Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week begins Sept. 15 and exemplifies how Houston is developing and scaling real solutions for the challenge of meeting growing global energy demand while reducing carbon emissions.
New climate models to reveal secret life of water
A project led by Rice and the U.S. National Science Foundation National Center for Atmospheric Research will build a new and improved version of the Community Earth System Model, which can trace water across the entire planet from the clouds in the sky to the thick ice sheets deep underground.
Rice researchers turn wasted data center heat into clean power
A new study from Rice shows how to turn data center waste into power.
Folding the future: Origami helping Rice engineer Novelino transform materials, structures
Larissa Novelino has built her research on a surprising foundation: the centuries-old Japanese art of paper folding.
Rice alum honored with international award for groundbreaking archaeology research
Rice alumnus Abidemi Babatunde Babalola ’11 ’15 has been named a recipient of the 2025 Dan David Prize, one of the world’s largest history awards.
As hurricane season peaks, Rice experts spotlight overlooked Houston flood risks beyond FEMA maps
Rice experts say much of the region’s flood risk still sits outside federally mapped zones.
Wrinkles in atomically thin materials unlock ultraefficient electronics
Rice scientists have discovered that tiny creases in two-dimensional materials can control electrons’ spin with record precision, opening the path to ultracompact, energy-efficient devices.
AI can help communities prepare for, respond to climate risks during peak hurricane season
As the Gulf Coast heads into the most active stretch of the Atlantic hurricane season — August through September — forecasters warn the region could face heightened storm activity this year, fueled by warm ocean waters and a changing climate.
Rice anthropologists’ tribute to Iceland’s first lost glacier joins global preservation effort
Rice anthropologists featured in an international exhibition launched in connection with the United Nations’ International Year of Glacier Preservation.
A smarter membrane for cleaner water
A team of researchers led by Menachem Elimelech and his former postdoctoral researcher Yanghua Duan at Rice has taken a major step toward solving one of water purification’s biggest puzzles: how to best design catalytic membranes that simultaneously filter and transform contaminants in a single step.
Bats, poaching and the pulse of the forest: Rice researchers lead biodiversity study in Tanzania
Deep in the heart of Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains, a trio of Rice researchers embarked on an ambitious summer field study to understand how human impacts are reshaping forest ecosystems.
Vanishing shores: Coastal geologist issues urgent call to save the Gulf Coast
For John B. Anderson, the W. Maurice Ewing Professor Emeritus of Oceanography at Rice, the Gulf Coast is personal.
New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows
A new coating for glass developed by Rice researchers and collaborators could help reduce energy bills, especially during the cold season, by preventing heat-loss from leaky windows.
Thick electrodes’ chemistry matters more than structure for battery performance
Rice researchers showed that even if the materials used in thick battery electrodes have nearly identical structures, their internal chemistry impacts energy flow and performance differently.
Rice researchers develop superstrong, eco-friendly materials from bacteria
Scientists at Rice and University of Houston have developed an innovative, scalable approach to engineer bacterial cellulose into high-strength, multifunctional materials.