Rice Engineering

We are excited to share that beginning in the fall, Rice undergraduate students will be able to major or minor in operations research, a mathematical discipline emphasizing models for decision-making in complex systems.

Operations research expertise is highly sought-after in the industry, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasting a 23-percent growth in demand by 2031.

Rice Engineering launches new degree programs in operations research | George R. Brown School of Engineering Beginning in the fall, Rice students will be able to minor in operations research (OR), a mathematical discipline emphasizing models for decision-making in complex systems, or earn a B.A. or B.S. in the subject.

Rice Engineering research featured on the cover of today’s issue of Science shows new possibilities in solar energy.

Aditya Mohite and collaborators have created new chemical formulations for perovskite photovoltaics enabling increased stability and prolonged durability, which could have a transformative impact on solar panel manufacturing. This breakthrough is also an exciting moment for (Rice Engineering INitiatiVe for ENergy Transition and Sustainability) as we develop innovations for a clean energy future.

Congratulations to Mohite and lead authors Isaac Metcalf, a Rice materials science and nanoengineering graduate student, and Siraj Sidhik, a Rice doctoral alum—as well as collaborators from national labs and universities—on this breakthrough.

Rice lab achieves major gains in perovskite solar cell stability Rice lab develops new chemistry to achieve commercially relevant stability and performance for perovskite solar cells.

Atanu Purkayastha came to Rice in December as part of the Mehta Rice Engineering Scholars program.

Even as he produces groundbreaking research in solar energy technologies, he has made badminton a central part of his Rice experience. Read more about how he has excelled both on and off the court! https://bit.ly/3z0foXr

Rice Engineering Mehta Scholar at home on the court | George R. Brown School of Engineering | Rice University Atanu Purkayastha has been an active badminton player since childhood. When he arrived at Rice University from the

We look forward to joining the Rice community in celebrating Juneteenth with these events, including a presentation about technology at the ION.

On June 18, check out the Juneteenth Journey: Bridging Past and Present Through Technology, featuring speakers from the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum and Emancipation Park Conservancy. This special presentation will offer insights into the historical significance of Juneteenth and illuminate the evolution of technology from the 1860s through World War II to modern artificial intelligence and the technology of today. https://bit.ly/3RmkcwB

Rice to recognize Juneteenth with series of programming and participation in community celebrations Rice's annual Juneteenth recognition and celebration will bring together Owls and community from across the city and country to explore ideas and questions central to the meaning and promise of the important holiday. The programming includes speaking pa...

The Rice Engineering Alumni Summer Engineering Experience gives students their first engineering experience in a professional work environment. Learn more about last summer's program impact in the Rice Engineering Magazine! https://bit.ly/3XjCemS

A research team led by Rice Engineering's Edward Knightly has discovered that high-frequency and high-speed wireless backhaul links are not as secure as previously thought.

The team has uncovered an eavesdropping security vulnerability using MetaFly, a metasurface-equipped drone. Their findings were published by the IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy last month.

Discovery highlights ‘critical oversight' in perceived security of wireless networks A research team led by Edward Knightly has uncovered an eavesdropping security vulnerability in high-frequency and high-speed wireless backhaul links.

Show your Owl spirit this summer with your own pair of Sammy socks!

When you support the School of Engineering by making a gift of $35 or more, you will get a pair of limited-edition Rice socks. Select the “Dean’s Fund for Engineering Excellence” on the donation page to support scholarships, research, and the enriching Rice Engineering experience.

Sammy Socks 2024 I can’t wait to wear my Sammy socks! Get yours today by giving $35+ to Rice before June 30.

As we celebrate Pride month, Rice Engineering is excited to share these events happening in the Rice community to spread awareness about the LGBTQ+ community and educate on sexual and gender diversity. https://bit.ly/3xdv20U

An interdisciplinary student team from Rice's augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality club has designed a new AR display for astronauts on spacewalks as part of the NASA Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (NASA SUITS) design challenge.

This team was one out of only 11 teams selected nationwide to develop their prototype and demonstrate their technology for NASA and industry partners last month. Congratulations to all students in the group, including Rice Engineering representatives from Rice University Electrical & Computer Engineering, Rice University Computer Science and Rice University Mechanical Engineering!

'Revolutionizing the human spaceflight experience': Rice students design augmented reality system for NASA spacewalks A team from Rice participated in the NASA Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students program.

Congratulations to Paola Cascante-Bonilla ’24 on her new position as assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science at Stony Brook University!

As part of the 2023-24 Rice Engineering Future Faculty Fellows program, Cascante-Bonilla participated in one-on-one consultations and tailored workshops that prepared her to navigate the tenure-track job market.

Applications for the 2024-25 Future Faculty Fellows program close tomorrow, June 7. Rice Engineering Ph.D. students and postdocs are invited to apply.

