Rice Research Review

2021

2021 was another record-setting year for research at Rice. We continued work in several important areas, announced some exciting new projects and forged ahead with our ambitious climate change research initiative, especially in the area of energy transition.

Reginald DesRoches

Welcome back to Rice Research Review, Rice University’s annual online research publication. I invite you to take a moment to learn more about the research that’s being done at Rice and the impact it is making far and wide. View more.

FOCUS

Downtown Houston skyline

Energy Transition: Paving the Way to a Sustainable Future

Rice University's role in positioning Houston as the leading hub of energy and clean tech innovation is key and researchers at the university have been hard at work tackling the many challenges a widespread energy transition presents.

MORE INFORMATION

AT LARGE

IN BRIEF

Sleeping Cap Grid

Sleeping Cap

The U.S. Army has backed research being done by Rice University, Houston Methodist and Baylor College of Medicine that involves the development of a “sleeping cap” to analyze the cleansing flow of fluid that drains the brain of common metabolic waste during sleep.  The primary goal is to noninvasively measure and modulate the flow of cerebrospinal fluid as it circulates through the brain and clears waste. Ultimately, the team aims to develop a lightweight, portable skullcap that can analyze and stimulate proper flow to treat sleep disorders in real time. Learn More

Insulin Grid

Insulin-Producing Implant

Rice University bioengineers are using 3D printing and smart biomaterials to create an insulin-producing implant for Type 1 diabetics. The three-year project between the laboratories of Omid Veiseh and Jordan Miller will use insulin-producing beta cells made from human stem cells to create an implant that senses and regulates blood glucose levels by responding with the correct amount of insulin at a given time.  Learn More

Hips Grid

Help for New Hips

A unique study done by the lab of mechanical engineer Fred Higgs incorporates fluid dynamics and more to evaluate and enhance future hip implants. The team’s computational model could eventually help clinicians personalize hip joints for patients depending on gender, weight, age and gait variations. Learn More 

BY THE NUMBERS

Rice University is one of the nation’s leading research universities. With just over 7,500 undergraduate and graduate students, Rice produces $181 million in sponsored projects annually. These projects span a broad spectrum of academic areas and work toward solving pressing problems across the globe.

By The Numbers
Awards
Awards
2021 Research Funding
Research Funding
Top Five Federal Awards
Awards
National Academy Memberships
National Academy Membership
Active National Science Foundation Career Awards
Active National Science Foundation Career Awards
National University Rankings
National Universities Ranking

ACCOLADES

Richard Baraniuk
Richard Baraniuk

The C. Sidney Burrus Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Richard Baraniuk, the founding director of OpenStax, received the Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education for his work with the open education movement promoting the use of free and open-source-licensed educational resources. Known informally as the “Nobel Prize of education,” the award bestows the annual award on “outstanding individuals whose accomplishments are making a difference in the lives of students.”

Stay tuned for the next edition of Rice Research Review and click here to see the 2020 edition.