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SOLVING FOR GREATER GOODTRANSITION TO ZERO / SENSATIONAL SCIENCEIN THIS ISSUETransition to ZeroRice Research Aimed at Achieving Net Zero Emissions p30Sensation(al) ScienceWearable Robotics Redefine Accessibility and Mobilityp362024 ISSUE

Did You Know...Starting in 1920, students organized a biennial Rice Engineering Show and invited the public. Some 10,000 people came to campus that first year and viewed such wonders as a self-driving (radio-controlled) car. The event became so popular the city added streetcar runs to accommodate crowds estimated one year at 40,000. In 1928, students assembled a fire-breathing dog made of metal and named Woofus. In 1934, an electrical engineering major demonstrated an early television he had built, and the 1938 show featured a gyroscopically controlled bicycle. Interrupted by World War II, the show continued into the 1960s. SPRING 2024 Rice EngineeringUP FIRSTThe Big Picture A ground-breaking five-year technology collaboration between Rice University and Woodside Energy aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and provide lower carbon solutions. The Woodside-Rice Decarbonization Accelerator will bring decarbonization technology from Rice labs to market. Dr. Xiang Zhang of Rice Engineering’s Materials Science and NanoEngineering Department works on hardware related to cold plasma technology, a unique approach to breaking down carbon dioxide.

Contents“What is our role in the world, if not to make it better?” With a century of innovation and engineering excellence as our foundation, Rice Engineering magazine presents big ideas and unique perspectives that address the greatest challenges facing society and highlights our community of innovative, collaborative thinkers  — all while striving to remind our readers of the important role Rice Engineering plays in their communities and aroundtheworld.DEPARTMENTSFEATURESIn the Hedges4 〉 RICE ENGINEERING NEWSSeen and heard across the school8 〉 STATE OF THE SCHOOL10 〉 RICE IN THE WORLD Innovative engineering research bridges both academic and geographic boundaries13 〉 SPOKEN @ RICE14 〉 THE COUNTDOWN15 〉 NEW FACULTY30 〉 TRANSITION TO ZERORice engineers play a crucial role in developing and commercializing technologies to advance the energy transition.36 〉 SENSATION(AL) SCIENCEDevices for wearable haptic feedback aid patient mobility and independence.3630Ideas + Research18 〉 RESEARCH NEWS22 〉 IN THE DESIGN KITCHEN OEDK: 15 years of design innovation23 〉 THROUGHLINESpotlight on AIPeople + Perspectives24 〉 IN THEIR OWN WORDS26 〉 PAINT POSITIVE28 〉 5 QUESTIONSRice Engineering Alumni42 〉 REA REPORTThe Way Back48 〉 QUESTION? If you could time travel, which period of history would you visit to witness engineering innovation?49 〉 LOOKING BACK / LOOKING FORWARD2 32024 ISSUE

WHO’S WHO?DEANLuay NakhlehSENIOR ASSOCIATE DEANSSibani Lisa BiswalRenata RamosASSOCIATE DEANJane Grande-AllenEDITORJada CrawfordCONTRIBUTORSMaria AgliettiJade BoydSilvia Cernea ClarkRachel FairbankPatrick KurpEmily PersonVeronica E. TremblaySarah Peters YuDESIGNLandesberg DesignPHOTOGRAPHY + ILLUSTRATIONAdam CruftJeff FitlowJasu HuLuxe Studio ProductionsBrandon MartinKagan McLeodArturo OlmosCory ParrisGustavo Raskosky Donald SowardTodd SpothCOVER Brian StaufferEnthusiasm, creativity, and innovation define the essence of our campus. With the inauguration of Rice President, Reginald DesRoches in fall , a dynamic new leadership team has taken shape, designing a soon-to-be-released ambitious strategic plan. Concur-rently, our school has reintroduced its mission around the ethos of “Solving for Greater Good,” aligning seamlessly with the university’s overarching strategic vision.Addressing global challenges with innova-tive solutions while prioritizing responsible engineering practices is a hallmark of our school. In that spirit, we are excited to share the new design of Rice Engineering magazine. Our new look is not merely cosmetic. It signi-fies a profound commitment to excellence in research, education, and service. As Einstein once said, “Engineers create that which has never been.” The refreshed magazine mirrors the enthusiasm, creativity and innovation that drive our collective efforts to create that which has never been for the betterment of ourworld. Throughout this publication, we reaffirm our dedication to pioneering research across five key areas: health and well-being, energy and sustainability, resilient and adaptive communities, advanced materials, and future computing. These research themes align seam-lessly with the university’s focal points and interdisciplinary institutes, where our faculty members play prominent roles. Our commit-ment extends to fundamental, basic research, while fostering and celebrating translational research. The inauguration of the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science in September  marks the dawn of a new era in innovative research and has empowered us to attract top-tier faculty from around the globe. In education, the commendable efforts within our departments are further enhanced by the hands-on learning opportunities provided by the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, the Data to Knowledge Lab, the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership, and the ACTIVATE communications program. We prioritize establishing the necessary infra-structure to accommodate these programs, ensuring our students have access to cutting-edge facilities that foster innovation and leadershipdevelopment.Rice Engineering magazine is a production of the George R. Brown School of Engineering Office of Communications at Rice University.Our school boasts outstanding research and education, comple-mented by a vibrant culture of interdisciplinary collaboration and a commitment to excellence and equity. We are actively enhancing our initiatives to sig-nificantly elevate the global reach and reputation of our school. Next year marks the th anniversary of the George R. Brown School of Engineering, celebrating the tremendous progress made over the last five decades, with even greater accomplishments on the horizon. Our focus will be on recruiting and retaining top talent, devel-oping essential infrastructure, and initiating programs to bolster our researchers and educators. With the university’s new leadership and direction, coupled with our commitment to Solving for Greater Good, we are poised to meet our mission and make significant contributions tohumanity.From the Dean > Luay NakhlehAs Einstein once said, ‘‘Engineers create that which has never been.”Send comments or letters to the editor: Rice Engineering MagazineRice UniversityMS 364PO Box 1892Houston, TX 77251or email:engrnews@rice.eduSPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

In the HedgesRice Advanced Materials Institute Drives Research for a Greener Futureupon research from many disciplines,” said Lane Martin, inaugural director of RAMI and Welch Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering.The institute integrates chemistry, physics and materials science, new advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence, and an array of engineering disciplines with the goal of revolutionizing everything from energy systems to sustainable water systems, telecommunications, manufacturing, trans-portation, security and beyond.RAMI is housed in the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science, and will enlist several dozen faculty members from engineering and natural sciences. “That number will grow,” Martin said, “as more folks are hired.”Martin foresees research at the institute focusing on three broad fields:. Next-generation electronics/photonics with attention to the component materials that enable innovations in energy-efficient, low-power microelectronics ranging from memory/logic, to communications, to sensors and beyond.. Energy systems or the materials that will transform energy storage and conversion/harvesting, assuring that energy is available when needed and maximizing its use.TTo realize such ambitious dreams as the energy transition, innovations as diverse as a new generation of energy-efficient microelectronics and the safe-guarding of natural resources, calls for the hard work of researchers developing new advanced materials.“Our approach is pragmatic. The Rice Advanced Materials Institute (RAMI) will accelerate the basic research and applied tech-nology development necessary for addressing these enormous challenges, and we’ll draw 4 5

. Environmental stewardship or the materials that will assure responsible use of natural resources and long-term stewardship of air, soil and water resources.About the first research focus area, Martin said, “To put it simply, think about what you wish your electronic devices could do in  years. RAMI wants to develop the materials necessary to fulfill those dreams. This work is also critical from an energy perspective because computing is the fastest growing consumer of energy.”Likewise, analysts predict a -times increase in global energy storage needs by . As the transition to renewable energy sources proceeds, and because energy such as solar and wind can’t always be produced without interruption, the demand for storage will reach unprecedented levels.“Research into electrochemical batteries, capacitive-energy storage and hybrid systems are all being considered,” Martin said. “While we’ve long converted electricity into heat, converting heat back to electricity is more challenging to do efficiently. Researchers are exploring ways to store thermal energy cheaply and at scale. Innovations in energy efficiency, including developing novel energy conversion and harvesting techniques to recover wasted energy, are more important than ever.”Environmental stewardship has grown in importance as the climate changes. Society, Martin said, must address the lifecycle of materials, from extraction, to design, to production. To address such concerns as upcycling and recycling, and the replacement of rare or toxic materials from supply chains, new materials are needed. “At the same time, we’re being called upon to remediate the mistakes of the past to assure our lived environment safely supports us. These are some of the most pressing and important problems of our age. Materials scientists and engineers have the ideas and tools to make an impact in these areas, and industry and markets see opportunities in this space,” Martin said.Faculty join academies and earn NSF CAREER AwardsREAD MOREeng.rice.edu/NSF-AwardsBioengineering department celebrates 25-year anniversaryREAD MOREeng.rice.edu/BIOEanniversaryResearch shows promise for advancing quantum networksREAD MOREeng.rice.edu/networksKavli Exploration Award backs Rice-led carbon materials researchREAD MOREeng.rice.edu/KavliAwardBioengineers win NIH Director’s New Innovator awardsREAD MOREeng.rice.edu/NIHawardsStudent team brings home top prize in 2024 Ethics in Engineering Case CompetitionREAD MOREeng.rice.edu/CaseHEADLINES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED...MATERIALSSCIENCEALL NATURALRice researchers developed 3D-printed wood from its own natural components, offering a greener alternative to traditional manufacturing methods.Materials engineered at the molecular level pave the way for innovation across industries. Rice engineers focus on developing materials with properties that contribute to more sustainable and environmentally friendly technologies.WHAT A VIEWA custom-built miniaturized chemical vapor deposition system has the capability to record 2D crystal synthesis in real time.The Rice Advanced Materials Institute holds both administrative space and a state-of-the-art lab in the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science. The LEED-certified facility incorporates sustainable design features, including energy-efficient systems and materials.SPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

Rice and Woodside Energy establish technology partnership to address climate changeRRice University and Woodside Energy have formed a five-year “speed and scale” collaboration aimed at developing cold plasma technology to transform greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide and methane) into solid carbon for batteries, transistors and other materials for energy transition technologies. Woodside provided . million to create the Woodside-Rice Decarbonization Accelerator to bring innovative decarboniza-tion technology from Rice labs to market. The university’s efforts will be spearheaded by REINVENTS (Rice Engineering INitiatiVe for ENergy Transition and Sustainability) and the Nexus (Rice Innovation scale-up facility in the Ion District), both launched in .“This collaboration is a testament to the power of merging academic expertise with industry insight and support. Together, we aspire to redefine the future of energy and climate,” said Rice President Reginald DesRoches.“The Woodside-Rice Decarbonization Accelerator epitomizes what REINVENTS is all about, namely bringing engineering researchers together to solve big energy prob-lems and translate these solutions into market products,” said Luay Nakhleh, William and Stephanie Sick Dean of Engineering.The accelerator brings together decades of expertise in the synthesis and processing of carbon materials at Rice. The faculty leaders of the initiative have all incubated and developed start-up companies based on the technologies in their lab and understand the scaling-up processes required to go from proof-of-concept to a product. The principal investigators leading the accelerator are:Paul Cherukuri, vice president for inno-vation and chief innovation officer and associate research professor of electrical and computer engineering (ECE); Aditya Mohite, associate professor of chemical and biomo-lecular engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering (MSNE), director of REINVENTS; Pulickel Ajayan, Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor of Engineering and department chair of MSNE; Naomi Halas, University Professor and director of the Laboratory for Nanophotonics; Peter Nordlander, Wiess Chair and Professor of Physics and Astronomy, professor of ECE and of MSNE; and Bruce Weisman, professor of chemistry and ofMSNE. Woodside executive vice president of technical services Daniel Kalms emphasized the significance of the new collaboration being based in Houston. “Houston, as the world’s energy capital, ispositioned to help develop the technologies needed for the energy transition. This collaboration is a great fit with Woodside as a leading global energy company,” Kalms said.“ This collaboration is a testament to the power of merging academic expertise with industry insight and support. Together, we aspire to redefine the future of energy andclimate.”REGINALD DESROCHESRice President 6 7In the Hedges

