Rice University Electrical & Computer Engineering

Rice University's OpenStax has partnered with Microsoft Education for AI-enhanced learning:

📚 OpenStax was founded at Rice University by Rich Baraniuk, C. Sidney Burrus Professor of Rice University Electrical & Computer Engineering and professor of Rice University Statistics and Rice University Computer Science, with the mission to improve educational access and learning for everyone. Microsoft Learning Zone, originally announced by Microsoft at BETT 2025, utilizes on-device AI to generate interactive lessons for students. The integration with OpenStax content means educators can safely rely on OpenStax’s digital library of 80 openly licensed titles to create effective and engaging learning experiences, without needing to source and vet content independently.

This partnership will make high-quality, personalized education more accessible for all students.

🔗 Learn more: https://news.rice.edu/news/2025/rice-universitys-openstax-partners-microsoft-ai-enhanced-learning

Future Faculty Fellow Yingying Fan ’24, who earned her Ph.D. from Rice University Electrical & Computer Engineering in December, will soon join Washington University in St. Louis as an assistant professor. Congratulations, Yingying! 🎉

🧠 Fan’s research focuses on developing tools with the potential to help doctors monitor, diagnose and treat neurological conditions. With a dedication to teaching, a passion for cutting-edge research and a spirit of collaboration, Fan is poised to make a lasting impact—both in the classroom and in the lab.

🔗 Read more about Yingying's journey: https://engineering.rice.edu/news/yingying-fan-24-engineering-excellence-intersection-circuits-and-medicine
🔗 Learn more about the Future Faculty Fellows program here: https://engineering.rice.edu/academics/future-faculty-fellows/about-program

🥇 Rice students win top prize in global design contest with cutting-edge haptic wristband! 🎉

The team's device, called WRIST (short for Wearable Radial Interface for Sensory hapTic feedback), could redefine how humans interact with virtual environments. The project won 1st place in London at the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society (CASS) Student Design Competition. Congratulations!

🔗 Learn more here: https://news.rice.edu/news/2025/rice-students-win-top-prize-global-design-contest-cutting-edge-haptic-wristband

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Great feature of excellent work by ECE PhD student William Schmid! 👏

Congratulations! 🎉👏👏👏

🎉 Lydia E. Kavraki has been named University Professor, the highest faculty distinction at Rice University.

In a landmark moment, she is only the 11th person and the third woman in the university’s 112-year history to earn this prestigious title. Congratulations!

🔗 Read more: https://news.rice.edu/news/2025/lydia-kavraki-named-university-professor-highest-faculty-distinction-rice
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Rice Engineering and Computing engineers tackle sunlight intermittency in solar desalination for a steady supply of drinking water off the electrical grid. ☀️

“Access to clean fresh water is a particularly challenging problem in off-grid communities,” said William Schmid, a Rice University Electrical & Computer Engineering PhD student and National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellow researching methods to increase the efficiency of light-driven desalination. “We wanted to focus on decentralized, modular desalination systems.”

Great work by ECE researchers William Schmid, Aleida Machorro-Ortiz, Peter Nordlander, Pratiksha D. Dongare, Naomi J. Halas & Alessandro Alabastri!

🔗 Read more here: https://lnkd.in/guU2CDCq
Link to the Nature Water article here: https://lnkd.in/grpEzwbD
Watch the video here: https://lnkd.in/g-naNJXZ

Rice engineers tackle sunlight intermittency in solar desalination A team of Rice University engineers has developed a system that could transform desalination practices, making the process more adaptable, resilient and lowe...

It's here! 🤩

It's here! 📣 The 2025 issue of the Rice Engineering and Computing magazine is a special edition dedicated entirely to computing.

🔗 Explore the issue and see how we’re preparing the next generation of innovators and leaders here: https://bit.ly/3GOQvlj

From circuits to courtrooms: At just 12 years old, Christa Brown-Sanford ’01 already had a vision for her future. After expressing an interest in becoming a lawyer, her mother encouraged her to consider patent law. That early spark led Brown-Sanford to pursue an undergraduate degree in Rice University Electrical & Computer Engineering, a decision that would form the foundation of a remarkable and multifaceted career.

🔗 Read more here: https://engineering.rice.edu/news/circuits-courtrooms

Machine learning powers new approach to detecting soil contaminants. 🌱

Breakthrough method published in PNAS spots pollutants like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivative compounds (PACs) in soil without experimental reference samples, advancing environmental monitoring and analysis. A common by-product of combustion, PAHs and PACs have been linked to cancer, developmental issues and other serious health problems.
🔗Read more here: https://news.rice.edu/news/2025/machine-learning-powers-new-approach-detecting-soil-contaminants

Great work by Rice University's Naomi Halas, Ankit Dahal, Yilong Ju, Oara Neumann, Sarah Denison, Peixuan Jin, Andres Sanchez-Alvarado, Peter Nordlander, Tom Senftle, and Pedro Alvarez.

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Could breathing bacteria have an electrifying impact on energy systems? Rice researchers are uncovering how microbes generate electricity to survive, revealing a natural process that could power breakthroughs in clean energy, biotechnology, and beyond. https://bit.ly/42HhwQm

Richard Baraniuk, C. Sidney Burrus Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, kicked off the Digital Signal Processing Symposium in Honor of Don Johnson this morning at Rice Engineering and Computing with a message from Rice University President Reginald DesRoches.