Rice University - School of Natural Sciences

Through Rice’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), chemistry student Oksana Arevalo is spending her summer analyzing biochar and exploring its potential for carbon sequestration.

She’s strengthened her skills in data analysis and science communication, while finding a research community she didn’t expect.

“Being in this lab has really cemented that I love working and doing research.”

Rice University’s Wiess School of Natural Sciences is excited to announce the launch of SCOPE, the Center for Science Communication and Public Engagement.

Led by inaugural director Scott Solomon, SCOPE will create new opportunities for students, researchers and the public to connect through science from new courses and hands-on training to public events and community engagement.

Stay tuned for more from SCOPE this fall!

Through Rice University’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), rising sophomore Justin Feder is working in the Renata Lab to synthesize new drug candidates based on a molecule with anticancer activity. The experience has given him an early opportunity to contribute to research that could one day help change lives.

Through Rice’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), physics student Magdalena Whelley is gaining hands-on experience with detector electronics, data analysis and experimental systems while studying ultracold strontium and Rydberg atoms. ⚛️

For Whelley, research has reinforced that the equations she studies are “real things that govern our world.” That realization is why she loves physics so much.

Yes. Sharks are older than trees. 🫨🦈🌴

For , Rice University Assistant Professor of BioSciences Kory Evans explores the remarkable evolution of sharks, including how hammerheads use electrical sensors to locate hidden prey and why stingrays are essentially flattened sharks. 🥞