Mission to reduce newborn deaths in Africa advances with $65MTThe Newborn Essential Solutions and Technologies (NEST) alliance has launched phase  of its mission to reduce newborn mortality in sub-Saharan Africa with  million in funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, The ELMA Foundation and individual contributions.Founded in , the -year effort to save the lives of , African babies each year is aligned with the United Nations’  Sustainable Development Goals, specifically by limiting newborn deaths to no more than  per , live births by .Of the estimated . million newborns who die each year around the globe, African countries have the highest rates of mortality. African newborns have almost  times the risk of neonatal death compared to babies born in Europe or the U.S. Adequate medical care could ensure the survival of % of the estimated . million African newborns who die each year.“NEST is an international alliance of clinical, biomedical, and public health experts from  institutions and organizations,” said co-founder Rebecca Richards-Kortum, Malcolm Gillis University Professor and pro-fessor of bioengineering at Rice. “Improving quality for small and sick newborn care in NEST-implementing countries and beyond requires a systems-change approach that cuts across all levels of care.“This includes addressing multiple clinical needs of the individual patient; ensuring the design, availability and maintenance of equipment and sufficient clinical and biomedi-cal staff; and implementing policies to support overall care.”This second five-year phase will build on the progress achieved in Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria from  to , where the alliance, in partnership with the countries’ governments, improved the quality of care for some , babies admitted each year to the  hospitals implementing NEST.Rice WaTER Institute to develop accessible clean water technologyRice has launched the Water Technologies Entrepreneurship and Research (WaTER) Institute to address complex water-related challenges around the globe. “Clean water can save more lives than doctors,” said Pedro J. Alvarez, WaTER’s director and the George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Its researchers will predict and prevent diseases by monitoring wastewater; decrease the amount of energy used to treat water in largemunicipal water systems; predict water-related natural disasters; extract high-value metals with high energy efficiency and low water consumption, and more.READ MOREeng.rice.edu/WaTERSPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

STATE OF THE SCHOOL365173701054022055510940045562118total research expenditures in 2023In 2022–23, 118 PhDs, 62 MA/MS and 455 Professional Masters were granted, along with 400 Undergraduate degrees.Enrollment has increased by .% for undergraduates and % for graduate students over the past  years.Tenured and Tenure-Track Faculty$94.9MCompare to recent years > 2022: $81.0M 2021: $81.0M 2020: $70.7M 2019: $68.5M1,1,Faculty in the National AcademiesSTUDENTS ENROLLED 20222320–21 21–22 22–23DEGREES GRANTEDINCOMING FRESHMEN FemaleMaleby sex63% 37%African Americanby race8%5% Multiracial2% Unknown13%International27%Caucasian21%Asian24%Hispanicby raceFirst Generation College Students 12%Pell Grant Recipient(Low Income Indicator)17%ACT 25th Percentile 34ACT 75th Percentile 36SAT 25th Percentile 1510SAT 75th Percentile 1560UndergraduatesGraduatesAFTER GRADUATION17%28%53%average starting salary$100K+ $81-100K$61-80K1% $20-40K1% $41-60K14%fields entered1% Law2% Other3% Business4% MedicineGraduate Arts or Sciences76%Engineering771713Total Degrees 1,035Academic YearEngineeringScienceMedicine8 9In the Hedges2023 Engineering Advisory BoardRakesh Agrawal ’97 (MECH, CS) Founder and CEO of SnapStream MediaChrista Brown-Sanford ’01 (ECE) Attorney, Baker BottsMichael Colglaizer CEO, Virgin GalacticMark Durcan ’83, ’84 (ChBE) Director of Advanced Micro DevicesBryan Hassin ’01 (BSCS, BSECE), ’02 (MCS) CEO, DexMatWendy Hoenig ’86 (MSNE) Founder and CEO, H&H Business DevelopmentTommy Huie ’87 (ECE) Advisor to Financial Services FirmsEdan Lee ’90 (ECE) Managing Director, Olympus Capital AsiaBob Maxfield ’63 (ECE) Co-Founder, ROLM CorporationCassandra McZeal ’98 (CAAM) Computational Sciences Function Manager, ExxonMobil Upstream Research CompanyVinay Pai ’88 (BACS, BSEE), ’91 (MSEE) Technology Executive and Venture InvestorJim Pyke ’97 (MECH) Managing Director, TCB Advisors President, Rice Engineering AlumniChris Powers ’02 (ChBE) Vice President, Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage, Chevron New EnergiesMatt Prucka ’84 (ECE) Founder, Prucka Engineering, Inc.Charlos Ward ’98 (ChBE), ’06 (MBA) Project General Manager, BP Alaska Projects Organization

Rice Engineering Remembers Esteemed FacultyAAs Rice Engineering looks to the future, the engineering community remembers faculty whose contributions shaped the university’s academic landscape and laid the foundations for future generations of engineers.Sam H. Davis Jr. ’ ’, a chemical engineering professor emeritus and former director of the Office of Continuing Studies, left an indelible mark on Rice University. His tenure spanned over four decades, beginning in . He was deeply involved in student life, serving in various roles, including interim magister for Jones College. Davis impacted Rice not only through his teaching but also through his dedication to continual learning. He directed the Office of Continuing Studies from - and laid the groundwork for the school’s growth.Henry H. Rachford Jr. ’, ’ was a professor of mathematical sciences, computer science and mathematics. Joining the faculty in , his research focused on numerical analysis, particularly methods for partial differential equations. Alongside colleagues, he co-founded a consulting firm that devised methods to simulate transient fluid flow in pipelines. Notably, the Douglas-Rachford numerical algorithm, developed in the s, bears his name. Rachford was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in  for his contributions to solving petroleum reservoir and pipeline hydraulics problems.John Dobelman ’ ’ ’, professor in the practice of statistics, joined Rice as a lecturer in  following an accomplished career that included work for the Federal Aviation Administration. He directed the Statistics Professional Master’s Program, growing it to international prominence. Dobelman’s research focused on data-driven investment strategies. With the support of his family, he established the Dobelman Family Chair in Statistics and was instrumental in administer-ing the Center for Computational Finance and Economic Systems (CoFES).Ahmad Kabbani, a respected lecturer in materials science and nanoengineering, devoted his academic career to teaching and mentoring. He contributed to the Rice community through his courses on electro-chemistry, polymer science, and nanochemis-try. Beginning as a visiting professor in , he became a research scientist, eventually join-ing the faculty in . Kabbani, who earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of California, Davis, left a lasting impact on students at Rice and Lebanese American University, where he retired in .Calvin “Herb” Ward’s career at Rice spanned over half a century, beginning in . He was the Foyt Family Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering emeritus and a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology emeritus. A leading authority on haz-ardous waste remediation, Ward’s impactful leadership was felt on and off campus. He cre-ated the international journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, and his contribu-tions have been recognized by institutions such as the National Academies of Science and Engineering, NASA, and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.Clockwise from center-top: Ahmad Kabbani, Calvin “Herb” Ward, John Dobelman, Henry H. Rachford, Sam H. DavisI N MEMORIAMSPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

COSTA RICA The Global Medical Innovation program combines engineering, business and clinical training to help students solve real-world medical needs. Since 2015, some 400 graduate and undergradu-ate students have participated in the summer program where they worked alongside professionals in the medical technology industry in Costa Rica.BRAZILRice Engineering stu-dents and their peers at two Brazilian universities are researching compu-tational methods to ad-dress flooding and other climate-related crises. The Rice@Brasil program integrates research and development, education, and local partnerships to improve infrastructure systems to better handle hydroclimate extremes.RICE IN THE WORLDMEXICORice and Tecnológico de Monterrey announced a partnership in the fall of 2023 to strengthen engineering, natural sciences and continuing studies. The agreement includes concurrent doctoral degrees in any area of engineering and natural sciences, dual master’s programs and a partnership to expand access to continuing and professional education.10 11In the Hedges

INDIADriving Sustainable ChangeTThe  launch of the United States-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology underscores India’s significance as a partner in solving some of the most critical challenges of our time.Rice Engineering’s comprehensive approach to partnering with India, dating back to , focuses on building institutional relationships, faculty collaborations, and stu-dent academic exchange — all in the pursuit of innovative, sustainable solutions.“Our partnerships in India exemplify our commitment to tackling global challenges through interdisciplinary research, faculty engagement, and empowering the next generation of engineers,” said Luay Nakhleh, William and Stephanie Sick Dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering. “India’s technological expertise, vibrant academic community, and shared dedication to solving global issues align seamlessly with our mission. Together, we’re driving impactful solutions that transcend borders and pave the way for a more interconnected and sustainable future.”In 2020, with support from the Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta Family Foundation, Rice and the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) launched the Rice-IITK Collaborative Center which focuses on creating sustainable solutions that address the global energy demand.Two years later, Rice developed the Rice-IITK Strategic Collaboration Awards program, AFRICARice360 Institute for Global Health Technolo-gies, led by engineering faculty, aims to reduce infant mortality rates across the continent. As part of the NEST360 (Newborn Essential Solu-tions and Technologies) multi-institutional part-nership, Rice engineers create scalable health care solutions to improve the quality of neonatal and pediatric care in theregion.which funds joint faculty research projects. This significant step deepened the partner-ship, signifying mutual investment in collaborative research and a pathway to accelerate it. In 2023, Rice and IITK faculty groups received funding for their joint projects which take on global challenges such as climate change, urban infrastructure, health care and food insecurity.Further expanding its collaborative network in India, Rice Engineering partnered with the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, hosting its inaugural Joint International Workshop on Energy and Sustainability with nearly 100 participants. Additionally, in Nov. 2023, Rice announced a strategic collaboration agreement with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore, fostering joint research ventures and industry engagements on data science, energy andmaterials. Alongside institutional relationships and faculty collaborations, student academic exchange including the Mehta Rice Engineering Speaker Series and the Mehta Rice Engineering Scholars Program places students at the center of research. The quarterly speaker series brings together students across engineering disciplines from both Rice and Indian institutions. Through the scholars program, established in 2023, Rice hosts students from Indian universities on campus and provides research and mentorship opportunities. The students’ work is already contributing to advancements in wireless communication, machine learning algorithms, and more efficient drug delivery systems.ARGENTINAIn 2022, Rice established a cooperative education program with Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires (ITBA), one of the premier universities in Argentina. Under the agreement, students have the opportunity to earn both an undergrad-uate degree from ITBA and a master’s degree from Rice.FRANCEThe Rice Global Paris Center, which opened in 2022, is the university’s European hub for conferences, workshops, and collaborative research addressing 21st-century engineering challenges. In the summer of 2023, engineering faculty participated in the center’s inaugural workshop series alongside European colleagues.SCOTLAND Rice and the University of Edinburgh established a strategic partnership to cultivate collaborations in research and education. The 2023 recipients of the Rice-Edinburgh Strategic Collaboration Awards included engineering faculty whose research supports the areas of health and well-being, resilient and adaptive communities, advanced materials, and future computing.“ Our partnerships in India exemplify our commitment to tackling global challenges through interdisciplinary research, faculty engagement, and empowering the next generation ofengineers.”LUAY NAKHLEHWilliam and Stephanie Sick Dean of the George R. Brown School of EngineeringSPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

