Rice University | World Engineering Day

Rice University

PARTNER STORY

“It’s an exciting time for engineers and scientists across the world. This typically happens once in a century.”

Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all.

Tomorrow’s engineers

Center of innovation

Rice University, in Houston, Texas, is at the forefront of research to address one of the world’s most pressing problems around sustainability and climate.

“Delivering energy to an increasing population of the world while minimizing the impact on the climate is one of the greatest challenges we face as a society,” says Reginald DesRoches, President of Rice University.

Tackling the climate crisis is a big driver behind the university’s REINVENTS (Rice Engineering Initiative for Energy Transition and Sustainability) faculty, which is developing breakthrough technologies in renewable energy, materials science, and water treatment.

Culture of collaboration

“We have very few barriers between disciplines, so we end up working in a group or team of students and faculty members – very easily five fields or more. Here, it is a natural part of our culture,” says Naomi Halas, Stanley C Moore Professor, Electrical and Computing Engineering at Rice University.

By bringing different disciplines together and collaborating with institutes and industry, Rice is developing technologies with real-world applications.

Rice’s WaTER Institute explores sustainable water treatments, such as advanced water purification systems. The Rice Advanced Materials Institute innovates with low-carbon materials, from high-efficiency batteries to biodegradable plastics.

Bridging research and industry, the Woodside-Rice Decarbonization Accelerator is a climate tech partnership that aims to fast-track carbon reduction technologies.

Where in the world?

Rice University extends beyond its Houston, Texas, campus. Its Rice Global Paris Center in France facilitates research and exchange between international departments, centers, institutes, and organizations in the heart of Europe.

2024 saw a new hub opening in Asia, Rice Global India, to harness India’s rapidly growing education and technology sectors.

Next-generation engineering

Rice prepares the new generation of engineers to meet environmental challenges around energy transition and sustainability. Students are implementing their ideas by working on real-life projects in renewable energy, smart infrastructure, and sustainable manufacturing.

“It’s an exciting time for engineers and scientists across the world. This typically happens once in a century,” says Aditya Mohite, Faculty Director of REINVENTS, Rice University.

Houston is the energy capital of the world. And in the same way that the city became a center of research, science, and engineering to evolve technology for the oil and gas industry, it is now doing the same for clean energy. For the students, this presents unique opportunities inside and outside the university.

What does a sustainable future look like?

Through innovation, industry collaborations, and education, Rice is aiming to move to cleaner energy as fast as possible, creating engineering solutions that have a meaningful and lasting environmental impact.

Rice’s solar energy solutions with next-generation battery storage systems, for example, aim to make renewable energy more efficient and accessible. Like all of the university’s work, this aligns with SDG 7, which aims to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all.

Did you know?

Rice University researchers have developed a next-generation wastewater filtration system that removes 99% of contaminants, with the potential to provide cleaner water to millions.