Paola Cascante-Bonilla '24 to join Stony Brook faculty | George R. Brown School of Engineering | Rice University Paola Cascante-Bonilla, who graduated from Rice University in 2024 with a Ph.D. in computer science with advisor Vicente Ordóñez-Román, has accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position in the Department of Computer Science at Stony Brook Univers...

Today is , which highlights how we can all help restore the environment.

As the CEO and co-founder of The People’s CO2, a startup offering carbon-capturing paint, Tanya Rogers ’22 has found a way to bring non-scientists into the fight against climate change. Read more about how her work helps restore the atmosphere in the Rice Engineering Magazine. https://bit.ly/4aEg163

Congratulations to University Professor Naomi Halas on being elected a fellow of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters.

Naomi Halas elected to Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters | George R. Brown School of Engineering The Academy elected her a corresponding member of the Class of Natural Sciences in recognition of her “academic excellence.” At Rice, Halas is the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and holds joint appointments in biomedi...

Rice Engineering will have three new department chairs in 2024-25. Thank you to Ashok Veeraraghavan, professor of electrical and computer engineering and Cynthia Reinhart-King, John W. Cox Chair of Bioengineering who will lead their departments beginning July 1. We are also excited to welcome Karen Lozano as the department chair and Trustee Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering on January 1, 2025.

We also thank outgoing chairs Ashutosh Sabharwal, Gang Bao and Pulickel Ajayan for their service to their departments, as well as Christopher Jermaine and Illya Hicks as they begin their second terms as departmental chairs of computer science, and computational applied mathematics and operations research, respectively. https://bit.ly/3Xerne9

Rice Engineering announces three new department chairs | George R. Brown School of Engineering | Rice University Three departments in the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice will have new departmental chairs, two of them to become effective July 1 and another on Jan. 1, 2025.

Sleep is critical for memory and learning, and now we know more about what neurons are doing when the brain is at rest.

New research from Rice Engineering's Caleb Kemere, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and bioengineering, and collaborators from the University of Michigan provides direct, real-time observation of neuroplasticity during sleep. https://bit.ly/3yI1ZmJ

In the brain at rest, neurons rehearse future experience New research from Rice and the University of Michigan sheds light on how individual neurons in the hippocampus of rats stabilize and tune spatial representations during periods of rest following the animals' first time running a maze, offering first pro...

This year, Rice Engineering's Future Faculty Fellows program supported fellows as they submitted more than 430 applications to tenured-track faculty positions with workshops, panels, and one-on-one consultations. Read more about the impact from this past year: https://bit.ly/3X1Pe0k

As a reminder, the 2024-25 Future Faculty Fellows program applications are due next Friday, June 7!

Rice Engineering's Future Faculty Fellows program helps launch careers | George R. Brown School of Engineering The Future Faculty Fellows (FFF) program in Rice's George R. Brown School of Engineering helps PhD students and postdocs explore the academic career path and successfully compete in the job market. The FFF program supported 12 fellows in the 2023-24 coh...

Congratulations to Pol Spanos, Lewis B. Ryon Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering at Rice University, who has just been awarded the 2024 Blaise Pascal Medal in Engineering by the European Academy of Sciences.

European Academy of Sciences honors Rice's Pol Spanos with prestigious award Rice's Pol Spanos, the Lewis B. Ryon Professor of Mechanical and Civil Engineering, has been awarded the 2024 Blaise Pascal Medal in Engineering by the European Academy of Sciences.

Congratulations to Jamie Padgett, Stanley C. Moore Professor in Engineering and chair of civil and environmental engineering, on receiving the 2024 Charles Martin Duke Lifeline Earthquake Engineering Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Rice's Jamie Padgett wins Charles Martin Duke Lifeline Earthquake Engineering Award Rice's Jamie Padgett has been awarded the 2024 Charles Martin Duke Lifeline Earthquake Engineering Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

If you could time travel, which period of history would you visit to witness engineering innovation?

See how some of our faculty, students and alumni answered this question in the Rice Engineering Magazine. https://bit.ly/4dMHaXf

Despite evidence showing that diverse teams reduce health care disparities, only about 10% of the U.S. biomedical workforce identifies as Latino and just 6% as African American.

Rice University is collaborating with Houston Community College to launch ACCELERATE, a new $1.8M NIH-funded program to address the lack of diversity in the field by preparing diverse HCC students for careers in infectious disease research.

Rice and Houston Community College collaborate to diversify access to biomedical research training Rice and Houston Community College collaborate to diversify access to biomedical research training through program funded by a $1.8M NIH grant.

Congratulations to Jaihee Choi ’24 on her new position as assistant professor of statistics at Marquette University! https://bit.ly/4dSpvxv

As part of the 2023-24 Rice Engineering Future Faculty Fellows program, Choi participated in one-on-one consultations and tailored workshops that prepared her to navigate the tenure-track job market. Applications for the 2024-25 Future Faculty Fellows program close June 7.

