Starting the week with a little Rice magic 🌈✨ #LovettHall #RiceUniversity Photo credit Deirdre Hunter, Assistant Teaching Professor

🆕 "Quad Talk: Rice Grad Life" is here! In Episode 1, Sarah (Env. Engineering) and Kayla (Neuroengineering) dive into what makes Rice a special place for grad students, from research challenges to Rice Loop runs. 🎓🏃‍♀️ 📺 youtu.be/n7sdpDh-gPQ #RiceUniversity #GradSchool #STEM

Quad Talk | Grad School Life, Research & Running: Life at Rice with Sarah & Kayla

YouTube video by Rice Grad Studies

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🚀 A Rice grad student just turned cutting-edge research into a real startup success. Alex Lathem founded Pattern Materials to commercialize graphene tech developed in the James Tour lab — and walked away with $134K at the Rice Business Plan Competition. news.rice.edu/news/2025/pa... #research

Grad school’s better in blue 💙 Celebrate #RiceBlueFriday with the brilliant minds shaping the future; one thesis, one lab, one late-night coffee at a time. Owl together! 🦉 #RiceGradLife #RiceUniversity

Congrats @quisebell.bsky.social on your Ph.D. thesis defense!

Daniel J Preston@danpreston.bsky.social · last yr.

Congratulations Dr. Marquise Bell on defending your PhD thesis in @ricegradschool.bsky.social Mechanical Engineering today! Dr. Bell is the fourth PhD graduate from the PI Lab. He will move to the @upenn.edu this fall as a Provost's Postdoctoral Fellow working with Prof. Kevin Turner. Great job!

You had us at the tree-lined walkways, the quiet arches, the way the sunlight hits Lovett Hall just right. 💌✨ Come fall in love too. Full campus tour hosted by our Graduate Ambassadors is now on YouTube. youtu.be/S7lMpJjnZ5g?...! #RiceUniversity #GradSchool #CampusTour

Take a Campus Tour of Rice University: Graduate Student Edition

YouTube video by Rice Grad Studies

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Incoming Owl Alert! 🦉 Meet Arantxa Galván, an incoming Ph.D. student whose journey to Rice was sealed after attending the Gulf Coast Undergraduate Research Symposium. Her motto: "Let this achievement be proof that your origin does not define your future. When you dare to dream, it becomes real."

Happy Independence Day from the Office of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies! Whether you’re enjoying the sunshine, fireworks, or a well-earned break—have a safe and joyful holiday! #RiceGradLife #4thofJuly #RiceUniversity #RiceOwls

Graduate student Kayla Clark (@ricesocsci.bsky.social) is uncovering how emotional responses to music after learning affect what we remember. Kayla’s new study—published in The Journal of Neuroscience—shows that emotional arousal during quiet periods or music listening can shift how we recall info!

🏓 Nothing like some friendly competition and summer vibes in the Grad Bubble! The Kono Cup: Summer Edition brought together students, faculty, and staff from the Applied Physics Graduate Program for an evening of table tennis, snacks, and community 🎉

Ever seen a robot controlled by light? Meet the future of soft robotics, thanks to the incredible work of Rice alumna, Elizabeth Blackert ‘24 (Ph.D.). We're so proud of our #RiceAlumni like Dr. Blackert who are leading the charge in creating a smarter future. news.rice.edu/news/2025/re...

What better place to perfect the art, craft and language of opera than Italy! The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University’s master's students spent three weeks in Florence studying Italian, performing for international audiences and exploring cultural landmarks. news.rice.edu/news/2025/la...

📣 This week’s Instagram Takeover is hosted by Manuel Carmona Pichardo 🇲🇽, a Ph.D. student in Chemistry at Rice! From Mexico to Germany to TX, Manuel’s journey spans continents—and it’s filled with research breakthroughs, board games, great coffee, and a deep commitment to building community. ☕🧪🎲

🏳️‍🌈 Celebrate Pride at Rice! 🎉 Join the QGSA Pride Picnic: 🗓️ Friday, June 27, before Houston Pride Parade on Saturday 🕔 5–9 PM @ Grad Commons near Valhalla Then register to march in the Houston Pride Parade → rice.edu/pride #RicePride #QGSA #OwlsForAll #LGBTQatRice

The first day of summer looks a little different this year! ✨ Breaking in the new quad with some fresh sunshine.

