Two-step flash Joule heating method recovers lithium‑ion battery materials quickly and cleanly
A Rice research team has developed a process that rapidly separates lithium and transition metals from spent lithium-ion batteries. The method provides an acid-free, energy-saving alternative to conventional recycling techniques,
Rice’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters (SSPEED) Center convened more than 100 experts, industry leaders and attendees Nov. 6-7 for its 12th annual conference, connecting cutting-edge flood mitigation with the fast-emerging world of market-based natural carbon solutions.
Rice and Paris Brain Institute form transatlantic partnership in brain science and innovation
The partnership follows the recent launch of the Rice Brain Institute, a universitywide effort to accelerate discoveries in brain science and health.
The first-of-its-kind initiative links two of the world’s leading research universities to create shared academic pathways and immersive undergraduate experiences across Houston, Paris and PSL’s campus in Sophia Antipolis.
Nonsurgical treatment shows promise for targeted seizure control
Rice bioengineers have demonstrated a nonsurgical way to quiet a seizure-relevant brain circuit using a method that merges ultrasound, gene therapy and chemogenetics.
Rice’s Pedro J.J. Alvarez, a world leader in environmental nanotechnology and water sustainability, has been awarded the 2026 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Civil Engineering, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and engineering honors in the United States.
Global Insights: Research security in an evolving global landscape
Tam Dao explained that research espionage has shifted from targeting government agencies to focusing on universities, where collaboration and innovation often cross borders.
New recharge-to-recycle reactor turns battery waste into new lithium feedstock
A team of engineers at Rice has developed a cleaner approach to lithium recycling by recharging the waste cathode materials to coax out lithium ions into water.
2 in 5 Houston households struggle to eat well, raising concerns about their health
Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research warns that Houston’s hunger crisis — and its health consequences — could grow worse.
Engineered randomness enhances connection speed and precision in next-generation wireless systems
Rice researchers and collaborators have developed a way to generate and control radio wave patterns that can identify a signal’s direction about ten times better than existing approaches, paving the way for next-generation wireless systems.
The Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy has released its Mexico Country Outlook 2026, an annual forecast examining the major political, economic and social trends shaping Mexico in the year ahead. The data can provide a strategic edge to investors, businesses and policymakers as they navigate Mexico’s complex, ever-evolving political and regulatory landscape.
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.
Rice brings together leading researchers to accelerate next-generation microelectronics
The Rice Advanced Materials Institute (RAMI) hosted a signature workshop centered on advanced microelectronics and photonics materials Nov. 3-4.
Expert on innovation, higher education: Rice’s Levander on reinventing the American university
As colleges, universities and policymakers grapple with how to remain relevant in an era of rapid technological change, reassess the value of a degree and reinvent what higher education means for today’s learners, Caroline Levander is uniquely positioned to offer authoritative insight.
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.
