Faculty

Powered by play: Engineering students blend circuits, code and imagination

Everywhere you turned at the final showcase for Design of Mechatronic Systems, something moved, danced, blinked or spun.

Rice caps year of increasing Moody Experience activities with celebration, student impact stories

Following a year full of increased activity for Moody Experience programs, Andy Osborn, program manager of educational initiatives, welcomed campus partners and students April 28 at Cohen House to celebrate student impacts and thank campus collaborators for their contributions throughout the year. 

Matthew Tyler receives NSF CAREER award to improve reliability of survey-based research

Matthew Tyler, an assistant professor of political science at Rice, receives NSF CAREER award.

Rap meets rhetoric

For fall 2025, professor Kiese Laymon is breaking new ground with a course that centers on the beef between Lamar and Drake, a cultural moment that’s still reverberating in real time.

Rice salutes Catherine Clack’s 43 years of service

Catherine Clack, Rice’s associate vice provost in the Office of Access and Institutional Excellence and director of the Multicultural Center, is retiring in May, providing a capstone to her long and productive career with the university.

Rice deepens global roots with new educational and research collaborations in India

As India’s influence grows in fields such as climate change, biotechnology and artificial intelligence, Rice is positioning itself to be a key collaborator.

Rice celebrates outstanding faculty and students at annual University Awards Ceremony

Rice honored exceptional faculty, staff and students for their dedication to teaching, mentoring and service at the annual University Awards Ceremony and Reception April 24, hosted by the Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE).

‘Kindness matters’: Victoria Langlais wins Elizabeth Gillis Award

Victoria Langlais, senior assistant dean of human resources and administration in Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing, was named this year’s winner of the Elizabeth Gillis Award for Exemplary Service at President Reginald DesRoches’ annual event celebrating staff accomplishments April 23.

Journey Towards Justice: Rice students walk the path of civil rights history

A cohort of Rice University undergraduates boarded a bus bound for Alabama — not for vacation, but for a deeper understanding of America’s legacy of racial justice.

‘Determined to find a solution’: Rice students create wellness app

A team of students from Rice is developing a mobile app to “make happiness a daily habit.” Named Sprout Wellness, the technology’s goal is to provide users with positive psychology-based activity plans to foster social connection, improve well-being and decrease depressive symptoms. It is available for download from the Apple App Store and will soon be available on GooglePlay.

Ross Rankin Moody Opportunity Fund bolsters Rice student opportunities

The Ross Rankin Moody Opportunity Fund distributed $9,500 among 13 students to support their travel opportunities. Most of the funds were allocated to Rice in Country programs, while others were used for internships, research programs or international competitions.

Future Owls flock to Rice for Owl Days

Rice welcomed admitted students and their families to campus for Owl Days April 11 and for Owl Days Express April 13. The program is an opportunity for new students to explore the campus and its surrounding area. The Class of 2029 connected with fellow Owls, learned more about what the next four years may look like and experienced Rice’s community, academics and culture of care.

Faculty recognized with George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching

Nine Rice faculty members received the 2025 George R. Brown Award for Superior Teaching, which honors Rice’s top instructors based on votes from alumni who graduated within the past two, three and five years.

Building better AI starts with asking better questions; Rice is doing just that

Humanities disciplines, especially medical humanities, shouldn’t just be consulted at the end of the development pipeline when systems are being evaluated for bias or misuse.

Wiess Tabletop Theatre to present ‘Company’ April 17-19

Rice’s Wiess Tabletop Theatre will present “Company” at 8 p.m. April 17-19 in the Wiess Commons. The show is free to Rice students, and others can attend for a $5 general admission fee.