How do you design a better space suit? Just ask Rice Ph.D. candidate Marquise Bell! His NASA-funded research on soft wearable materials is out of this world. 🚀 Inspired by his mentors, he's now empowering others. #PhDLife #SpaceTech #MentorshipMatters Read his story: giving.rice.edu/gift-mentors...

🧬 What makes a cell decide to become a brain, a heart, or a muscle? Meet Luisa Rezende, a Ph.D. student at Rice, who’s exploring how embryonic stem cells choose their fate. From cell-based sequencing to genetic circuit modeling, her research could unlock new frontiers in regenerative medicine.

Thank you to everyone who came out to the Grad Bubble! 💙🎓 We had a great time sharing resources, meeting new faces, and celebrating our amazing grad student and postdoc community. Big thanks to all the campus partners who helped make it happen — and to you for making it special! #RiceGradLife

Did you know the Rice campus is an arboretum? The Lynn R. Lowrey Arboretum is a teaching and research resource. The Arboretum consists of a collection of woody plants and garden spaces dispersed throughout the campus that represent native and cultivated species suitable to the climate of Houston!

A team of researchers led by Rice materials scientists has succeeded in creating a genuine 2D hybrid by chemically integrating two fundamentally different 2D materials ⎯ graphene and silica glass ⎯ into a single, stable compound called glaphene. Read more news.rice.edu/news/2025/ri...

Rice has officially broken ground on the Moody Center Complex for Student Life — a 75,000 square-foot facility that will anchor a newly envisioned student hub at the heart of campus. This is more than a building. It’s a statement: Grad students belong at the center of Rice life. 💼☕📚#RiceGradLife

Rice ECE PhD alumnus Zhiyuan Wang is making headlines in WIRED for helping theorize a new class of quantum particles — paraparticles. 🌌🧊 🔗 Read the WIRED feature: www.wired.com/story/parapa... 🔬 Learn more about graduate research at Rice: graduate.rice.edu #RiceGradAlumni #QuantumPhysics #RiceECE

Yuxiang Gao, a doctoral student at Rice, worked with a research team led by physicists Ming Yi and Emilia Morosan to develop a new material with unique electronic properties that could enable more powerful and energy-efficient electronic devices. Read more: news.rice.edu/news/2025/ri...

Water you waiting for? Rice grad students Aleida Machorro-Ortiz & William Schmid created STREED, a solar-powered desalination system that could transform fresh water access in off-grid and high-salinity areas worldwide. 🔗 news.rice.edu/news/2025/ri...

Rice is fighting the “forever” in forever chemicals! Ph.D. student Sarah Glass is dismantling PFAS with a catalytic treatment train—turning toxic pollutants into harmless by-products. A breakthrough that could revolutionize water treatment. Read more: news.rice.edu/news/2025/ne...

Ready for a shock? Ph.D. student Biki Bapi Kundu discovered how bacteria generate electricity through extracellular respiration, using naphthoquinones to survive without oxygen. This could improve wastewater treatment and biomanufacturing. Read more: news.rice.edu/news/2025/el...

Tears of joy? Just a few. Last week, Rice celebrated the incredible achievements of more than 750 graduates at the advanced degree commencement ceremony. Missed it? You can watch the full celebration here: news.rice.edu/news/2025/ow...

🌍 Fulbright scholars are making their mark at Rice! With nearly 100 graduate students from 30 countries, the Fulbright Program brings global perspectives to campus and fosters rich academic and cultural exchange. Read more: news.rice.edu/news/2025/fu...

Ziyang Wang, a Ph.D. student in electrical and computer engineering in the Huang Lab, helped develop a new machine learning tool that reads “light signatures” from molecules — paving the way for faster, more accurate disease detection and material analysis. Read more: news.rice.edu/news/2025/li...

Two Rice Owls, two Pulitzers! Sociology Ph.D. student Leah Binkovitz and alumna Daisy Chung ’14 have earned journalism’s highest honor for their powerful contributions to public service and international reporting. Read more: news.rice.edu/news/2025/2-...