The Biotech Launch pad is already admin-istering THOR (targeted hybrid oncothera-peutic regulation), a technology funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which has awarded Rice  million to rapidly develop sense-and-respond implant technology that could slash U.S. cancer-related deaths by more than %.Within months of its founding, the Launch Pad announced a peer-reviewed publication in Nature Communications that details develop-ment of a rechargeable device — an electrocat-alytic on-site oxygenator that produces oxygen to keep cells alive inside an implantable “living pharmacy,” potentially improving the out-comes of cell-based therapies.Wotton, who will serve as the accelerator’s executive director and chairman, said, “Rice is well-positioned with its faculty, support and location in the Texas Medical Center. Omid and the leadership team at Rice have demonstrated success in securing more than  million in grants and spinning out several companies. The Rice Biotech Launch Pad will build on this overall success and expand it by integrating Houston’s scientific, engineering, clinical and product developmentcommunities.”SPOKEN RICEThe “closed-loop” implant, designed to treat ovarian, pancreatic and other difficult-to-treat cancers, will be able to continuously monitor a patient’s cancer and adjust their immunotherapy dose in real time.Rice Biotech Launch Pad accelerator fast-tracks health discoveries into cures TThe Rice Biotech Launch Pad, a Houston-based accelerator, is focused on turning the health and medical technology discoveries of Rice researchers into cures. It provides a , square feet accelerator space that connects these researchers with a national network of industry executives and fundingsources.“The Launch Pad is the university’s first large-scale initiative designed to help advance internally discovered platform technologies from concept to clinical studies and commer-cialization,” said Omid Veiseh, associate pro-fessor of bioengineering and CPRIT Scholar in Cancer Research.Veiseh, together with Paul Wotton, co-founder of Avenge Bio and other companies backing technologies discovered in Rice labs, is supporting highly differentiated projects while driving the expansion of Houston as a world-class medical innovation ecosystem.“The Rice Biotech Launch Pad will ensure that our faculty and students have the skills, partnerships, tools and support to create technologies that can transform our city and the world,” Rice President Reginald DesRochessaid.Veiseh, who will serve as the accelerator’s faculty director, said, “We have the infrastruc-ture, financial backing and talent in Houston to do more in creating new medicines to cure disease. The Launch Pad will help our faculty compete for larger grants from such agencies as ARPA-H, DARPA and the NIH to support translational work involving platform tech-nologies that can address multiple therapeu-ticareas.”12 13Section TitleIn the Hedges“ The Rice Biotech Launch Pad will ensure that our faculty and students have the skills, partnerships, tools and support to create technologies that can transform our city and the world.”REGINALD DESROCHESRice President

“ I think machine learning has really changed our expectations of what we think of computers being able to do…you actually expect computers to be able to see and perceive the world around us in a much better way than they were able to 10 years ago. And that opens up all kinds of amazing opportunities in pretty much every field of humanendeavor.”Jeff Dean, Chief Scientist, GoogleKen Kennedy Institute Distinguished Lecture Series, February 13, 2024“ In terms of engineering, this is our century: complex problems and complex solutions that span many disciplines…We’ll change people’s lives for the better.” Naomi Halas, University ProfessorUniversity Professor Celebration, March 22, 2023“ Every time I walk into an academic area, I think, ‘if we could just give this education potential to everybody…what would the world be like?’”Aleida Rios, Senior Vice President of Engineering, bp Baker Institute Civic Scientist Lecture Series, October 30, 2023“ At every turn, when you think you enter a cul-de-sac in life, it often turns out to be a fork in the road. Where it leads you is often far better than you ever imagined.” Ruth Simmons, President’s Distinguished FellowRice University Shepherd School of Music’s Brockman Hall for Opera, September 22, 2023ILLUSTRATIONS BY KAGAN McLEODSPEAKERS AND GUEST LECTURERSSPRING 2024 Rice Engineering“ Great innovation typically is not from a single individual. It’s getting people together to build off of each other’s ideas.”Jim Whitehurst, former president, IBM and Red HatRice Engineering Leader Speaker Series, September 12, 2023

Five stories that excite usTHE COUNTDOWNIN THE NEWS“ Rice has strategically increased its investment in research that will positively impact the community, region, nation and world. As university president and a civil engineer, I am confident that Rice scientists will make discoveries that transform lives and communities through innovation.”Rice President Reginald DesRoches on the launch of the WaTER Institute led by Professor Pedro Alvarez (pictured).HOUSTON CHRONICLE, February 1, 202414 15In the Hedges5124 3Unlocking boundless energy with the world’s largest sundialA project for the city of Houston, Texas, will generate nearly 400,000 kWh of electricity every year while acting as a public sundial. The Arco del Tiempo (Arch of Time) will be a 100-foot-tall archway with a roof covered in photovoltaic modules to produce electricity that goes directly into the city’s powergrid.READ MOREeng.rice.edu/sundial3D bioprinted blood vessel could reveal the effects of microgravity How does weightlessness change the cardiovascular system of astronauts in orbit? A new 3D bioprinted blood vessel will soon tell us. The European Space Agency-supported study explores arterial biology using abioprinted vessel model.READ MOREeng.rice.edu/bloodvesselStudent invents an affordable fire-fighting robotFirefighters have one of the most dangerous jobs, risking their lives to help others. Siddarth Thakur started working on FireBot as a high school student in Hous-ton. The robot can withstand temperatures up to 1,832˚F, is wirelessly controlled, and can assist firefighters in search and rescue missions. Notably, Firebot is affordable compared to other fire-fighting robots.READ MOREeng.rice.edu/robotA time capsule to the moon depicting the “essence of humanity”In 2027 NASA is sending a time capsule to the moon. “Sanctuary on the Moon” will contain 24 sapphire discs, each with up to 7 billion micropixels of informa-tion, engraved with a “backup of humanity,” including female and male genomes. The capsule will also include mathematic equations, scientific findings, andworks of art.READ MOREeng.rice.edu/moonCell therapy that turns lymph nodes into tiny liverA biotech company, LyGenesis, carried out a trial on a patient with liver failure. In the one-of- a-kind experimental procedure performed in Houston, donor cells were injected into a lymph node, with the idea that the cells could potentially grow and trans-form the lymph node structure into a “functional ectopic liver” within apatient’s body. READ MOREeng.rice.edu/tinyliver

Michael KingE.D. Butcher Chair of Bioengineering, CPRIT ScholarMichael King is currently the J. Lawrence Wilson Professor of Engineering and Department Chair of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), Biomedical Engineering Society and the International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering. His lab studies cancer metastasis and mechanotransduction. He will join the Rice faculty on July 1, 2024.Lane MartinWelch Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Director of the Rice Advanced Materials InstituteLane Martin earned his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2008. Previously, he was a faculty member in Berkeley and a Chancellor’s Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. He has published more than 275 journal articles and is a fellow of American Physical Society and the American Ceramics Society.Cynthia Reinhart-KingJohn W. Cox Chair of BioengineeringCynthia Reinhart-King is a University Distinguished Professor and Senior Asso-ciate Dean for Research at Vanderbilt University in Biomedical Engineering and Cell and Developmental Biology. She serves as president of the Biomedical Engineering Society and is a fellow of BMES, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering. Her research focuses on understanding the mechanisms that drive tissue formation and tissue disruption in such diseases as cancer and atheroscle-rosis. She will join the Rice faculty on July 1, 2024.Jason AdamsAssistant professor, chemical and biomolecularengineeringJason Adams earned his Ph.D. in ChBE from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2022 and has since served as a postdoctoral research associate at the California Institute of Technology. His research interests include catalysis for the decarbon-ization and electrification of chemical manufacturing and wastewater treatment. He will join the Rice faculty on Jan. 1, 2025.Maryam AliakbarpourMichael B. Yuen and Sandra A. Tsai Assistant Professor of computerscienceMaryam Aliakbarpour earned her Ph.D. in CS from MIT in 2020 and has since worked as a postdoctoral scholar at Boston University, Northeastern University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Her research focuses on theoretical computer science, statistical inference, learning theory, differential privacy and hypothesis testing.NEW FACULTYRice Engineering is growing with the hiring of 17 tenure-track and four teaching faculty members. Spanning all nine departments, the new hires further establish the school’s prominence in its key research areas: health and well-being, energy and sustainability, resilient and adaptive communities, advanced materials, and future computing. The Arco del Tiempo (Arch of Time) by Riccardo Mariano. Courtesy of Land Art Generator SPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

Thomas Geoffrey AndersonAssistant professor, computational applied mathematics and operations researchThomas Geoffrey Ander-son received his Ph.D. in applied and computational mathematics from the California Institute of Technology in 2020. Since then he has worked as a mathematics postdoctoral scholar at the University of Michigan. Anderson’s research interests include numerical analysis, spectral methods, scientific comput-ing and numerical methods forPDEs. Raudel AvilaAssistant professor, mechanical engineeringRaudel Avila earned his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 2023 from Northwestern University. His research combines mechanics, materials and electromagnetic concepts to engineer bioelectronics for health care and biomedical applications. Jessica ButtsAssistant professor, bioengineeringJessica Butts earned her Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of California, San Francisco, in 2018. She then served as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Postdoctoral Associate in Molecular and Human Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine. She researches neuronal fate decisions in the developing hindbrain. Hanjie ChenAssistant professor, computer scienceHanjie Chen earned her Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Virginia in 2023, where she worked as a research assistant in the Information and Language Processing Lab. Her research interests include trustworthy AI, natural language processing and interpretable machine learning. She will join the Rice faculty on July 1, 2024.Avantika GoriAssistant professor, civil and environmental engineeringAvantika Gori earned her Ph.D. in civil engineering in 2023 from Princeton, and her B.S. and M.S. in civil engineering from Rice in 2016 and 2018, respectively. Her research focuses on quantifying coastal flood hazards under present and future climate and development conditions. Stavroula (Alina) KampouriAssistant professor, chemical and biomolecular engineeringStavroula Kampouri earned her Ph.D. in chemistry and chemical engineering in 2020 from the Swiss Fed-eral Institute of Technology Lausanne. Since then, she has worked as a postdoc-toral researcher in chem-istry at MIT. Her research interests include porous, functional materials (e.g., metal-organic frameworks) and applications in semicon-ductor technologies.Scott KeeneAssistant professor, materials science and nanoengineeringScott Keene earned his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Stan-ford in 2020 and spent the next two years as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoc-toral Research Fellow at Cambridge University. His research interests include neuroelectronic interfaces, fundamentals of organic mixed ionic-electronic conductors, biosensors and organic neuromorphic devices. He will join the Rice faculty on July 1, 2024.HaeYeon Lee,Assistant professor, materials science and nanoengineeringHaeYeon Lee earned her Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from MIT in 2021 and since then has worked as a postdoctoral research scientist in the Columbia Nano Initiative at Columbia University. Her research interests include understanding fundamental electronic properties of quantum materials (mainly, van der Waals materials) and developing optoelec-tronic devices.16 17In the Hedges

Hengrui LuoAssistant professor, statisticsHengrui Luo earned his Ph.D. in statistics from Ohio State University in 2020, and worked as a postdoctoral fellow in applied mathematics and computational research at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. His research focuses on Bayesian methodology, topological and geometrical data analysis, and high-dimensional probability. Vanessa SanchezAssistant professor, mechanical engineeringVanessa Sanchez earned her Ph.D. in materials science and mechanical engineering from Harvard in 2022 and now serves as a postdoctoral fellow in chemical engineering at Stanford University. Her research group will work on responsive textiles for assistive wearables span-ning from the molecular to the structural and device levels. She will join the Rice faculty on July 1, 2024.Juliane SempionattoAssistant professor, electrical and computerengineeringJuliane Sempionatto earned her Ph.D. in nanoengineer-ing from the University of California, San Diego, in 2021, and served as a postdoctoral researcher in medical engineering at the California Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on development of wearable sensors, including electrochemical biosensors for monitoring analytes in sweat, saliva, tears and interstitial fluid. Lu ZhangAssistant professor, computational applied mathematics and operations researchLu Zhang earned her Ph.D. in computational and applied mathematics from Southern Methodist Univer-sity in 2020, then worked as a term assistant professor of applied mathematics at Columbia University. Her research interests include numerical analysis (dis-continuous Galerkin, finite difference), data-driven computational inversion (imaging, fast algorithms, deep learning), and math-ematical biology (chemo-taxis, population dynamics, pattern formation).Sinan KockaraLecturer, computer scienceSinan Kockara earned his computer engineering degree from Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey, in 2001 and his Ph.D. in applied computing from the Univer-sity of Arkansas in 2008, where he was a tenured full professor in computer science and engineering. His research focuses on medical image processing, especially in dermatology, and VR surgical simulation development for orthope-dics training. Luis Fernando Guzman NaterasLecturer, computer scienceLuis Fernando Guzman Nateras earned his Ph.D. in CS in 2023 from the University of Oregon. He served for nine years as a CS lecturer at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo in Mexico, where he also worked as a software devel-oper. His research interests include the intersection of cross-lingual learning and information extraction. Andrew WomackLecturer, statisticsAndrew Womack earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Washington University in 2011 and served as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Florida and the University of Southern California. From 2014 to 2022 he was an assistant professor of STAT at Indiana University. Working as a consulting statistician, Womack’s most recent research has been on aphasia modeling in stroke patients.Ricardo Zednik Professor in the practice, materials science and nanoengineeringRicardo Zednik earned his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Stan-ford in 2008, and since 2014 has served as a professor of mechanical engineering in the École de Technologie Supérieure at the Universi-té du Québec. His research focuses on the relation-ships between structure, geometry and properties offunctionalmaterials. SPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

