Rice Brain Institute awards first seed grants to jump-start collaborative brain health research
The Rice Brain Institute has announced the awardees of its first funding initiative, a seed grant program that is a collaborative effort between the university and four institutional partners in the Texas Medical Center.
Engineered material uses light to destroy PFAS, other contaminants
Materials scientists at Rice and collaborators have developed a material that uses light to break down a range of pollutants in water, including “forever chemicals” or PFAS.
Materials that match the brain: Rice engineer earns Sontag Foundation distinction
Rice materials scientist and neuroengineer Christina Tringides has been named a Distinguished Scientist by the Sontag Foundation, a national recognition for early career researchers advancing transformative projects in brain cancer research.
Rice convenes global researchers to advance understanding of quantum geometry in materials
The Rice Center for Quantum Materials hosted a Workshop on Quantum Geometry and Winter School on Quantum Materials Synthesis, bringing together more than 100 researchers, students and scientific leaders from around the world.
Rice engineers show lab-grown diamond films can stop costly mineral buildup in pipes
A new study by Rice engineers shows that lab-grown diamond coatings could help diminish mineral scaling in industrial piping, providing an alternative to chemical additives and mechanical cleaning, both of which offer only temporary relief and carry environmental or operational downsides.
Rice researchers weigh in on graphite’s rise to critical mineral status, mapping out trajectories toward more resilient, clean and efficient supply practices and systems.
Rice and Houston Methodist researchers to study brain-implant interface with Dunn Foundation award
A team of researchers from Rice and the Houston Methodist Research Institute has received a John S. Dunn Foundation Collaborative Research Award through the Gulf Coast Consortia to study how the brain responds over time to neural implants.
Kono awarded American Physical Society’s Isakson Prize
Rice applied physicist Junichiro Kono has been awarded the American Physical Society’s 2026 Frank Isakson Prize for Optical Effects in Solids.
Study shows light can reshape atom-thin semiconductors for next-generation optical devices
Rice researchers studying a class of atom-thin semiconductors known as transition metal dichalcogenides have discovered that light can trigger a physical shift in their atomic lattice, creating a tunable way to adjust the materials’ behavior and properties.
Materials scientist Hautier named fellow of American Physical Society
Rice materials scientist Geoffroy Hautier has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society for his work in high-throughput computational materials design and discovery.
Flash Joule heating lights up lithium extraction from ores
Researchers led by James Tour have developed a new way to extract lithium from salty water.
Rice quantum scientist Hanyu Zhu is available to discuss chiral phonons, a rapidly-evolving research field with implications for electronic and quantum technologies, energy transport, advanced sensing and more.
New membrane extracts lithium from brines with greater speed, less waste
A team of researchers at Rice has developed a new membrane that selectively filters out lithium from brines, offering a faster, cleaner way to produce the element at the heart of nearly every rechargeable battery.
Scientists uncover room-temperature route to improved light-harvesting and emission devices
A team of researchers from Rice and collaborators have found a way to make two different phonons in thin films of lead halide perovskite interact with light so strongly that they merge into entirely new hybrid states of matter.
Researchers including James Tour and Shichen Xu created a one-step process to recycle rare earths from discarded magnets.
