Rice receives $2.5M grant to support inclusive STEM education
The Howard Hughes Medical Institute awarded Rice University with $2.5 million spanning over five years as part of its Driving Change initiative designed to connect research universities that are working to build inclusive learning environments for students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Grant backs research on teaching networks to make better decisions
Rice’s Santiago Segarra and Ashutosh Sabharwal have won a grant from the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory to develop a machine learning framework that improves military communication networks’ decision-making processes. The research could also help inform applications such as self-driving vehicles and cyber intrusion detection.
Wearable art heels sport tree wart texture
A Rice student used galls — plant tissue growths caused by small wasps — to decorate a pair of shoes as part of an art project, creating some online buzz when a picture of the heels were posted on social media.
Fluorine catch-and-attach process could boost drug efficiency
Rice scientists have developed a new low-cost, safe and effective process to free up and reattach fluorine to chemical compounds. In pharmaceuticals, fluorine can expand lifetime, increase absorption and minimize side effects.
Rice announces partnership with Tecnológico de Monterrey
Rice University has announced an agreement with Tecnológico de Monterrey, which will include concurrent doctoral degrees, dual master’s programs and a partnership to expand access to continuing and professional education.
Atomic dance gives rise to a magnet
Rice researchers turned a paramagnetic material into a magnet by manipulating electrons’ spin via atomic motion.
A Rice-led collaboration of engineers, oncologists and global health partners from three continents is establishing a research center in the Texas Medical Center to develop affordable, effective point-of-care (POC) technologies to improve early cancer detection in low-resource settings in the United States and other countries.
Breakthrough synthesis method improves solar cell stability
A process developed by Rice engineers and collaborators yields 2D halide perovskite crystal layers of ideal thickness and purity through dynamic control of the crystallization process ⎯ a key step toward ensuring device stability for optoelectronics and photovoltaics.
Rice University’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders names new director
Bernard “Bernie” Banks will join Rice University’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders as its director, effective Jan. 1.
Rice’s Naomi Halas wins Mildred Dresselhaus Prize
Naomi Halas, a pioneering researcher in the fields of nanophotonics and plasmonics at Rice University, has been awarded the 2024 Mildred Dresselhaus Prize for Nanoscience/Nanomaterials from the American Physical Society.
Fenglin Niu named fellow of the American Geophysical Union
Rice University seismologist Fenglin Niu has been elected a fellow of the American Geophysical Union in honor of his leading-edge research in high-resolution seismic imaging.
Three from Rice elected fellows of the American Physical Society
Rice University faculty members Sibani Lisa Biswal , Kaden Hazzard and Andriy Nevidomskyy have been elected fellows of the American Physical Society.
Rice researcher scans tropical forest with mixed-reality device
Rice University scientists incorporated a Microsoft HoloLens mixed-reality headset with custom-built open-source software to record and store mammal habitat data in the Udzungwa Mountains National Park in Tanzania, showing that there was greater biodiversity where more vegetation was measured.
Decontamination method zaps pollutants from soil
A rapid, high-heat electrothermal soil remediation process developed by Rice scientists and collaborators at the United States Army Engineer Research and Development Center flushes out both organic pollutants and heavy metals in seconds without damaging soil fertility.
Sherwin K. Bryant named director of Rice’s Center for African and African American Studies
Sherwin K. Bryant, a leading scholar of slavery, race and the early modern African diaspora, will join Rice University Jan. 1 as director of the Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS) and an associate professor in the Department of History.