Equity and innovation: engineering for allIdeas + Research18 19

Responsible engineering practices are embedded in Rice Engineering’s approach to addressing global challenges. The interdisciplinary research of faculty and students leads to solutions that promote equity for communities worldwide. From improving medical care delivery to ensuring access to clean water and technology, here are some of the ideas and research from Rice engineers that are reshaping the global landscape.Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center showed the platform could produce clinically rel-evant results on samples collected at both U.S. clinical sites and at clinical field sites inMozambique.“Preventing cervical cancer is a matter of access,” said Kathryn Kundrod, lead author, who received her Ph.D. from Rice and is now a cancer prevention fellow at the National Cancer Institute and senior advisor for Cancer Moonshot policy coordination at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. “Our study demonstrates a testing process that — if combined with point-of-care diagnostic and treatment technologies — could allow women who’ve never had access to cervical cancer prevention to be screened and treated in a single visit in settings like a small clinic or a mobile diagnostic van.”In the study, the researchers showed their six-step test for HPV and HPV — which account for about % percent of cervical cancer — delivered results in  minutes and required just two pieces of equipment. One, a small centrifuge, is widely available for about . The other, a purpose-built, dual-chamber heater called NATflow, allowed the researchers to use disposable cartridges to avoid false positives arising from workspace contamination, a major challenge for point-of-care molecular testing. According to Kundrod, if both the NATflow platform and test car-tridges were produced on a large scale, each dual-chamber heater would cost an estimated  and each test less than .Placing People at the Heart of Medical DesignIIn addition to innovative research that extends healthcare affordabil-ity and efficiency on a broader scale, Rice is pioneering initiatives to instill equity considerations in engineering education.A five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will support the development of an undergraduate bioengi-Luxe Studio ProductionsBroadening Access to Cervical Cancer ScreeningRRice faculty and students are committed to addressing health-care disparities through innovative research. The work done by a bioengineering team in Professor Rebecca Richards-Kortum’s laboratory is just one example.In , more than , new cases of cervical cancer were diagnosed globally, and , deaths occurred in low- and mid dle-income countries. HPV, a family of viruses, can cause persistent infections that result in cervical cancer, which is preventable and curable if detected early and managed effectively. Rice University bioengineers have demonstrated a low-cost, point-of-care DNA test for HPV infections that could make cervical cancer screening more accessible.Nine engineers from Richards-Kortum’s laboratory spent more than two years devel-oping a DNA testing platform that combines two technologies, isothermal DNA amplifi-cation and lateral flow detection, that greatly simplifies the equipment needs and testing procedures. Richards-Kortum’s team and partners from the National Cancer Institute, the Mozambique Ministry of Health, Baylor College of Medicine, and The University of SPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

Ideas + Researchneering curriculum component intended to cultivate inclusive design principles for Rice University students contemplating a career as medical practitioners or medical tech-nologyinnovators.Sabia Abidi, an assistant teaching professor of bioengineering at Rice, and Kirsten Ostherr, Rice’s Gladys Louise Fox Professor of English and director of the Medical Humanities Research Institute, have won NIH support for a clinical immersion project that seeks to enhance Rice’s undergraduate bioengineering curriculum to further address inequities in health care delivery and account for the complex clinical settings in which medical devices are used.In collaboration with the Texas Heart Institute and Texas Children’s Hospital, the new immersion program will enable Rice bioengineering juniors and seniors from diverse backgrounds to observe and interact with clinical settings in a pediatric intensive care unit and a cardiology and heart surgery center. In addition to clinical observation, the program will introduce students to key aspects of physiology, technology, communication, entrepreneurship and healthcare disparities that impact the development of medical tech-nologies and devices to cultivate an inclusive, human-centered approach to medical design.“We’re taking a very intentional approach to provide an educational experience that has the potential to transform the trajectory of the engineering design process from its earliest stages, leading to more effective solutions and better-trained bioengineering graduates,” Abidi said. “Through this project, our team hopes to get students thinking about what populations are not being served and how to make sure their needs are really being met.”“ Such a system will save energy and help reduce the use of freshwater, a commodity that is becoming critically important around the world.”QILIN LIDonald SowardPreserving Water Supply SystemsAAccording to the United Nations World Water Development Report , between two and three billion people globally face water scarcity. This condition could worsen in the coming decades unless water management significantly improves.Rice University engineers propose imple-menting hybrid urban water supply systems toenhance the resilience and sustainability of a city’s water and wastewater infrastructure. Led by civil and environmental engineering professors Qilin Li, Leonardo Dueñas-Osorio and Lauren Stadler, the research suggests combining conventional, centralized water sources with reclaimed wastewater to create a system capable of withstanding disruptive events like hurricanes and flooding.“A hybrid system will save energy and help reduce the use of freshwater, a commodity that is becoming critically important around the world,” said Li, who is also co-director of the Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment (NEWT) at Rice. “Our research shows that a system like this exhibits lower severity, range of impact and duration of substandard performance when disruption happens.”According to Dueñas-Osorio, hybrid water supply systems are more resilient than conven-tional centralized systems. “Using Houston’s municipal water system as a case study, we explore the impact of various disruptions including pump station failures, pipe leakage and source water contamination,” he said.Nationally, the typical age of failing water mains is about  years, while the average age of the . million miles of water and sewer pipes in the U.S. is  years. Some six billion gallons of treated water—roughly % of the U.S. daily public water supply—is lost 20 21

each day from leaky pipes. As global climate change, population growth, and urbanization strain water resources and financial resources due to water systems’ maintenance and upgrade needs, innovative solutions like Rice’s hybrid water sourcing model have becomecritical.On a small scale, cities worldwide have already enabled the reclamation and reuse of municipal wastewater for both drinking and non-potable uses such as irrigation.“Decreasing dependence on already stressed surface and groundwater resources has become increasingly important,” Li said. “Our challenge is to determine how best to implement wastewater reclamation activities to enhance sustainability and resiliency of big city water infrastructure. Our recent research shows how decentralized wastewater treatment and reuse can make this possible.”Equalizing Wireless AccessIIn today’s global society, access to high-speed internet is crucial for providing communities with educational and commercial opportunities. However, over half the population lacks high-speed broadband communications due to the high cost of fiber and satellite and the limited reach and capacity of cellular wireless technologies.Rice researchers are working to change that. Through a . million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a team led by Rahman Doost-Mohammady, assistant research profes-sor of electrical and computer engineering, is developing a testing framework to assess the stability, interoperability, energy efficiency and communication performance of soft-ware-based G radio access networks (RANs).This testing is essential as the trend toward software-based wireless products grows, replacing traditional black-box hardware made by large companies. The transition has the potential to lower the barrier to entry in the telecommunications industry and opens up opportunities for smaller companies to introduce products to market faster and increase competition.The team, which includes Ashutosh Sabharwal and Santiago Segarra, is developing a testing framework, ETHOS, to help ensure these products work reliably when deployed in the field. Unlike current testing methodologies for wireless products, ETHOS will not only evaluate communication performance but also consider the impact of computing environments and the intricacies of machine learning on RAN software.“The implications of our work are far- reaching,” said Doost-Mohammady. “Deploying software instead of hardware will significantly reduce the development cycle of the components used in telecom infrastruc-ture, reducing costs for telecom operators. This, in turn, reduces costs for subscribers. It will also allow operators to invest more in underserved areas and build networks best suited to the needs of those communities.”Qilin Li and Leonardo Dueñas-Osorio discuss findings from their study published in Nature Water.HYBRID WATER SYSTEMSSPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

Section TitleIN THE DESIGN KITCHENIdeas + ResearchOEDK: 15 Years of Design InnovationSSince , the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK) has provided a space for undergraduate engineering students to design, prototype and deploy solutions to real-world challenges. Known as Rice University’s hub of undergraduate engineering innovation, the OEDK offers students a chance to collaborate across engineering disciplines to make an impact onsociety. In the OEDK, interdisciplinary design teams tackle problems proposed by partners in the Texas Medical Center and other indus-tries. Over the past year, undergraduate groups have worked on more than  projects to solve real-world challenges. Current projects include concepts that address pediatric neu-rodegenerative disorders, fetal surgery, breast cancer, water purification, sustainable energy andmore. The annual Huff Engineering Design Showcase, renamed last year in honor of longtime supporters Harrell Huff and his late wife, alumna Carolyn Huff, features students’ final design projects and celebrates their process of collaboration. The winner of the  Woods-Leazar Innovation Award for Excellence in Engineering was Heartbeat HERoes, an all-woman team of seven whose project developed a prototype for a novel catheter designed to simplify alcohol ablation, a surgical procedure that removes anomalous heart tissue causing premature ventricular contractions. Sixteen other top prizes were given, including the Willy Revolution Awards for Outstanding Innovation. In this category, AeroForge took home first place for its cold spray additive manufacturing device which aims to improve the mechanical properties and expand the range of printable metallic components. Bay-Max won second place for enhancing underwater vehicle efficiency and maneuverability with improved buoyancy control devices, ideal for subsea tasks like inspection, exploration, monitoring, andcleanup.22 23DESIGN SHOWCASE Each year, the showcase and competition highlights the next generation of engineering innovators. Learn more about the winners of the 2024Engineering Design Showcase announced in April at The Ion inHouston.

UNDERGRADUATE STUDY Exploring AI FoundationsEngineering undergraduates are deeply engaged in AI through a range of initiatives. Courses like “Artificial Intelligence” taught by Professor Devika Subramanian offer students comprehensive insights into both the foundations and applications of AI. Through workshops and research projects, students gain hands-on experience with AI technologies. This multifaceted approach not only equips students with valuable skills but also fosters a deep understanding of AI’s potential impact across industries. Rice engineers have gone on to hold AI-focused roles after graduation or launch their own startups, like Rakesh Agrawal ’, founder ofSnapStream.INDUSTRY PARTNERS Influencing National and Global AI PolicyRice Engineering faculty are lending their expertise to drive national and international collaboration and ensure the ethical development of artificial intelligence technologies. Rice has joined the nation’s leading artificial intelligence stakeholders to participate in a Department of Commerce initiative to support the development and deployment of trustworthy and safe AI. The Ken Kennedy Institute, which supports research on AI, data, and computing to solve global challenges, is leading the effort. From the international perspective, Rice engineers Rodrigo Ferreira and César A. Uribe weighed in at a public hearing of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee (NAIAC) on the risks, opportunities, and potential ways to leverage artificial intelligence as an arena for collaboration between the U.S. and LatinAmerica.GRADUATE RESEARCH Advancing Healthcare with AIHarnessing the capability of AI, graduate students are solving complex problems to make healthcare more accessible and effective for communities worldwide. A team of doctoral students has the potential to revolutionize patient-trial matching, a critical aspect of medical research, using a large language model coupled with AI deep learning. This approach, unlike previous attempts that used either a simple algorithm or a deep learning model independently, trains the system on large amounts of data and teaches it how to best match patients with the right medical trials. Another graduate student-led team of researchers has developed a tool that is better at integrating single-cell DNA and RNA data than more recent, state-of-the-art technologies. The findings could lead to better early-stage cancer detection.SPOTLIGHT ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

