Engineering

Rice lab’s ‘drug factory’ implants cleared for human trials

Federal regulators have approved the first human clinical trial of cancer-killing “drug factory” implants created by Rice bioengineers.

Cherukuri named Rice University’s first vice president for innovation

Paul Cherukuri, the executive director of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, has been named Rice University’s first vice president for innovation. 

Next-generation networks with fast changes and increased security

Rice computer scientists are leading the development of programmable networks that respond to change in seconds without downtime.

Ramesh named Rice University’s vice president for research

Ramamoorthy Ramesh, a condensed matter physicist and materials scientist with more than 25 years in academia, industry, national labs and government service, has been named Rice University’s vice president for research. 

Rice improves catalyst that destroys ‘forever chemicals’ with sunlight

Rice chemical engineers have improved their light-powered catalyst for destroying forever chemical PFOA.

Rice engineers get a grip with ‘necrobotic’ spiders

Rice University engineers find they can manipulate the legs of dead spiders to serve as grippers.

Synthetic tools conduct messages from station to station in DNA

Bioengineers used deactivated Cas9 fusion proteins to synthetically control gene expression and reveal new details about natural processes in human cells.

Wireless activation of targeted brain circuits in less than one second

Rice neuroengineers and collaborators have created wireless technology to remotely activate brain circuits.

Strain-sensing smart skin ready to deploy

Carbon nanotubes’ natural fluorescence enables a method to detect high strain concentrations, which can lead to damage that threatens the integrity of critical infrastructure like aircraft, buildings, pipelines, bridges and ships.

SARS-Arena reveals hidden hooks in virus

SARS-Arena will help to find conserved parts in proteins from SARS-CoV-2 that could be a key for the development of wide-spectrum vaccines.

Emu stands tall at detecting bacteria species

Rice computer scientists develop Emu, which uses long reads of genomes to identify bacteria in a community.

Landmark new engineering and science building on campus to bear Ralph S. O’Connor’s name

A self-made businessman who started out working in oilfields and ended up building an empire in energy and real estate investments will be memorialized at Rice University with a landmark new science and engineering building named in his honor.

Boron nitride nanotube fibers get real

Rice scientists create the first boron nitride nanotube fibers using the custom wet-spinning process they developed to make carbon nanotube fibers.

City, county and port support Galveston Bay Park study

Houston, Harris County, Port Houston and entrepreneur Joe Swinbank have chipped in for an engineering study of Galveston Bay Park, a chain of man-made islands that Rice University experts have proposed building as both a hurricane barrier and a 10,000-acre public park.

Rice OEDK team creates new feeding device for Houston Zoo’s red river hogs

Just steps away from Rice University, you can meet Neptune, Luna, Vidalia, Artemis and Ophelia, the Houston Zoo’s resident red river hogs.