News Releases

Parents pick children’s pre-K based on location and program quality

HOUSTON – (Nov. 12, 2020) – Houston-area parents decide where to send their children for prekindergarten based largely on quality and location, according to a new research brief from Rice University's Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC).

Texas teacher shortage tackled by Rice certification plan

HOUSTON – (Nov. 11, 2020) – Texas’ ongoing shortage of teachers has led Rice University’s Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies to launch a program that will allow students to work as paid interns teaching classes while they earn their state certification.

Folding proteins feel the heat, and cold

A new study shows proteins that presumably evolved to avoid water as they fold may actually behave in ways scientists did not anticipate.

Texas justice system needs reform to save taxpayer dollars, decrease jail overcrowding, says Baker Institute expert

HOUSTON – (Nov. 10, 2020) – The Texas justice system’s overreaction to low-level offenses wastes taxpayer dollars and contributes to overcrowded jails that put community health at risk, according to an expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Status of COVID-19 vaccines 'extremely promising,' says Baker Institute expert

HOUSTON – (Nov. 10, 2020) – As coronavirus cases surge in the United States and elsewhere, the world got good news Monday when Pfizer and its partner, the German company BioNTech, announced preliminary trial results that suggest their vaccine is more than 90% effective. Pfizer is one of six companies to receive funding from the U.S. government's Operation Warp Speed. The goal of the program is to have a vaccine by January. "If we can make it will depend on how fast the FDA approves a vaccine for emergency use authorization," said Kirstin Matthews, fellow in science and technology policy at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Biden has opportunity for systemwide immigration reform, says Baker Institute expert

Looser standards undermined early research on accuracy of COVID-19 tests

Consumer surveys drive stock prices, research shows

One in four Black teens apathetic about racial justice

Biden administration must take swift action to support science, research, says Baker Institute expert

HOUSTON – (Nov. 9, 2020) – President-elect Joe Biden's efforts to restore competency and trust in federal research agencies will require fundamental -- sometimes counter-intuitive -- changes that will strengthen the use of science in U.S. policy and by the research community, according to an expert at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy.

University entrepreneurship celebrated at annual Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers Conference

The 2020 Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers conference brought together the largest number of attendees in the annual event’s 24-year history to award 17 university entrepreneurship programs top honors.

Remote work causes tax issues for both workers and employers

As employers evaluate whether remote-work arrangements are a viable longterm option, they should consider that these seemingly innocuous arrangements can trigger tax issues for both workers and their employers, according to an expert from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

Industrial-strength brine, meet your kryptonite

A thin coating of the 2D nanomaterial hexagonal boron nitride is the key ingredient in a cost-effective technology developed by Rice University engineers for desalinating industrial-strength brine.

Baker Institute-led group develops proposed nationwide protocol for storing carbon

Malaria test as simple as a bandage

HOUSTON – (Nov. 2, 2020) – Testing for malaria could become as simple as putting on a bandage.