The Power of PredictionWhat is prediction? As a trained probabilist (yes, that’s a real word), I think of it as a way to compute the odds of some event happening, whether in a future experiment or in the future of our planet. What are the chances that the frequency of category- hurricanes mak-ing landfall in North America will increase to more than one per year by ? The public likes this kind of probabilistic thinking. It makes sense to them, the way it makes sense to professional statisticians. Mathematical modeling of what will happen in the future is so powerful that our brains think of it natu-rally, even without formal training in math.The distinction between laypeople’s understanding of future odds and the way pro-fessionals understand it mathematically is the way in which we quantify uncertainty. Thomas Bayes, an th-century English clergyman and proto-statistician, understood that modeling uncertainty requires a leap of faith. Today we have the computational tools to implement his methods for formulating predictions.To make a Bayesian prediction about future hurricane frequency, F, we need two things. We can relate F, for instance, to the atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations, C, in a linear model. We need to state how unsure we are about this model. We also need to specify our best guess for F itself, in the absence of any information about C, and how unsure we are. Based on past data for F and C, Bayesian statistics gives us updated uncertainty levels. Making predictions about F becomes straightforward, based on predictions about C. The cool thing about this example is that we have some control over the future of C. Because the model is so simple, it can be employed for uses other than prediction. Scientists could say that higher frequency of hurricanes is strongly associated with higher greenhouse-gas concentrations.Statistical prediction based on quantified uncertainty is powerful but easily abused. Bayesian statistics has built-in guardrails against dishonest prediction, more so than standard “frequentist” statistics which places more restrictions on how the data behaves. Egregious errors can occur when misinterpreting correlations in the data. Public confidence in climate and environmental research erodes quickly when the word gets out that statistics might be used improperly. Much is at stake because strong statistical association — between climate change and hurricane frequency — is interpreted as attribution of one to the other. British statistician G.U. Yule explained in  that the risk of abusive attribution is extremely high for certain data types which are common in the environmental sciences.I am currently working on the mathematics behind this risk, known as Yule’s nonsense correlation, with Philip Ernst, a former Rice statistician now at Imperial College London. Engineers In Their Own Words > Frederi ViensPeople + PerspectivesILLUSTRATION BY ADAM CRUFT24 25To learn more about Viens and Ernst’s research on Africa’s Lake Chad Basin, visit eng.rice.edu/lakechad

SPRING 2024 Rice EngineeringWe want to adjust correlation statistics so attribution can be gauged correctly. This problem is surprisingly challenging mathe-matically, illustrating how classical statistics should be handled with great care. They can be difficult to work with when the data doesn’t behave as expected. Ernst and I obtained funding from the British Academy to study a hydrology question in the Lake Chad Basin region of northeast Nigeria using Bayesian statistics. Water-resource scientists published work two decades ago arguing that local farmers were causing damage to the ecosystem through small-scale irrigation. National governments and international aid agencies used this finding to recommend remediation that, in our view, would not be environmentally and socially sound. We think the original analysis suffered from Yule’s nonsense correla-tion. Our research will include public engagement events to discuss the dangers of misusing statistical tools and the ethical responsibilities of scientists, particularly in the context of Africa’s history after coloni-zation. While this is a bit of a change for us since we’re usually focused on numbers, I believe that statisticians can make an impact by providing clarity in an uncertain world.

PaintPositiveAs the CEO and co-founder of The People’s CO, a startup offering carbon-capturing paint, Tanya Rogers ’ has found a way to bring non-scientists into the fight against climate change. “Look behind you in the air right now. There’s a molecule of CO. What can you do about it?” Rogers asked. Carbon dioxide is the most prevalent greenhouse gas in Earth’s atmosphere, and methods of capturing and then storing it are important tools in our arsenal in the fight against climate change. But most of these carbon capture tools are large-scale technologies exclusive to industry — where carbon dioxide is extracted from post-combustion emissions in smokestacks or at chemical plants. Rogers said, “If you and I want to do something about climate change, we can take actions like cycle more or ride our bikes. Those kinds of lifestyle choices prevent us from adding to the problem of climate change, but they don’t remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere right now.”Rogers, who graduated from Rice with a Ph.D. in chemical and biomolecular engi-neering and became an energy systems test director at NASA, knew she wanted to create a product that regular people could use themselves to fight climate change directly and immediately.“What is something everybody has access to?” was her guiding question. She first developed a coating for car air filters, experimenting with recipes for a liquid coating that could capture carbon directly from the air. The car industry presented too many barriers to entry, but the seed for her future brain child was planted. Rogers continued her experiments until she struck upon her final product — paint. People will paint no matter what, so it is better to use one that captures carbon. She brought in fellow Rice graduate Rawand Rasheed ’ and writer and entrepreneur Slade Ham as co-founders. Her startup company, The People’s CO, was born.The company set three goals for its paint. It had to be functional, nontoxic for use in a home and carbon negative to produce.The People’s CO uses olivine in its paint. Olivine, a green silicate used in industry and jewelry, can bind to carbon in the air through a geological process called carbon mineraliza-tion, thus sequestering the carbon. A pound of crushed olivine can bind a pound of carbon under ideal conditions, but it takes one to two years to saturate the olivine’s carbon-binding capacity. Paint, which stays in place for a while, is a good medium for the olivine to do this slow work. According to Rogers, ThePeople’s CO paint can sequester about half as much carbon as pure olivine—% to% of its mass in carbon. “Our concept sounded good, but we needed to test it out,” said Rasheed, co-founder and now CEO of his own startup. To verify the paint was effective, Rogers and Rasheed in one proof of concept measured the mass of various materials, including wood and sheets of metal and paper, painted them with the olivine paint, and measured the mass again. Then, in a controlled environment, they looked at how the mass changed over time to calculate the carbon sequestered within the paint. Rasheed said, “You can actually see the change in mineral composition under a microscope.”While mining, crushing, and transporting olivine requires energy and therefore emits carbon dioxide, olivine paint needs very tiny particles, such as the waste shavings from processing olivine for industry applications. The People’s CO uses industry byproducts, so its cradle-to-grave paint manufacturing is carbon negative. It removes more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than it emits. The People’s CO plans to expand beyond paint. Right now, the team’s focus is getting “the people” talking about climate action. Overthe past year, the company partnered with Space Center Houston and the city of Kemah, Texas, to apply its paint in public spaces. Ham said, “We’re very intrigued by the possibility of a consumer-facing CO conversa-tion. Who knows how many people will branch out and initiate their own climate action because of it?” Rogers agreed, “We really want to invite people to join the conversation.”BY VERONICA E. TREMBLAYPHOTOGRAPHY BY ARTURO OLMOS26 27Section TitlePeople + Perspectives

“ If you and I want to do something about climate change, we can take actions like cycle more or ride our bikes. Those kinds of lifestyle choices prevent us from adding to the problem of climate change, but they don’t remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere right now.”SPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

“ After a hard look at myself and conversations with advisers and the chair of the materials science department, it became clear that I was a materials scientist.”28 29

Could you give readers an overview of your research in materials science and nanoengineering? What are some of the key questions or challenges you are addressing in your work?My research focuses on advancing our ability to devise a new generation of electronic and functional materials. Think of the things you dream your cellphone or computer could do. We explore the materials that could enable those applications. We create very thin versions of materials, from a few atomic layers thick to a few hundred nanometers. We create exquisitely controlled nanoscale versions of these materials and coax new properties from them. Our work ranges from designing materials to enable ultra-low-power computing, to high-performance sensors and actuators, to energy conversion and storage.What are your goals for your role at Rice Engineering and for your students? How do you envision mentoring and educating the next generation of materials scientists and nanoengineers?My goal with students is to do a few important things. We want to develop new materials that improve life and solve societal challenges, and enable a new generation of technologies to further improve our lives. We want to enable students to be the best version of themselves and get outside their comfort zones.How do you manage the challenge of balancing research, teaching and administrative roles at Rice? Maybe not as well as I could! Being a faculty member is a rewarding job, one that keeps you intellectually agile. You are pulled in many directions every day so being organized is key. I’m a “list guy.” I love a good list that is curated and followed, updated and adjusted. There is something satisfying about finishing a task and checking it off. I try to break my days into little chunks. Before you know it, you’ve accomplished something.What inspired you to pursue a career in materials science and nanoengineering?I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and there wasn’t much information about different types of engineering readily available. I liked chemistry and math but figured chemistry might be too “fundamental.” I thought being a chemical engineer seemed a good balance. At Carnegie Mellon, I realized chemical engineering wasn’t what I thought it was. After a hard look at myself and conversations with advisers and the chair of the materials science department, it became clear that I was a materials scientist. I took the introductory course and started research in the spring of myfreshman year.Rice is the birthplace of nanotechnology, thanks to the late Richard Smalley and Robert Curl. When did you become aware of their Nobel Prize-winning achievements and how does it feel to be working at the site of their discoveries?I was in high school when Smalley and Curl won their Nobel Prize. I didn’t know it but the timing was important for my career. When I was an undergraduate and graduate student, the impact of their work was being felt nation-ally. Nanoscience and nanotechnology were all the rage and much of the research we were doing reflected this new discipline. Smalley’s efforts to grow the national research effort in nanoscience and nanotechnology directly impacted me as I was an NSF Integrative Graduate Education and Research Trainee-ship Fellow in Nanoscience and Engineering.Extra Creditfor Lane MartinPeople + PerspectivesQuestionsFinish this statement: “Rice Engineering is . . .”Rice Engineering is about possibility. Rice enables some of the best students and researchers in the world to dream big. It gives them the support — in terms of education, infrastructure and facilities and human resources — to accomplish whatever they can imagine. We have new buildings, new campus initiatives in research, new faculty and research directions. It’s exciting to be part of the party as we build a cohort of the world’s best thinkers and doers.PHOTOGRAPHY BY DONALD SOWARD SPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

TRANSITION TO30 31

Achieving net-zero emissions is a technologi-cal challenge requiring sweeping innovation across multiple aspects of society, such as re-ducing carbon dioxide emissions from sectors like transportation, agriculture and industry; transitioning to clean energy sources such as wind or solar; increasing the efficiency of renewable energy sources; and devising long-term methods for storing renewable energy. “The first target that needs to be met for energy transition is electrification,” said Aditya Mohite, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and the director of the Rice Engineering Initiative for Energy Transition and Sustainability, REINVENTS for short. “If we take care of electrification, then we will take care of about half of the CO emissions that are being emitted. The second, harder piece of this is: How can we positively impact industry’s environmental footprint? This is a much harder proposition.” As the U.S. works toward the goal of net-zero emissions, researchers at the George R. Brown School of Engineering are focused on answering some of the major technological questions of the future. From the Carbon Hub led by Professor Matteo Pasquali to the recently launched REINVENTS, engineers across the school are actively developing solutions. Here are some ways they are making a difference, along with their plans for moving these technologies forward. In 2021, President Biden issued an executive order with an ambitious objective: slash carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and attain net-zero emissions by 2050. BY RACHEL FAIRBANKILLUSTRATIONS BY JASU HUSPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

molecules,” Wang said. This catalyst, which helps facilitate the reaction, is being combined with a new type of reactor, one that helps reduce the energy requirements of the process. Part of the synthesis process is bringing the two carbon monoxide molecules together to synthesize acetic acid, which has two carbons. This process, known as carbon-carbon coupling, typically requires a lot of energy and is inefficient, with a low product selectivity. The Wang research group aims to develop new catalysts that facilitate this carbon-carbon coupling process, improving the acetic acid product selectivity. “If this reaction pathway is successful, we could significantly reduce the carbon footprint associated with using methanol during the acetic acid fabrication process,” Wang said.The second component of this process has been to design a new type of reactor, called a solid electrolyte reactor, which drives the reac-tion in a solid electrolyte medium, rather than in a liquid electrolyte medium. The advantage of this type of reactor is that once the product has been synthesized, it doesn’t need to be separated from a liquid electrolyte medium that contains ionic impurities. “That separa-tion process is very costly,” Wang said. “These costs can be up to % of the overallcost.” Wang and his collaborators hope to use this type of system to make acetic acid from carbon dioxide, rather than carbon monoxide, and to adapt this system for synthesizing similar products often used in industry, such as ethylene or ethanol. “ EVERY YEAR, ONE QUARTER OF THE EMISSIONS FROM THE CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY ARE DUE TO METHANOL” ZEROING IN ON INDUSTRIAL EMISSIONSAccording to the EPA, nearly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions come from industry. One major source of industrial emissions is methanol, which is used as a precursor for many chemicals and materials. “Every year, one-quarter of the emissions from the chemical manufacturing industry are due to methanol,” said Haotian Wang, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering. Methanol is used to make some of the key precursor molecules, such as acetic acid, that are, in turn, used in the food industry and to make a wide variety of organic and inorganic materials, including polymers. In research funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Wang’s research group works on ways to synthesize acetic acid from carbon monoxide, which can be obtained from carbon dioxide electrochemical conversion, rather than methanol, in order to make the process emissions-free. “We developed a catalyst that can help us to dimerize carbon monoxide 32 33