Jaihee Choi '24 joins faculty at Marquette University | George R. Brown School of Engineering | Rice University Jaihee Choi, who graduated from Rice University in 2024 with a Ph.D. in statistics, has accepted a tenure-track assistant professor position in Marquette University's

A team led by Rice Engineering's Daniel Preston and Marcia O'Malley has developed a wearable electronic sleeve that gives users a more comfortable haptic experience. As featured in Advanced Science News, this haptic sleeve combines a new kind of on-demand information with soft textiles, taking haptic technology to new levels.

This haptic sleeve is moving wearable technology beyond smartwatches - Advanced Science News A haptic sleeve combines a new kind of on-demand information with soft textiles, taking wearable technology beyond just smartwatches.

Rice University researchers led by Lane Martin, Robert A. Welch Professor, professor of materials science and nanoengineering; Hao Pan, postdoctoral researcher; and collaborators at the University of California, Berkeley are paving the way for more efficient electromechanical devices.

Their research—recently published in Nature Materials—shows that a class of electromechanically active materials called antiferroelectrics may hold the key to overcoming performance limitations due to clamping in miniaturized electromechanical systems. https://bit.ly/3R2ZeCB

Electromechanical material doesn't get ‘clamped' down A Rice-led study finds that a class of electromechanically active materials called antiferroelectrics may hold the key to overcoming performance limitations due to clamping in miniaturized electromechanical systems.

Statistical predictions are powerful, but there are severe implications of misusing statistical tools. In the Rice Engineering Magazine, Rice professor of statistics Frederi Viens shares how he is using Bayesian statistics and Yule’s nonsense correlation to shed light on an important hydrology question in the Lake Chad Basin region of Nigeria. https://bit.ly/3Vcq3XD

Thank you to the new Rice Engineering Alumni board members for your service!

Congratulations to our incoming Rice Engineering Alumni board members - John, Monique, Kevin, Jim, Carl, and David, and to our next board President, Ted Adams!

The Rice School of Engineering ( Engineering) covers nine departments including all the traditional engineering disciplines as well as computer science, statistics, and computational applied math & operations research. The mission of the REA is support, honor and connect Rice engineers before and after graduation. Jim is a previous board member and Monique and Kevin have already volunteered extensively with the board. We look forward to all our new board members' contributions to REA's mission!

Remembering the courage, honor and bravery of those who served, today and every day.

Rice Engineering Ph.D. students and postdocs: applications for the Future Faculty Fellows program are due two weeks from today on June 7!

If you are applying for tenure-track faculty positions this fall, you don't want to miss the chance to be part of this program. Fellows participate in tailored events and mentoring opportunities to support their faculty position application process, such as mock interviews and workshops on preparing application materials. https://bit.ly/3PTyGmU

Rice Engineering's Raudel Avila and collaborators at Hanyang University designed a new material that moves like skin while preserving signal strength in electronics. This could aid development of next-generation wearable devices with continuous, consistent wireless and battery-free functionality.

“As wearables continue to evolve and influence the way society interacts with technology, particularly in the context of medical technology, the design and development of highly efficient stretchable electronics become critical for stable wireless connectivity,” said Avila.

Wearable devices get signal boost from innovative material An international team of researchers from Rice and Hanyang University have developed a new material that moves like skin while preserving signal strength in electronics. The technology could enable the development of next-generation wearable devices wit...

We are happy to celebrate 16 Rice Engineering faculty who have been promoted, effective July 1.

Congratulations to Daniel Cohan, Shiqian Ma, Aditya Mohite, Omid Veiseh and Yuji Zhao on becoming full professors; Jesse Chan, Isaac Hilton, Daniel Kowal, Anastasios Kyrillidis, Meng Li, Akane Sano, Santiago Segarra, Thomas Senftle and Lauren Stadler for being promoted to associate professors with tenure; and Risa Myers and Anne-Marie Womack on their new roles of associate teaching professor.

Rice Engineering promotes 16 faculty | George R. Brown School of Engineering | Rice University Sixteen members of the George R. Brown School of Engineering faculty at Rice have been promoted, including five to full professor, effective July 1.

Did you know that more than 60 Rice Engineering faculty serve in editorial positions at peer-reviewed academic journals?

“Service to the research community is an important responsibility, and holding editorial positions on peer-reviewed journals is an example of such service. Such positions are a testament to the international reputation of our faculty.” —Luay Nakhleh, William and Stephanie Sick Dean of engineering and professor of computer science and bioengineering.

Rice Engineering faculty hold editorial positions | George R. Brown School of Engineering | Rice University https://engineering.rice.edu

Earlier this week, we celebrated the Professors in the Practice at the Rice Engineering Professors in the Practice Lunch.

These Professors in the Practice generously share their expertise with the Rice Engineering community. Thank you for your dedication to bridging academic knowledge with real-world applications, enriching the educational experience of our students and advancing the field of engineering!