Rice Engineering and Computing

09/03/2026

A proud moment for the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing.

Congratulations again to Lydia Kavraki and Rebecca Richards-Kortum on the rare “triple crown” distinction: membership in the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Medicine. https://ow.ly/xk1c50ZIV4J

09/02/2026

Rice University has joined a DOE-backed project to use AI to strengthen the nation's critical mineral supply.

A $2.9 million U.S. Department of Energy ARPA-E award will fuel a search for materials for next-generation permanent magnets, which are essential for electronics, energy and transportation.

Rice materials scientist Geoffroy Hautier will lead the Rice team, bringing expertise in AI, atomistic modeling and high-throughput computing to identify promising magnetic materials for testing.

The coalition led by the University of Houston includes researchers from Rice, Colorado State University, Carrier Global and Houston startup Newfound Materials. https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/rice-brings-ai-expertise-doe-backed-search-next-generation-magnets

08/29/2026

A legendary celebration for a historic milestone.

Last night, we honored two extraordinary members of the Rice community, University Professors Lydia Kavraki and Rebecca Richards-Kortum, for their elections to all three of the National Academies: Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.

As the only two scholars in Texas with this distinction, they join fewer than 35 researchers nationwide who are members of all three academies.

Professors Kavraki and Richards-Kortum have different career paths, but they share a common goal: improving humanity through research that matters.

Together, they embody the kind of community we aspire to build at Rice Engineering and Computing. A community that values collaboration, curiosity, mentorship and a commitment to using knowledge in service of something larger than ourselves.

Please join us again in congratulating Lydia Kavraki and Rebecca Richards-Kortum.

08/27/2026

A common goal unites these Future Faculty Fellows: making a positive impact on engineering and computing research, teaching and mentorship.

As we begin the new school year, members of the 2026-27 Future Faculty Fellows cohort are embarking on their journey towards tenure track faculty positions. The program kicked off the semester with a workshop on crafting a research statement, led by ACTIVATE Engineering Communication Program.

Congratulations to this cohort of Future Faculty Fellows: Arka Chatterjee, Thai Duong, Weifan Liu, Shalini Pandey, Duygu Vargun, Lei Zhang, Sarah Glass, Rose Graves, Md Abid Shahriar Rahman Saadi, Ria Stevens and Yihua Xu. https://engineering.rice.edu/news/rice-engineering-and-computing-school-announces-2026-27-future-faculty-fellows

08/25/2026

Welcome back, Rice Owls!

It was great reconnecting with returning graduate students and meeting new ones at yesterday's graduate resource fair with the Center for Engineering Excellence Through Equity. From professional societies and student clubs to programs like the Activate Engineering Communication Program, there's something for everyone to connect to the Rice Engineering and Computing community.

The resource fair may be over, but you can still explore the resources and student organizations: https://engineering.rice.edu/equitycenter/resources

08/18/2026

Welcome to our newest Owls! 🦉 🦉 🦉

O-Week is off to an exciting start! Today, we welcomed the class of 2030 to the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing.

We can't wait to see how high this incoming class of freshmen will soar. Go Owls!

08/17/2026

The Fall semester at Rice University starts next week, and we are kicking off the semester by celebrating a historic milestone for Rice.

On August 27 at 4 pm, we will celebrate Professors Lydia E. Kavraki and Rebecca Richards-Kortum at the Triple Crown of Discovery for the distinction of being elected to all three National Academies: National Academy of Engineering, National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Medicine.

The program will feature remarks by the honorees and guests, a fireside chat, and a reception to follow.

Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing, please join us to celebrate this outstanding achievement. https://events.rice.edu/event/432386-triple-crown-celebration

08/05/2026

Building the next generation of secure wireless technologies.

Rice University has received a $15 million award from the U.S. Army Research Office for a five-year research center that will expand what is possible in sensing, imaging and communications.

Led by Edward Knightly of Rice University Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Center for Large Aperture Secure Sensing, Imaging, and Communications (CLASSIC) brings together experts in electrical engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence and physics to develop new technologies that make wireless systems more capable, adaptable and secure.

Rice will lead a $15M Army Research center for next-generation sensing and communications.

08/04/2026

It's a new path toward water reuse and resource recovery from industrial wastewater.

A team led by Rice University Civil and Environmental Engineering's Shihong Lin and collaborators at Vanderbilt University have created an electrochemical platform that can tackle pollutants in wastewater from electronics manufacturing and metal processing.

Their approach doesn't stop at desalination—it separates metal ions from background salts, enabling the recovery of valuable materials like copper.

This is water research for a sustainable future. https://bit.ly/4hd1KEl

08/04/2026

A simple change to surgical tools could enable safer swallowing after surgery.

Rice University Mechanical Engineering researchers and Baylor College of Medicine neurosurgeons have identified simple changes to surgical tools that could reduce strain on the esophagus, lowering the risk of swallowing difficulties after neck surgery.

Chihtong “Lily” Lee in Raudel Avila's lab is the lead author on this study, which gives valuable insight to surgeons and device designers about surgical tools that could lead to better patient outcomes. https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/rice-baylor-college-medicine-researchers-explore-safer-surgical-tools-reduce-swallowing