ADAPTING AI FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCYLeaders in artificial intelligence have acknowledged that the industry faces an energy crisis and the next wave of generative AI systems will consume several times more power than expected. Anshumali Shrivastava, associate professor of computer science, has founded a company, ThirdAI, which he believes can alleviate the problem. “AI processes have historically run on larger, less accessible computing hardware,” he said. “With ThirdAI, our tools are able to run on a regular central processing unit, rather than the more powerful graphics processing unit. CPUs handle fewer computations simultaneously, but have more memory than in GPUs. That’s an acceptable trade-off for the purpose of saving energy.” AI is responsible for carbon emissions from non-renewable electricity and for the con-sumption of millions of gallons of fresh water. Instead of trying to make AI more efficient by applying enormous amounts of computing power to it, Shrivastava is rethinking its fundamentals in an effort to make it cheaper and more energy-efficient. “We’ve been using an inefficient process and using even more energy to do it. Our team is working to change that,” Shrivastava said. Billions of bits of data in an AI model are routinely updated every time there is an error, even though just a few hundred may actually need the update. ThirdAI’s strategy is to pro-cess and train AI models by limiting updates to what is relevant. It does that by using hashing, in which data is tagged and stored in memory close to similar kinds of data. “When we looked at the landscape of deep learning, we saw that much of the technology was from the s and most of the market was using GPUs, investing in expensive hardware and expensive engineers and then waiting for the magic of AI to happen,” Shrivastava said. “Our algorithm eliminates the need for specialized acceleration hardware that wastes so much energy.” “ WITH GASOLINE, YOU CAN FILL YOUR CAR IN TWO MINUTES, AND GO 400 MILES,” MOHITE SAID. “THE TRANSITION TO REPLACING THAT IS NOT GOING TO BE STRAIGHTFORWARD.”PRODUCING LIQUID FUELS USING SUNLIGHTAnother key source of carbon emissions is the transportation sector, where gasoline is still one of the predominant fuel sources for vehicles. The advantage of gasoline is that it can be stored for long periods of time and contains high amounts of energy, which can then be used to power a vehicle. The disadvantage is that oil and gas is a finite resource and emits carbon dioxide. “With gasoline, you can fill your car in two minutes and go  miles,” Mohite said. “Thetransition to replacing that is not going to be straightforward.” One alternative to gasoline is hydrogen gas. Similar to gasoline, hydrogen gas can be stored for long periods of time and used to power cars, emitting only water rather than carbon dioxide, in the process. However, “most of the hydrogen produced is from cracking methane, but in the process, you emit carbon dioxide,” Mohite said.SPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

ELECTRIFICATIONLisa Biswal, William M. McCardell Professor in Chemical Engineering, and Ming Tang, assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering, explore batteries in relation to electrifying cars. The Biswal group designed a class of organic-inorganic hybrid Si-anode that improves the capacity and cyclability of lithium-ion batteries. The Tang group uses mesoscale modeling and advanced X-ray characterization techniques to analyze how the internal structure of lithium-ion batteries affects batteryperformance.LONGTERM STORAGEDaniel Cohan, of civil and environmental engineering, models the integration of renewable resources and storage technologies to complement traditional power plants. Jun Lou, of materials science and nanoengineering, focuses on solid-state battery mechanics to boost capacity and safety, potentially improving battery performance for electronics. Geoff Wehmeyer, of mechanical engineering, builds devices that control heat flows in energy systems to improve efficiency and thermal performance in industrial and electricalapplications.ENERGYEFFICIENT MATERIALSKai Gong, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, leads the Sustainable Infrastructure Materials group, which employs advanced computation, experiments and data-driven modeling to lessen the environmental impact of infrastructure materials. Stavroula Alina Kampouri, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and her research group focus on developing multitasking sponge-like materials capable of capturing waste and converting it into valuable resources using sunlight as theenergy source.Hydrogen can also be produced by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen, but doing so is an energy-intensive process, one that requires more energy than it will generate. If this process can be made more energy-efficient while also using a renewable energy source, such as wind or solar, it can bring hydrogen gas closer to being a viable alternative togasoline. In support of this goal, Mohite’s research group is working on more energy-efficient methods for producing hydrogen gas from water using low-cost solar as the energy source, as part of a project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. “We’ve developed a technology where we use a very low-cost solar cell, which we then couple with catalysts, which allows us to do high-efficiency solar to hydrogen production,” Mohite said. “It’s a platform device that converts sunlight into a liquid fuel.” A system like this can use the energy from sunlight to convert water into hydrogen fuel, which can then be stored and used in place of gasoline. “The advantage of an integrated system like this is that you can also harvest the heat which is lost. That helps drive the catalysis, making it more efficient,” Mohite said. “You’re harvesting electric power from sunlight, but you are also harvesting the lostheat.” “ IF YOU WANTED TO SCALE YOUR TECHNOLOGY FROM A TECHNOLOGY READINESS LEVEL OF TWO OR THREE, TO A TECHNOLOGY LEVEL OF SEVEN, WHICH IS WHERE INDUSTRIES WANT IT, HOW DO YOU REALLY DO THAT?” Rice leverages its research expertise and location in the energy capital of the world to advance the clean energy transition. In addition to carbon capture, utilization and storage, and hydrogen generation and storage, the school’s research areas include:REINVENTING THE ENERGY LANDSCAPEGiven the diversity of energy transition work being done by Rice Engineering faculty, a critical component of the research is supporting its move from early stages in the lab toward later stages of technological feasibility. With support from the Dean of Engineering, Rice Engineering launched a new program in  called the Rice Engineering Initiative for Energy Transition and Sustainability, or REINVENTS. Its goal, aided by an initial commitment of ,, is to create interdisciplinary teams to foster emerging technology. This includes the creation of teams in three key areas: energy generation, long-term energy storage and energy-efficient processes and materials.“We now have groups of faculty members who are formed into teams, based on the various technology portfolios that we have,” said Mohite, the director of REINVENTS. “Wethink of REINVENTS as an extended research arm for companies across industries.” 34 35

Research performed by faculty members in the George R. Brown School of Engineering has for years been the seed from which start-up companies have sprung and flourished. Here are three examples:DexMat is a Houston-based climate tech startup that creates high-performance, low-carbon materials with applications in a variety of industries. The company’s co- founders are Matteo Pasquali, A.J. Hartsook Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engi-neering and director of Carbon Hub and Dmitri Tsentalovich, a Rice chemical engineering doctoral alum. Its signature product is Galvorn, patented by Pasquali and made entirely of carbon derived from hydrocarbons, renewable fuels and captured carbon. The company’s goal is to make carbon- and energy-intensive mate-rials like steel, aluminum and copper obsolete. dexmat.com Qilin Li, professor of civil and environmen-tal engineering, is the founding director of SolMem, a company dedicated to developing technologies that can treat water with fewer chemicals and less energy. Its researchers tackle the most challenging water and waste-water problems by developing low-cost, high-efficiency treatment systems that use renewable energy. The technologies provide water to communities and industries at off-grid locations where conventional water sources are unavailable or limited. solmem.comSyzygy Plasmonics is rooted in the work of senior researchers Naomi Halas, founding director of Rice’s Laboratory for Nanophoton-ics, and Peter Nordlander, professor of electrical and computer engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering. The Houston company focuses on commercial-izing deep decarbonization of chemical manu-facturing processes. Its strategy combines new photocatalyst technology with a novel reactor that uses common, low-cost materials to manufacture hydrogen, ammonia, methanol and other chemicals, rather than relying on thermal energy. The result is a renewable universal platform that uses various feedstocks to enable chemical reactions while reducing feed-stock waste and producing fewer emissions.plasmonics.techThe mission of REINVENTS is to support the transition from prototype to fully devel-oped technology, a process that is time- and resource-intensive. “If you want to scale your technology from a technology readiness level of two or three to a technology level of seven, which is where industries want it, how do you do that?” Mohite said. REINVENTS helps bridge that gap, by forming collaborations and offering the necessary infrastructure for testing how these technologies might scale up. “The accelerator is in the works, and now we are progressing toward pilot scale capabili-ties,” Mohite said. SUSTAINABLE COMPUTINGThrough his research in quantum systems and compilers, Tirthak Patel, assistant professor of com-puter science, seeks to improve the energy and performance of quantum computers by leveraging quantum mechanical principles of superposition, entanglement and reversibility. This work will enable the efficient execution of large-scale applications in machine learning and scientific computation on quantumcomputers.SPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

Sensation(al) Wearable, textile-based device taps into sense of touch36 37

In the popular imagination, a robot is still a clanking metal humanoid likely to be a threat to humans.PHOTOGRAPHY BY TODD SPOTHScienceSPRING 2024 Rice Engineeringesearchers at Rice are dispelling that dated misconception and turning robots into wearable devices for disabled and elderly patients, and even the able-bodied.“Our lab focuses on human-robot applications for rehabilitation, training and virtual reality. We develop robotic systems—hardware and control algorithms—to use in upper extremity rehabilitation after people have suffered a stroke or spinal cord injury. We make devices for wearable haptic feedback that also have applications in virtual reality and prosthetics,” said Marcia O’Malley, Thomas Michael Panos Family Professor in Mechanical Engineering and director of the Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces Lab.“Haptic” refers to the sense of touch, a resource increasingly used in robotics development. It includes tactile sensations conveyed through the skin and kinesthetic sensations from muscles and tendons. They enable us to continually sense the relative positions and movements of our bodies without conscious effort and are critical for efficient performance by robots.

38 39“My focus is haptic work,” O’Malley said. “When we say ‘wearable,’ we refer to a device conforming to the human body. It can take many forms—clothing, rings, a bracelet, awatch.”Among O’Malley’s collaborators is Daniel Preston, assistant professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Preston Innovation Laboratory.“We’re optimistic about the future,” Preston said. “For instance, it’s important that we eliminate tethers and large, bulky power sources, so people can have easier mobility. We want to make and store energy from the act of walking itself and even capture body heat. The ideas are endless.” In collaboration, the O’Malley and Preston labs have recently developed a wearable, textile-based device that helps patients compensate for visual and auditory losses. Such technology reduces the dependence “One of the big advantages of using these smart textiles for haptic devices is that they bring a lot more freedom and flexibility to the design space. We’re no longer constrained by the size or shape of components that need to be incorporated into a design.”Marcia O’Malley Thomas Michael Panos Family Professor in Mechanical Engineering and director of the Mechatronics and Haptic Interfaces Labcontrol mechanisms, and permit users with vision or hearing loss to detect obstacles and navigate their movements.The technology also holds promise for restoring the sense of touch for amputees by embedding sensors on a prosthesis to gather data the wearables could relay as haptic feedback elsewhere on the body.“The haptic feedback felt by the user would be directly correlated with the actions they’re taking,” O’Malley said. “One of the big advantages of using these smart textiles for haptic devices is that they bring a lot more freedom and flexibility to the design space. We’re no longer constrained by the size or shape of components that need to be incorporated intoa design.”“Our goal is to make robots that collaborate better with humans,” Preston said.on hardware by programming haptic cues into the textile structure of wearables, using fluidiccontrols.“Traditional control systems use voltage and current, meaning you’d need many electronic inputs to achieve complex haptic cues,” Preston said. “In this device, we’ve off-loaded much of that complexity to the fluidic controller and require only a small number of electronic inputs to provide sophisticated haptic stimulation.”The new wearable consists of a belt and textile sleeves, and relies on fluidic signals such as pressures and flow rates to control delivery of haptic cues, including vibration, tapping and squeezing. A lightweight carbon dioxide tank or small electronic air pump worn on the belt feeds airtight circuits incorporated into the heat-sealable textiles, causing small pouches, as many as six on each sleeve, to inflate with varying force and frequency.The device was successfully tested for real-world navigation on a one-mile route through the streets of Houston. In the future, it could be modified to incorporate other sensing and Daniel Preston, director of the Preston Innovation Laboratory, explores the intersection of energy, materials, and fluids.

