Engineering

Treated plastic waste good at grabbing carbon dioxide

Rice University chemists treat waste plastic to absorb carbon dioxide from flue gas streams more efficiently than current processes.

Georgia Tech team wins Rice360 Design Competition

A Georgia Tech team won Rice360’s annual undergraduate design competition for global health technologies.

Living sensor research wins federal backing

Rice researchers are leading a federally funded project to improve communications between microelectronics and microorganisms.

NSF backs study of Mississippi River’s response to climate change

Rice climate scientists and engineers are studying how climate change will impact Mississippi River flooding.

Blood vessels are guides for stimulating implants

A wireless neurostimulator a little bigger than a grain of rice can be put in place alongside blood vessels to treat neurological diseases and chronic pain.

US News grad school rankings give high marks to Rice programs

A total of 19 graduate programs at Rice University rank among the nation's top 25 in their categories in the latest edition of U.S. News and World Report’s “Best Graduate Schools.”

Don’t underestimate undulating graphene

A theory by Rice University scientists suggests putting graphene on an undulating surface stresses it enough to create a minute electromagnetic field. The phenomenon could be useful for creating 2D electron optics or valleytronics devices.

Wind, solar could replace coal power in Texas

A fraction of the wind and solar projects already proposed in Texas could eliminate the state’s remaining coal power plants and their emissions, according to Rice University engineers.

Thomas Senftle wins NSF CAREER Award

Rice University chemical and biomolecular engineer Thomas Senftle has won a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to advance machine learning techniques for designing new catalysts.

Saudi Aramco joins Rice University’s Carbon Hub

Saudi Aramco joins Rice’s Carbon Hub research initiative to accelerate the energy transition by developing sustainable uses of hydrocarbons.

Models for molecules show unexpected physics

Rice engineers discover unusual properties in magnetized colloids that surprisingly adhere to the physics described by Kelvin’s equation, which models the thermodynamics of molecular systems.

COVID-19 variants can’t hide from Variabel

Rice computer scientists introduce Variabel, which uses sequencing data to identify “low-frequency variants” of SARS-CoV-2 in public data sets. The program has also been tested on data from patients with Ebola and norovirus.

Bio-FlatScope dives deep for useful data

The lensless Bio-FlatScope is a small, inexpensive camera to monitor biological activity that can’t be captured by conventional instruments. The device could eventually be used to look for signs of cancer or sepsis or become a valuable endoscopy tool.

‘Drug factory’ implants eliminate ovarian, colorectal cancer in mice

Rice bioengineers have created tiny implants that activate immune cells to destroy cancer.

Faculty set Rice record with eight CAREER Awards

Rice faculty set a record, winning eight NSF CAREER Awards in 2002