News Releases

Internet-access spending improves academic outcomes, study of Texas schools finds

Increased internet-access spending by Texas public schools improved academic performance but also led to more disciplinary problems among students.

Rice Business names Constance Porter senior associate dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Constance Porter, assistant clinical professor of marketing at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business, has joined the leadership team of the school's newly expanded Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Rice’s OpenStax making diversity updates to free, openly licensed textbooks

HOUSTON – (March 15, 2021) – OpenStax, Rice University’s educational technology initiative, is improving diversity and representation in its textbooks by closely reviewing user feedback and enlisting help from advocates for racial, ethnic, LGBTQ and gender equity.

Biden should issue executive order granting ‘Dreamers’ citizenship, paper argues

The pathway to lawful permanent resident (LPR) status —otherwise known as getting a green card — is full of roadblocks for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) beneficiaries, according to new research from Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Peter Hotez to join Rice U. infectious disease expert for COVID-19 vaccine webinar

Peter Hotez, a renowned vaccine scientist and physician who’s also a fellow in disease and poverty at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, will join Rice infectious disease specialist Yousif Shamoo to discuss COVID-19 vaccine developments in a free webinar March 12.

New teamwork model could improve patient health care.

Health care teams must prepare for anything, including the unconventional work environments brought about by a global pandemic and social unrest.

Cancer ‘guardian’ breaks bad with one switch

A mutation that replaces a single amino acid in a potent tumor-suppressing protein makes it prone to nucleating amyloid fibrils implicated in many cancers as well as neurological diseases.

Study aims to help governments maximize profits from oil and gas auctions

Federal and state governments auction leases to oil and gas companies to extract natural resources from public land. A revamp of the auction system — utilizing a new model developed by a Rice University economist — could lead to more competitive bids and, ultimately, more money for governments.

Christopher Tunnell wins NSF CAREER Award

Rice University computational astroparticle physicist Christopher Tunnell is getting help in his search for the nature of the universe through a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award.

Physics camp has proven benefits for high school girls

HOUSTON – (March 5, 2021) – Even a small effort up front can boost the abilities and confidence of girls as they anticipate taking challenging science courses.

Camera traps reveal newly discovered biodiversity relationship

In one of the first studies of its kind, an analysis of camera-trap data from 15 wildlife preserves in tropical rainforests revealed a previously unknown relationship between the biodiversity of mammals and the forests in which they live.

Rice University experts to be featured at CERAWeek

Rice is an academic partner of CERAWeek, with the university's Energy and Natural Resources Initiative spearheading its involvement. The annual conference, which usually takes place in Houston, will be held online this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rice offering undergraduate major in business starting this fall

HOUSTON – (March 1, 2021) – Rice University will offer an undergraduate major in business beginning this fall.

Bottling the world's coldest plasma

Rice University physicists have discovered a way to trap the world's coldest plasma in a magnetic bottle, a technological achievement that could advance research into clean energy, space weather and astrophysics.

Quantum quirk yields giant magnetic effect, where none should exist

In a twist befitting the strange nature of quantum mechanics, physicists have discovered the Hall effect — a characteristic change in the way electricity is conducted in the presence of a magnetic field — in a nonmagnetic quantum material to which no magnetic field was applied.