SPRING 2024 Rice EngineeringA Patient-Centric ApproachIncreasingly, robotics research-ers are listening to consumers – that is, the patients whose lives they aim to improve.“There remains a substan-tial gap between the needs of users and the technologies that are available. Something like half of upper-extremity prosthesis users eventually abandon their powered prosthesis in favor of simpler body-powered devices or no device at all,” said Marcia O’Malley.In July, O’Malley took part in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers World Haptics  conference held in Delft, the Netherlands. The gathering resulted in a paper co-written by O’Malley and other researchers and published in the journal Science Robotics.“Despite our best intentions,” she said, “we lack an understand-ing of how prosthesis users prefer to use their prostheses. We’re only beginning to understand how prostheses are represented in the brain. Although we envision robotic limbs that are indistin-guishable from natural limbs, what we have are complicated and delicate pieces of engineered metal and plastic that work best in a laboratory environment.”Barclay Jumet is lead author on a study published in Device. Brandon Martin/Rice University

40 41O’Malley and her collaborators concluded that prosthesis users must be included in the early brain-storming phase of device development. The workshop in Delft included a panel of prosthesis users who completed a survey devoted to their needs and experiences.Some of the results, O’Malley said, were surprising. For instance, panelists reported daily usages of their devices ranging from less than two hours to more than  hours. The reasons given for reduced usage included weight, comfort and limited functionality.“It’s difficult to generalize the results,” O’Malley said. “Most panelists expressed at least some interest in richer haptic feedback features, though there was concern regarding the impact of more features on prosthesis reliability. This sentiment wasn’t universally shared, however. Some panelists expressed no interest at all in the addition of haptic feedback and instead preferred simpler prostheses that were more inconspicuous andcomfortable.”The survey also noted significant discrep-ancies between patients who had lost one limb or both, and whether the loss was congenital or acquired. “These observations are highly personalized,” O’Malley said, “and this is an important aspect that necessitates our engagement with this population early in the design process.”Patients also expressed concern that people without financial means or adequate medical insurance are less likely to afford costly prostheses.“Overall, we concluded that a more nuanced approach to the needs of prosthetic users is called for. The one-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work. The features that patients want can’t be determined by the scientific community rather than the users themselves,” O’Malley said.“These observations are highly personalized ... and this is an important aspect that necessitates our engagement with this population early in the design process.”Cory Parris

“Making a fabric that responds to what people want and to their environment can be enormously helpful to them”Vanessa Sanchez describes herself as a “fashion-designer-turned-engineer,” combining study at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City with a Ph.D. in materials science and mechanical engineering from Harvard.“I took a non-linear path. Even though I was pretty nerdy, I mistakenly believed that art vs. science was an either/or choice. I started my higher education in fashion school but realized I was looking for a different way to innovate,” said Sanchez, who will join the Rice faculty in July as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering.Sanchez has already collaborated on several papers devoted to wearable robotics with another mechanical engi-neer at Rice, Daniel Preston, whom she met at Harvard.“In my lab,” Preston said, “we use existing materials in previously untested applications. For instance, soft materials for grippers and actuators that help broaden the capabilities of robots. Like Vanessa, we also develop and test completely new materials that enable new solid interactions. She will fit in perfectly in our wearable roboticswork.”To create softer materials with finely tuned mechanical properties for wearables, Sanchez’s lab at Rice will be fitted with specialized equipment such as a D knitting machine and D loom, which can produce seamless articles of clothing with little material waste.Soft robotics offer advantages over more traditional wearable robotics designs, which often have rigid exoskele-tons. They are inherently safer because of their compliance, and flexible so they fit into tight spaces and conform to the body. Most soft robots are powered by inflating and deflat-ing air chambers. An important goal is eliminating tethers and bulky power sources to enhance wearers’ mobility and ease of motion.From fashion to function: Creating robots that look and feel goodAfter attending FIT, Sanchez went on to get her B.S. in fiber science from Cornell. Since earning her doctorate from Harvard in , she has served as a postdoctoral fellow in chemical engineering at Stanford University, where she was awarded a , grant from the National Science Foundation to research active materials based on supramolecular shape memory polymer fibers.This background will prepare her research group to work on responsive textiles for use in assistive wearables, ranging from the molec-ular to the structural and device levels. Soft robots have attracted much attention in recent years for use in biomedical and consumer devices. Most current assistive devices are pneumatically actuated and require a pneu-matic tether, which limits wearable applica-tions requiring multiple controlled actuators.However, by pairing liquid-vapor phase change actuation with a textile-based lami-nated manufacturing method, smart thermally actuating textiles (STATs) are created and they eliminate the need for pneumatic tethers. “STATs are lightweight and unobtrusive for wearable applications,” Sanchez said. “We can customize the design for individuals. By using integrated sensing and heating elements, STATs make possible the closed-loop feedback that enables dynamic pressure control.” Sanchez foresees the inclusion of cooling components or heat-pipe elements into STAT design to facilitate faster, more precise deflation of wearables. Stretchable knit heat-sealable textiles, inspired by soft robotics work performed with elastomers, would enable more complex actuation by wearers.“Some people don’t have the mobility to roll up their sleeves or easily unzip their jacket,” Sanchez said. “Making a fabric that responds to what people want and to their environment can be enormously helpful to them. I also want to focus on reducing the stigma we sometimes see around devices for people with disabilities. They don’t want to wear something that looks like it belongs in a hospital.”SPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

  , the Rice Engineering Alumni (REA) is the oldest alumni affinity group at Rice and provides support to our current and future members by working closely with the George R. Brown School of Engineering. Our mission is to support, honor and connect Rice engineers before and after graduation. Membership in the REA is granted automatically upon graduation. All members are welcome at any REA event. The REA has been working hard to continue building the engineering alumni’s legacy at Rice and to make all of us proud of our alma mater. The simplest way to describe REA is that we are paying it forward. The education that we received from Rice Engineering and the previous generations of engineering alumni have helped us reach our professional goals. By establishing a pattern of alumni supporting the school, we guarantee the continuous improvement of the student and alumniexperiences. RiceEngineering Alumni42 43SServing on the Rice Engineering Alumni (REA) board is an incredible reminder of how our community of students, alumni and the university can create positive change. Initially, I was eager to reconnect with Rice and explore ways to contribute. Now, four years later, I see so many ways each of us can make a difference. When I began my term as president in July, I wanted to bring more innovation to the board and our activities. Lately, my focus has turned toward making it easier for anyone to get involved and have high impact. We’ve made great strides, and there’s more tocome.I’m excited to continue the success of past boards, particularly around the REA Summer Engineering Experience (SEE) program which achieved national recognition last summer. SEE very closely aligns with all aspects of the REA’s mission: To support, honor and connect Rice engineers before and after graduation. We work extensively, but not exclusively, with individuals from underrepresented groups of students to obtain their first engineering internships at a range of host companies, many of which have very deep ties to the Rice community. During the summer of 2023, we placed 16 students at 11companies, an almost tenfold increase from our 2020 start. Having already received more applications than last year, weaim to place 25 students in more companies this summer. These opportunities help launch engineering careers, and notably, not a single student who has participated in the SEEprogram has left Rice before graduation or changed their major away from engineering. We and the Rice engineering community should be proud of this 100% success rate. As transformative as SEE is, the REA continues to maintain other activities around education, outreach, alumni honors, and grants and awards. By the end of the academic year, we will have awarded over $100,000 in grants to support undergraduate projects, graduate student travel to conferences, and other activities. We have an active engagement calendar — from our Winter Social to our recently launched “REA Connect” program, designed to reconnect alumni to Rice through small group lunches hosted by an REA board member. We’ve also launched a significant five-year campaign in support of the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen (OEDK) that will result in the naming rights to the Maker Bar.There are limitless ways you as an alum can get involved. Consider mentoring students through the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership, reviewing grant applications, judging OEDK projects, mentoring or hosting SEE interns, or speaking on panels to educate students and alumni about career options and paths.The following stories show our innovation at work and illustrate the impact an engaged alumni community can have. We invite you to join us.From the REA PresidentJim Pyke

Favour Williams ’ learning journey in an internship can be daunting. Faced with real world problems, juggling deadlines, and new company cultures, any first-time intern could feel uncertain of how to put their best foot forward. However, given the right support network and difficult yet rewarding challenges, interns can be pushed to succeed beyond their expectations. This was my experience during my transformative internship at California Resources Corporation (CRC) thanks to the efforts of the Rice Engineering Alumni Summer Engineering Experience (SEE).In summer , I interned with CRC’s Carbon Teravault team, whose mission is to seques-ter carbon dioxide (CO) in depleted oil and gas reservoirs for immediate decarbonization and long-term carbon neutrality. My role as a carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) well engineer was to assess the mechanical integrity of wells earmarked for CCS projects, provide recom-mendations for reutilizing existing wells, and mitigate project risk.My role required a deep understanding of underground reservoirs, the nature of CO, and the resilience of oil and gas infrastructure, particularly in the context of mechan-ical well integrity. In the intricacies of my projects at CCS, the knowledge I gained at Rice was immedi-ately put to use.The transition from aca-demic theory to practical application was seamless due to SEE’s guidance and the confidence it instilled in me. My foundation in mathematics and thermo-dynamics helped me navi-gate complex data analysis. I learned to interpret data from electromagnetic induction tools used in cased hole logging suites and wireline operations. This was key in identifying internal and external well casing defects. I provided engineering recommenda-tions based on this exten-sive analysis, considering project economics and risk. Going beyond the initial project requirements, I automated the well data analysis which improved data accuracy, reduced analysis time for project wells, mitigated project risk, and introduced cost savings of up to , perwell.Reflecting on my CRC journey, I’m grateful for my CRC team and Rice Engineering Alumni’s Summer Engineering Experience. It exemplifies the power of bridging academic knowledge with real-world experience, an essential for engineering excellence. The SEE program is not merely a stepping stone. It is truly a light that guides students on their professional development path.*************Favour Williams is a junior majoring in mechanical engineering. Noemi Moreno   student entering a presti-gious university, navigating the internship application process felt overwhelming. I lacked direction on where to apply, how to present myself, and what to anticipate from such an internship experience.Seeking guidance, I turned to the Rice Engineering Alumni Summer Engineering Experience program. I was particularly drawn SPRING 2024 Rice EngineeringSEE through their eyes

Syzygy Plasmonics: Developing a Decarbonized Future   is a deep-decarbonization company. It builds reactors that use light instead of combustion to electrify chemical manufacturing and power a cleaner, safer world. Utilizing photocatalysts developed in the Nanophotonics Lab at Rice University and advanced engineering, Syzygy is commercializing a universal photocatalytic reactor platform. When powered with renewable electricity, this tunable technology is designed to reduce cost and emissions from various chemical reactions. Starting with solutions designed to consume greenhouse gases and produce low- and zero-emissions hydrogen, the company’s mission is to create a world where chemicals, fuels, and fertilizer are low cost, carbon neutral, and accessible toeveryone.Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Suman Khatiwada earned his Ph.D. in materials science and nanoengineering from Rice, and Rice professors Naomi Halas and Peter Nordlander continue to support Syzygy as co-founders and technical advisors. The company has a strong connection to the uni-versity with multiple alumni on staff serving in research and development, corporate development, and engineering roles. Syzygy has hosted multiple interns from Rice and is a strong supporter of the Rice Engineering Alumni Summer Engineering Experience internship program.In the summer of , the company engaged engineering majors Jason Lee and Jonathan (JJ) Jang as interns. “We were 44 45Alumnito Key Capture Energy, a company contributing to renewable energy — a field I’m passionate about. Landing an internship there after my sophomore year was an invaluable opportunity to explore one of the many paths an electrical engineering degree could offer.Under the guidance of my supervisor, Alicia Boyd, a project manager, I learned firsthand the significance of not just technical expertise but also effective communi-cation and coordination across diverse teams. This experience prompted me to reflect on my future career aspirations.The REA didn’t just facilitate my first intern-ship; it provided crucial mentorship and support. From Jim Pyke’s expla-nations of engineering concepts to insightful advice from interviewers and ongoing encour-agement from my REA mentor, Gabriella Buba, the program introduced me to a network genuinely invested in my success.This initial internship led to a return offer the following summer and gave me the confidence to apply for an internship in Argentina. Transitioning from computer-based work for a medium-sized com-pany to a more hands-on role for a large organization was a shift, but my prior experience pushed me to engage more actively, ask questions, and connect with my colleagues.Overall, the REA SEE program profoundly shaped my career perspec-tive, prepared me for future opportunities, and clarified my professional aspirations as I approach graduation in spring .*************Noemi Moreno, pictured second from left, is a senior studying electrical engineering.

