Physics and Astronomy

No limit yet for carbon nanotube fibers

Rice University researchers report advances in their quest to make the best carbon nanotube fibers for industry.

NSF renews Rice biological physics center

$12.9 million in funding backs Center for Theoretical Biological Physics research into mysteries at the intersection of biology and physics.

Rice physicists win grant to continue Higgs study

Rice physicists win $1.3 million in Department of Energy funding to pursue ongoing research at the Large Hadron Collider.

Rice lab’s bright idea is pure gold

Physicists discover plasmonic metals can produce “hot carriers” that emit unexpectedly bright light in nanoscale gaps between electrodes.

Rice professor attracts grant to study magnetism

The Department of Energy awards a five-year Early Career grant to Rice physicist Ming Yi to explore the nature of magnetism in two-dimensional materials.

Dark matter search turns up hint of mysterious particle

XENON1T scientists revealed they had detected excess — perhaps cosmic — particles that may be evidence of long-sought axions.

Rice U. physicist Ming Yi wins coveted Moore Foundation grant

Rice physicist Ming Yi won $1.6 million from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for high-risk, high-reward research into quantum materials.

Quantum Hall effect 'reincarnated' in 3D topological materials

U.S. and German physicists have found surprising evidence of a link between the 2D quantum Hall effect and 3D topological materials that could be used in quantum computing.

Rice faculty part of Baylor Superfund program

A $10 million federal grant establishes a center to study how toxic chemicals from Superfund sites impact preterm births.

Calvin Class, emeritus professor of physics, dies at 96

Calvin Class, a professor of physics at Rice for 34 years, died April 14 at age 96.

Rice insight gives Large Hadron Collider better eyesight

Two Rice researchers carry on in Italy

Two Rice researchers are spending their days under a mountain in Italy, advancing the search for dark matter.

Rice satellite OwlSat set to launch in 2022

OwlSat, a small research satellite designed by Rice University students to monitor ultraviolet radiation, is set to launch into orbit in 2022.  

Study finds billions of quantum entangled electrons in 'strange metal'

Rice physicists and collaborators have observed quantum entanglement among "billions of billions" of flowing electrons in a quantum critical material.

Gasification goes green

Rice University engineers have created a light-powered nanoparticle that could shrink the carbon footprint of syngas producers.