Dear Rice Community,
We are pleased to share that the Office of Research has announced an initial commitment to fund groundbreaking, interdisciplinary research at five institutes across campus.
The first phase of Rice’s investment will support the new Medical Humanities, Rice Sustainability and Rice Advanced Materials institutes along with the university's existing Smalley-Curl and Ken Kennedy institutes. Several more institutes will be considered in coming months, and another round of institute funding will be announced shortly thereafter.
These awards are a testament to the collaborative ecosystems Rice researchers have built and continue to build every day. These institutes will produce basic and applied breakthroughs in medicine and health, energy and climate, national security, computing and more.
Rice research institutes build on Rice’s reputation as a leading research university by maintaining a focus on excellent interdisciplinary research and scholarship; attracting external support from federal, industry, international and philanthropic sources; fostering early-career scientists and scholars and bringing the world to Rice.
The institutes draw upon the university’s strengths across the academic disciplines and focus on solving the biggest problems of our time in energy, the environment, health care and information.
The institutes will be led by key Rice faculty with the advice and support of an interdisciplinary faculty steering committee.
- Kirsten Ostherr, the Gladys Louise Fox Professor of English, will lead the Medical Humanities Institute, building on her work as director of the university's medical humanities program.
- Carrie Masiello, the W. Maurice Ewing Professor of Biogeochemistry, Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences and professor of chemistry and biosciences, will lead the Rice Sustainability Institute.
- Lane Martin, the Welch Professor of Materials Science and Nanoengineering, who was recently recruited from Berkeley, will lead the Rice Advanced Materials Institute.
- Naomi Halas, University Professor, the Stanley C. Moore University Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, and a professor of bioengineering, chemistry, physics and astronomy, and materials science and nanoengineering, will continue to lead the Smalley-Curl Institute.
- Lydia Kavraki, the Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science and
professor of bioengineering, mechanical engineering and electrical and computer engineering, will continue to lead the Ken Kennedy Institute.
Institutes were selected based on a review process that involved a formal presentation by the institute leaders and the steering committee. Feedback was solicited from deans and university leadership.
Rice will continue to expand its research enterprise through several centers, which will be more focused within disciplines than the institutes. The university will consider proposals in the fall and begin funding research centers in January.
Please join us in congratulating our colleagues, and we look forward to seeing everyone on campus again in August!
Regards,
Executive Vice President for Research Ramamoorthy Ramesh
President Reginald DesRoches