Uber-cool: From Small Town to Big Tech  , a class of  computer science major and a participant in the Rice Emerging Scholars Program (RESP), recently completed a summer internship with Uber as part of the UberSTAR program in New York City. This paid student internship initiative aims to foster equal opportunity, inclusion, and accessibility in the tech industry, with a focus on encouraging applications from women and individuals from underrepresented backgrounds who have completed their first or second year of college.Caleb’s journey began in a small town in Alabama, where he was part of a graduating high school class of approximately  students. His passion for pro-gramming began at a young age, particularly in creating games. But pursuing this passion proved chal-lenging as Weaver High School did not offer Advanced Placement courses in computer science or any other subject. Caleb’s strong interest in computer programming led him to be primarily self-taught.fortunate to have Jason and Jonathan intern with Syzygy over the summer,” said Principal Software Architect Shiv Kandevalu. “They were instrumental in developing a data pipeline and operations dashboard that we use to monitor key performance indicators during hydrogen production. The work they did here is helping us test and operate the world’s first all-electric, light-powered chemical reactor.”As ongoing operation and testing of its Rigel™ photoreactors progress, Syzygy sets its sights on the next significant milestone — the installation of its first commercial-scale reactor at a customer site in  — with expectations to sign contracts to deliver one ton/day of hydrogen starting in . Long-term plans include moving to mega-scale projects in the late s. Syzygy is a great example of how research and discoveries made at Rice can advance into commercial applications that have the potential to make meaningful global impacts as well as support the development of the next generation of engineers.While Weaver High School had a tradition of most graduates choosing to attend state schools for further education, Caleb’s analytical approach to considering school quality, finan-cial aid, and other associated benefits, led him toRice. The Rice Engineering Alumni (REA) Board works extensively with RESP as part of the REA’s Summer Engineering Experience. As part of this initiative, Caleb had the opportunity to learn about networking and career development. The REA partnered with the Center for Career Development (CCD) to discuss job search strategies, which Caleb found invaluable. Caleb observed that “having an actionable framework for networking made it much easier to do as opposed to vague advice like ‘you shouldnetwork.’”Caleb’s journey to securing an internship at Uber was a testament to his persistence and proactive approach to applications, especially as an underclassman. A crucial aspect that facil-itated Caleb’s journey to Uber was the support he received from an REA board member and former Uber employee, John Mulgrew, Rice ’. The SEE program pairs students with mentors to provide advice and support throughout summer internships. John not only mentored Caleb but also wrote a strong recommendation letter to bolster Caleb’s application to Uber. During his internship at Uber, Caleb’s confidence soared as he actively contributed to regular code releases. “For me, there was such a difference in my confidence before and after the internship. I was actually working with a team of high-level engineers, and my work made a significant contribution to that team,” he said. Caleb’s experience is instructive to all under-class students seeking internships. First, have the determination to pursue opportunities, even those beyond the usual job platforms. Second, students who show their passions in interviews leave a lasting impression.The REA is always looking for more mentors for students to help them acclimate to the profes-sional working environment as well as intern-ship opportunities for deserving students. John Mulgrew observed that “helping Rice students figure out the beginning of their engineering career is an incredibly rewarding experience. I highly encourage our alums to get involved. Your time and experience can have a huge impact.”SPRING 2024 Rice Engineering

DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDALMartiel A. Luther gradu-ated from Rice in  with a B.S. in chemical engi-neering. She also earned her M.S. in chemical engineering practice from MIT and an MBA from Tulane University. Her -year career in the energy industry, primarily with Shell Oil Co., focused on technical and project man-agement roles that took her worldwide, including a stint shaping their sustain-ability strategy.Luther has demon-strated an unwavering commitment to the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, Rice Engineering’s hub for undergraduate engi-neering innovation. She introduced Shell as a corporate sponsor and later became an individual sponsor on her retirement. Luther actively mentors students in the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership and the School of Engineering’s Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (ChBE) department. Additionally, she has served on the ChBE Alumni Advisory committee and supported the new Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science. OUTSTANDING ENGINEERING ALUMNI AWARDJeff Bishop is a clean energy entrepreneur and a leader in the U.S. energy transition, focusing on the intersection of finance, commercial, technology and policy. Since , Bishop has been the CEO and co-founder of Key Capture Energy, one of America’s largest owner/operators of stand-alone battery storage projects. In addition to his contri-butions to clean energy, Bishop’s societal impact extends to public transpor-tation access and LGBT equality. Bishop holds a MBA from Chicago Booth, and he received a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering from Rice University in . Loren Hopkins is the chief environmental science officer for the Houston Health Department and a professor in the practice of statistics at Rice University. She uses her expertise in environmental processes and statistical analysis to address health disparities. Rice Engineering Alumni AwardsAt the  George R. Brown School of Engineering Alumni Celebration in November, the school will honor alumni for their achievements in the engineering profession.46 47Alumni$109,279.00$174,262.00Other 6%2022-20232023-2024Grants, Awards, Travel 2023-2024 ,. 2022-2023 ,. OEDK2023-2024 ,. 2022-2023 ,. REA by the Numbers- BudgetGrants, Awards, Travel 41%Summer Engineering Experience 15%Alumni Events 15%OEDK23%Summer Engineering Experience2023-2024 ,. 2022-2023 ,. Alumni Events2023-2024 ,. 2022-2023 ,. Other2023-2024 ,. 2022-2023 ,.

Her dual role with Rice and the Houston Health Department has been pivotal to her leadership in collaborative work with city, state, and national stakeholders to address a range of environmental and public health issues. Hopkins earned her B.S. in geology and geophysics from the University of Texas at Austin in  and an M.S. and Ph.D. in envi-ronmental science from Rice University in  and , respectively. Karen Lozano is the Julia Beecherl Endowed Mechanical Engineering Professor at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) and Founder/Director of the UTRGV Nanotechnology Center. In this role, she launched the first Ph.D. program (Materials Science and Engineering) in the college’s history. In addition to her significant contributions to UTRGV’s programs, she has demon-strated commitment and mentorship to at-risk students through educa-tional outreach. Lozano earned her B.S. in mechan-ical engineering from Universidad de Monterrey (UDEM), and she gradu-ated from Rice University with her M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and materials science in  and , respectively. OUTSTANDING YOUNG ENGINEERING ALUMNI AWARDJuan “Tony” Castilleja Jr. is a Senior Manager at Boeing Defense, Space, and Security and is currently a Private Sector Fellow at National Defense University. Castilleja has received multiple awards for his Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) advo-cacy and mentorship, including being selected as a  White House Fellows Regional Finalist after founding the DREAM STEM engineering mentorship program at Rice University. Castilleja completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Rice University in  and . While at Rice, he also served as Honorary Staff in the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership. Samantha R. Santacruz is an assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she is developing closed-loop neurotherapies and brain-machine interfaces to treat neural pathologies. In addition to her accomplish-ments in neuroscience, she is committed to creating an inclusive community and raising visibility for women and historically under-represented minorities in STEM through service, mentorship, and leader-ship. Santacruz received her bachelor’s degree with honors in applied mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley. She earned her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Rice University in  and , respectively.Your active participation in the REA provides invaluable support and resources for engineering students. There are numerous ways to make an impact:• Mentor students• Provide an internship opportunity• Judge a design competition• Give a tech talk or speak on panels• Review grant applicationsSPRING 2024 Rice EngineeringGet InvolvedBecome a Board MemberThe REA is governed by a Board of Directors that consists of more than  volunteers from across the country, from as far as Boston and San Francisco. Our Directors represent a wide range of class years, from the Class of  all the way to several members from the past decade. We are career engineers, attorneys, retirees, graduate students, college professors and consultants. We represent established corporations, startups and nonprofits. If you have questions regarding the application or board member requirements, please contact Felix Campos, Chair of REA Board Governance, at felix.campos@alumni.rice.edu.

Next Question: If you could collaborate with any fictional character on an engineering project, who would it be, and what would you create together?QUESTION?If you could time travel, which period of history would you visit to witness engineering innovation?Katie HartMechanical Engineering ’24I would travel to the s to be a part of the Space Race. I’ve always been fascinated not only by the rate at which technology was advancing, but also by the social and political context surrounding the innovation. I’m also inspired by the women who worked to make these advancements possible and would love to meet them!Sebastian GoodComputer Science ’98If I had long enough, I’d go see the innovations of the ancients — roads, arches, wheels. But to pack the best engineering punch into one lifetime, I’d hang out from  to  to see the birth of nuclear physics and nuclear engi-neering. If I had a time machine, maybe I could even manage the complexities of being in both the U.S. and the Soviet Union!George W. Webb IIIElectrical Engineering ’88 ’91, Industry Relations Director and Lecturer, Rice Center for Engineering LeadershipAs the son of a World War II veteran, I would love to have been part of the vital innovations that helped win the deadliest war in history. From the radio and radar innovations that allowed Great Britain to defeat the Luftwaffe, to the computing breakthroughs at Bletchley Park that helped crack German codes, to the Manhattan Project which shortened the war dramatically and saved many lives (including most likely my father’s), Allied technology development was unprecedented in its urgency, in the scale of collaboration, and in the enormity of what was as stake. Those historic efforts were not only crucial to victory; they also helped create the research infrastructure that continues to drive so much innovation today.Wendy Hoenig Materials Science ’86I would travel to the second Industrial Revolution (circa -) to witness the full implementation of the railroad and heavy machinery manufacturing (steel, iron). The engineering and innovation of that time period drove significant productivity resulting in new processes for products such as automobiles, planes, and trains. These inventions allowed people to move further and travel faster than ever before, opening new employment opportunities formany. John R. Treichler Electrical Engineering ’69 ’70 I would visit the period between  and  in Britain and the U.S. to see how the use of steam for power replaced historical dependence on wind, water wheels, and horses. This was important because steam provided the power needed for the industrial revolution and high speed transportation, and its use opened the door to using math and science (thermodynamics) to design and build economically important infrastructure.Beatrice RiviereNoah Harding Chair and Professor of Computational Applied Mathematics and Operations ResearchI would visit the Renaissance to see the many scientific dis-coveries made during that time, including the first microscope. Also, meeting Leonardo da Vinci would be inspiring! Send responses to the editor: Rice Engineering Magazine, Rice University MS 364, PO Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251 or email engrnews@rice.eduEric BreyerComputer Science ’25I would travel to the s, a pivotal time for modern compu-tation and mathematics. Alan Turing and Alonzo Church were shaping the foundations of com-puting with their groundbreaking theories of computation, and Gödel published his incomplete-ness theorems, contributing to a profound transformation in our understanding of mathematics and computation during that era.Kalil ErazoAssistant Teaching Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringI would travel to the period of James Clerk Maxwell (-) or right afterwards. The work of Maxwell revolutionized not only physics but almost all of engineering with groundbreaking work used in most of our currentapplications.Section Title48 49The Way Back

Looking backIn , Anna Rebecca Turner (pictured here, on the right) became the first woman to graduate from Rice Engineering. She defied female dress codes daily, wearing coveralls so that she could work safely in the labs. Her pioneering spirit also led her to become the first female engineering graduate in Texas.Close behind her was Margaret Hutchinson Rousseau, who graduated from Rice with a chemical engineering degree in . She went on to study at MIT and, in , became the first woman to earn a doctorate in chemical engineering in the UnitedStates. She left her mark on the engineering world by designing the first commercial penicillin productionplant.Looking forwardFast forward to  and women’s presence in the Rice Engineering community is notable among leadership, students and alumni. In, more than  undergrad-uate female students received their diplomas, representing % of the graduating class. In Turner’s time, no women graduated from Rice with an advanced degree in engineering. Today, women make up nearly % of engineering students graduating with a master’s or doctoral degree.

George R. Brown School of Engineering6100 Main St.Houston, TX 77005Splashdown!The mission is simple: Cross the Rice Rec Center pool without gettingwet. Hosted by the Rice Center for Engineering Leadership, this design competition challenges students’ creativity, engineering skills, and leadership abilities. Undergraduates are encouraged to imagine, design, and build on the fly. The first team to cross the pool wins prizes and earns bragging rights.Non Profit OrgU.S. Postage PaidPermit 7549Houston, TexasTRANSITION TO ZERO / SENSATIONAL SCIENCE