseminated.
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.”
NIH grant backs Rice lab’s sickle cell disease research
Rice University bioengineer Gang Bao and his team have won a grant from the National Institutes of Health to address critical questions surrounding the safety and efficacy of using gene editing to treat sickle cell disease.
Rice engineers’ storage technology keeps nanosurfaces clean
Rice mechanical engineers improved on a 50-year-old idea to create container technology that keeps volatile organic compounds from accumulating on the surfaces of stored nanomaterials.
Rice chemist wins $3.2M National Cancer Institute grant
Rice University chemist Han Xiao has won a $3.2 million research project (R01) grant from the National Cancer Institute to develop the first tissue-specific epigenetic inhibitor drug to treat bone metastasis.
Computer Science’s Vardi wins four prestigious scientific awards
Renowned Rice University computer scientist, mathematician and University Professor Moshe Vardi is on a roll, garnering four prestigious awards in automata theory and automated reasoning within the past four weeks.
Light-activated molecular machines get cells ‘talking’
Rice University scientists have used light-activated molecular machines to induce cell-to-cell calcium signaling, revealing a powerful new strategy for drug design. This technology could lead to improved treatments for people with heart problems, digestive issues and more.
Reporters broadcast live, on-the-scene, inside living cells
Synthetic biologists from Rice University and Princeton University have demonstrated “live reporter” technology that can reveal the workings of signaling networks in living cells with far greater precision than current methods. The first-of-its-kind reporting tool can show how quickly signaling networks respond and how responses vary from cell to cell in time and space.
Rice U. expert available to discuss social media giants’ rivalry and the launch of a new app by Meta
The launch of a new social media app by Facebook parent-company Meta yesterday has brought renewed attention to the social media landscape. Rice University Professor and computing expert Moshe Vardi is available to comment on the Meta-Twitter rivalry and its potential impact.
Rice U.’s Songtao Chen wins NSF CAREER Award
Songtao Chen, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Rice University, has won a prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award to advance the development of quantum networks by leveraging point defects in silicon.
NeuWS camera answers ‘holy grail problem’ in optical imaging
Engineers from Rice and the University of Maryland have created technology that could allow cameras to "see" through fog, smoke, driving rain, murky water, skin, muscle and other light-scattering obstructions.
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.
Researchers give robots new options for arrangements
Rice computer scientists have expanded the options robots have for rearranging objects with a new algorithm that allows them to switch between complementary skills like grabbing and placing individual objects or pushing and sliding entire groups.
