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.
In an elegant fusion of art and science, researchers at Rice have achieved a major milestone in nanomaterials engineering by uncovering how boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) — touted for their strength, thermal stability and insulating properties — can be coaxed into forming ordered liquid crystalline phases in water.
Near-perfect defects in 2D material could serve as quantum bits
Researchers at Rice and collaborators at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Technology, Sydney report the first demonstration of low noise, room-temperature quantum emitters in h-BN made through a scalable growth technique.
Rice scientists harness vacuum fluctuations to engineer quantum materials
Rice researchers and collaborators have developed a new cavity design that selectively enhances the quantum vacuum fluctuations of circularly polarized light in a single direction, achieving chirality — a feat that typically requires the use of a strong magnetic field.
Turning carbon dioxide into fuel just got easier, thanks to acid bubbles
A team of researchers at Rice has discovered a surprisingly simple method for vastly improving the stability of electrochemical devices that convert carbon dioxide into useful fuels and chemicals, and it involves nothing more than sending the CO 2 through an acid bubbler.
Rethinking how robots move: Light and AI drive precise motion in soft robotic arm developed at Rice
Researchers at Rice have developed a soft robotic arm capable of performing complex tasks such as navigating around an obstacle or hitting a ball, guided and powered remotely by laser beams without any onboard electronics or wiring.
‘Here to work with the world’: Rice shines at inaugural SXSW London
Rice took center stage at the inaugural South by Southwest London, bringing Texas-sized ambition, pathbreaking innovation and global vision to one of the world’s premier gatherings of creative and intellectual leaders.
Rice researchers lay groundwork for designer hybrid 2D materials
An international team of researchers led by Rice materials scientists has succeeded in creating a genuine 2D hybrid material called glaphene.
Rice method refines ultrapure diamond film fabrication for quantum and electronic applications
Rice researchers have developed a simpler and more effective technique to make ultrapure diamond films for quantum and electronic applications.
‘Hopelessly attached’: Scientists discover new 2D material that sticks the landing
Researchers from Rice and Northwestern University discover new 2D material, confirming decade-old prediction.
Forging a path to a sustainable carbon economy: Inside the vision of Rice’s Carbon Hub
As the world races to address the climate crisis, a coalition headquartered at Rice is taking a radically collaborative approach to one of the toughest challenges: how to decarbonize industry while at the same time boosting manufacturing, improving infrastructure and securing the supply chains for the energy and materials we rely on every day.
Bao wins Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award
Rice's Gang Bao has been selected to receive the Robert Henry Thurston Lecture Award from the American Society for Mechanical Engineers for his sustained contributions to the mechanics of composites, cell mechanics and nanomedicine.
Rice engineers tackle sunlight intermittency in solar desalination
A team of Rice engineers has developed a system that could transform desalination practices, making the process more adaptable, resilient and cheaper. The new system is powered by sunlight and uses a creative approach to heat recovery for extended water production ⎯ with and without sunshine.
Machine learning powers new approach to detecting soil contaminants
A team of researchers at Rice and Baylor College of Medicine has developed a new strategy for identifying hazardous pollutants in soil ⎯ even ones that have never been isolated or studied in a lab.
