Avery Ruxer Franklin

Political parties, the media and the 2024 election examined at Rice’s Baker Institute

The New York Times chief White House correspondent Peter Baker and New Yorker staff writer Susan Glasser had a moderated conversation about the 2024 election Sept. 5 at Rice Baker Institute for Public Policy. Baker and Glasser have authored several books about American politics, including “The Man Who Ran Washington: The Life and Times of James A. Baker III.” The dialogue was a comprehensive analysis of the key issues, campaign strategies and electoral dynamics shaping the upcoming election.

Rice addressing ‘one of the most pressing issues of our time’: The brain’s role in America’s future

Neuroscience experts from government, medicine, business and academia came together at Rice’s Bioscience Research Collaborative (BRC) Aug. 27 to discuss the American “brain economy transition.” The role of the human brain in the wider economy is drawing increased attention, and brain capital is becoming a priority for business and individuals. 

Startups innovating the clean energy transition will showcase their technology at Sept. 12 Energy Tech Venture Forum

The Energy Tech Venture Forum (ETVF), hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, will convene innovators and investors at a Sept. 12 conference to connect ventures with Houston’s energy ecosystem. The forum is an anchor event for the inaugural Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week, happening Sept. 9-13. This week is a city-wide initiative to bring together and celebrate the momentum in Houston driving the energy transition. Many events are hosted at the Ion, Houston’s innovation hub powered by Rice.

OpenStax partners with Google’s Gemini Apps

OpenStax, the world’s largest nonprofit publisher of open educational resources (OER) based at Rice, announces a partnership with Google to expand access to relevant, trustworthy educational content. This partnership will enable the OpenStax library of more than 70 openly licensed, peer-reviewed textbooks to be discovered, searched and referenced within Google Gemini. These materials will be available to Gemini users 18 and older in the United States starting in August 2024. 

Rice’s Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies unveils first annual Energy Insights

Texas’ energy reliability and the future of global energy supply chains are just a few of the topics addressed in the first annual Energy Insights – a collection of articles from fellows and scholars at the Center for Energy Studies (CES) from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy that provides expert data and analysis on some of the most pressing policy issues affecting national and global energy markets.

Activate fellows ‘embody the best of Rice entrepreneurship’

Four Rice fellows and three Rice-affiliated startup ventures were selected to be a part of the inaugural Houston cohort of The Activate Fellowship for 2024. Activate is widely recognized as one of the flagship entrepreneurship programs that support startups focused on deep tech, and these four founders are the only representatives of Texas academia in the cohort.

Turning groceries into credit: A new frontier in lending

A new paper published in Management Science by Jung Youn Lee, assistant professor of marketing at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business, and colleagues from University of Notre Dame and Northwestern University identifies a widespread data source that could broaden the pool of qualified loan applicants: grocery store receipts.

ChatGPT could help people with creativity in everyday tasks, study says

ChatGPT, the generative artificial intelligence technology developed by OpenAI, could help humans with daily, creative tasks — even tasks typically thought to require the human ability to “read between the lines,” according to new research by the University of Houston and Rice University. Its capability has proven to be superior compared to traditional Google search or even human brainstorming without any technical assistance, the study authors argue.

Rice welcomes the newest Owls into the nest at O-Week matriculation

“Welcome to Rice!” President Reginald DesRoches exclaimed at the Aug. 18 matriculation ceremony for the Class of 2028. After spending the day helping the new class of freshmen move into its residential colleges, DesRoches and university leadership celebrated the new students’ official entry into Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse to share their advice and support for the upcoming years.

OpenStax Assignable expands, brings interactive learning to higher education

OpenStax, a nonprofit initiative of Rice, announces the expansion of OpenStax Assignable, a product allowing instructors to create custom assignments from high-quality, peer-reviewed OpenStax resources directly within their institution’s learning management system (LMS). The expansion of Assignable is aligned with the OpenStax commitment to expand access to high-quality educational materials and experiences to all.

Coercive annexation of Taiwan by the People’s Republic of China would unleash globally destructive consequences, Rice Baker Institute report says

A new paper from Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy argues that an annexation of Taiwan by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) would trigger economic shocks and diminish the quality of life for populations across Asia and beyond, as well as have devastating impacts on American interests and Americans’ well-being.

Rice’s Baker Institute unveils Argentina Energy Sector Initiative

Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy announces a new initiative focused on the Argentine energy sector that will result in conferences, reports and workshops. Argentina possesses a wide range of energy resources, including the Vaca Muerta shale formation which contains the world’s second largest unconventional natural gas and fourth largest unconventional petroleum reserves.

Bayou Startup Showcase highlights university-affiliated student ventures at the Ion

The annual Bayou Startup Showcase presented by Rice’s OwlSpark and the University of Houston’s RED Labs took place Aug. 1 at the Ion – Houston’s innovation hub powered by Rice.

Dissatisfied parents demand superintendents, school boards step up their game, Rice expert says

School district leaders including superintendents and board members are under increasing pressure from parents to show better results, according to research by an expert at Rice's Jones Graduate School of Business. Among superintendents there is an increasing trend of higher turnover, and among board members there is an increased risk of facing election challenges.

Rice energy experts available to explain Chevron’s headquarters move to Houston

Two energy experts from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy are available to comment on Chevron moving its headquarters to Houston.