News Releases

Naomi Halas named University Professor

Rice University has promoted nanotechnology pioneer Naomi Halas to its highest academic rank, University Professor. Halas, a 33-year member of Rice’s faculty, becomes only the 10th person and second woman to earn the title in Rice’s 111-year history.

Can you judge trustworthiness based on looks? Rice research says no

How many times have you heard someone say, “He looks trustworthy”? As it turns out, you can’t trust appearances..

Andrew Grams to lead Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra as major ensembles kick off spring semester

Andrew Grams, former music director of Elgin Symphony Orchestra, will lead the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra as the school’s major orchestra ensembles kick off their spring semester performances Feb. 3 and 4. Both performances are free to the public and will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Alice Pratt Brown Hall’s Stude Concert Hall on the campus of Rice University.

Experts to discuss Pakistan’s energy and water security challenges at Baker Institute event

How can Pakistan ensure its energy and water security while facing geopolitical turmoil and the ravages of climate change? Experts will discuss these and other critical issues in the country during a Jan. 26 event from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

New enzyme could mean better drugs

Biomolecular engineers at Rice University identified a new enzyme that catalyzes the Nobel Prize-winning Diels-Alder reaction.

Report predicts Mexico’s economy, politics will deteriorate in 2023

Elections, a slow-growing economy and conflicts between organized criminal groups are expected to drastically impact Mexico this year, according to a new report from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Rice expert available to discuss new refugee Welcome Corps

An expert from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy is available to discuss the Department of State’s Welcome Corps, a new sponsorship program for refugee resettlement in the U.S.

Partnership to develop free education resources for nursing students

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and Rice University's OpenStax are building on their existing partnership to address staffing shortages in the nursing profession and reduce financial barriers for nursing students. In collaboration with postsecondary institutions in Texas and stakeholders nationwide, OpenStax will launch a comprehensive free online curriculum for nursing education in spring 2024. 

Rice Business creates Hybrid MBA program to utilize benefits of both on-campus and online learning experiences

For working professionals who want to pursue a Master of Business Administration degree with a flexible schedule, the new Hybrid MBA program at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business opens this summer.

Rice’s Jamie Padgett wins Texas academy’s O’Donnell Award

Rice University structural engineer Jamie Padgett has received the 2023 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Engineering from The Academy of Medicine, Engineering and Science of Texas.

Research on televised opera, slave voyages honored with National Endowment for the Humanities grants

A Rice University musicologist and history professor are among the recipients of 2023 grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) for their research projects on televised opera and tracking historical slave trading voyages.

Inner ear has a need for speed

Rice bioengineers and applied physicists, together with and colleagues at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Chicago, have unlocked the mechanism of the fastest synapses in the human body. A previously hidden mechanism in the inner ear that helps mammals balance via the fastest-known signal in the brain, and researchers from Rice University, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois Chicago have modeled a hidden mechanism in the inner ear that helps mammals balance via the fastest-known signal in the brain.

Top conductors from around the world to guest direct Rice’s Shepherd School orchestras over next 18 months

Some of the most recognizable conductors in the classical music world will take the stage at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music over the next 18 months.

Nanoparticles make it easier to turn light into solvated electrons

Chemists from Rice, UT Austin and Stanford have uncovered the long-sought mechanism of a light-driven process that creates solvated electrons, inherently clean chemical reactants that are attractive for green chemistry.

New fluorescent dye can light up the brain

Rice chemist Han Xiao and Stanford researcher Zhen Cheng have developed a tool for noninvasive brain imaging that can help illuminate hard-to-access structures and processes. Their small-molecule dye is the first of its kind that can cross the blood-brain barrier, allowing researchers to differentiate between healthy brain tissue and a glioblastoma tumor in mice.