Wiess School of Natural Sciences
Bold discoveries start with compelling questions: Can the search for life on other planets help us understand the origin of life on Earth? What new materials will power the energy transition or enable more environmentally-friendly products? Does the science of human movement hold keys to improved recovery from disease and trauma? How do we exploit the quantum properties of atoms, electrons, and light to revolutionize computation or make ultraprecise sensors? Can bacteria be programmed to diagnose and cure illness or transform waste into high-value chemicals?
By exploring compelling questions at the boundaries of human understanding — from the quantum to the cosmos, the theoretical to material, the physiological to environmental — we will advance fundamental knowledge and uncover unforeseen possibilities for progress. Join us to support the bold, forward-looking students and faculty in the Natural Sciences whose discoveries inspire our curiosity about the universe and lay the foundations for tomorrow’s technological revolutions.
Thomas Killian
Dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences
A Message from the Dean
From hunting the smallest subatomic particles to investigating the unfathomable distances of the cosmos — and at all scales in between — the goal at the heart of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences is discovery. We aim to train the next generation of scientific leaders, answer profound questions on the origin and complexity of life and the underlying structure of the universe, and to uncover mathematical and physical laws that allow us to understand and harness the natural world for the long-term benefit of society.
Many of Rice’s most celebrated achievements originated within the Natural Sciences, such as the discovery of carbon-60 (“buckyballs”) and the birth of nanoscience (Rick Smalley and Bob Curl ’54, Nobel Prize 1996), modeling of the Earth’s magnetosphere and the growth of space science, and leadership in emerging fields such as synthetic biology and quantum science and technology. Discoveries made by graduates of the Wiess School, such as the cosmic microwave background (Wilson ’57, Nobel Prize 1978) and the role of viral structure in diseases such as Ebola and influenza, have changed the way we view the universe and life on earth.
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At the start of Be Bold, the Campaign for Rice, we renew our commitment to pre-eminence in research and education and identify the priorities for investment that will drive the next century of discovery.
By 2030, our goal is to be recognized among the top 10 natural science programs for private universities in the Unites States, and the top 25 among all domestic universities. Through scientific discovery, we will satisfy the human need to understand the world around us. We will tackle today’s greatest challenges in the realms of sustainability and climate, energy, materials and health, to name a few, and lay the foundation for future technological revolutions. We will realize these goals through large-scale investments in areas that overlap with current strengths, leverage strategic advantages and collaborations, and are likely to yield tomorrow’s most compelling breakthroughs.
Earth and the ENVIRONMENT
With strengths in climate change and modeling, biodiversity and geoscience, as well as our strategic location in the energy capital of the world, the Wiess School is well positioned to be a leader in the search for sustainable energy.
With your support,
we will
Lead scientific breakthroughs that will protect the Earth, transition society to clean energy and sustain our environment
Earth’s growing population and increasing standard of living is taxing the limited natural resources of our planet and straining the capacity of our environment to absorb human impact, giving rise to humanity’s greatest challenges for the 21st century and beyond. Sustainable paths forward will require collective action grounded in a full understanding of all components of our inter-dependent world. We envision bringing together expertise across the natural sciences and other schools to create an Institute for Earth, Energy, and the Environment. With Rice’s strategic location, in a crucial coastal city that is also the world’s energy capital and a bio-diversity hotspot, we are in a h4 position to lead the search for viable environmental solutions.
Opportunities to be bold together
Endowed professorshipsFund transformational faculty who will improve our understanding of Earth’s evolution through time and of the complex relationships between natural resources and living organisms that create dynamic ecosystems, which is essential for design of long-lasting solutions to environmental challenges. |
Symposia and visitorsEstablish an Environment and Sustainability symposium series and visitors program to attract renowned researchers and visitors to Rice while establishing the Wiess School as a national hub for environmental sciences. |
Research seed grantsSupport fundamental research that will help address challenges associated with ecology, bio-diversity, energy transitions, natural resource management, climate, and natural hazards. |
Graduate and postdoctoral fellowshipsEstablish an Environment and Sustainability Fellows program to train future leaders in the interdisciplinary study and stewardship of the environment, expand our research impact and support the reputation and visibility of our programs. |
MATERIALS
Home to the new Welch Institute for Advanced Materials and world-renowned experts in carbon, nanomaterials and quantum materials, Rice has the opportunity to be at the forefront of some of the world’s biggest innovations. With investments in the New Engineering and Science Building and funding for additional faculty, we will become the world’s premier destination for advanced materials research.
With your support,
we will
Advance materials discovery, design, and manufacturing
From silicon to plastics to batteries to catalysts, materials have defined the modern age. To power the next great technological revolution, the Wiess School is creating new materials with designer properties, from the bottom up and the top down. With a foundation of world-renowned materials researchers, the new Engineering and Science Building, the Welch Institute for Advanced Materials, and transformational investments in faculty and facilities, Rice will be the premier global destination for research in advanced materials.
Opportunities to be bold together
Endowed professorshipsFund five transformational faculty in chemistry and physics who will help lead scientific advances, such as in materials discovery, spectroscopic imaging, computation, characterization of both natural and synthetic materials, and more. |
State-of-the-art research laboratoriesName a research laboratory in the new Engineering and Science Building that will serve as the home to some of the world’s leading materials research. |
Symposium and visitorsFund a symposium to attract renowned researchers and visitors to Rice while establishing the Wiess School as a national hub for materials science. |
Research seed grantsSupport fundamental research that is essential to developing the materials of the future, such as super-efficient conductors of electricity or heat, light-driven chemistry, solar-powered synthesis of fuels, energy production with simultaneous production of carbon nanomaterials, etc. |
Graduate and postdoctoral fellowshipsTrain future leaders in materials science, expand our research impact and support the reputation and visibility of our program. |
Biological Sciences and HUMAN HEALTH
Rice scientists are radically advancing our understanding of health, living systems and human performance through breakthroughs in synthetic biology and the nation’s No. 1-ranked kinesiology program.
With your support,
we will
Strengthen health, injury prevention and trauma recovery through a new Houston Methodist/Rice University Center for Human Performance and investments in the Department of Kinesiology.
Imagine combining the science of human movement and disease prevention with new tools from data science, neuroscience, wearable technologies, and materials to advance injury prevention and recovery and overall public health. A new Center for Human Performance will connect Rice faculty and students in kinesiology, Rice student-athletes, and clinicians from Houston Methodist Hospital to build a nationally recognized research and education program that improves human health and quality of life.
Opportunities to be bold together
Endowed chairsFund transformational faculty who will grow our research and teaching impact in kinesiology, while establishing a nationally recognized program on human performance in partnership with Houston Methodist Department of Orthopedic Surgery. |
Innovative teaching laboratoryProvide a facility that supports hands-on training for students in Sports Medicine and Exercise Physiology, a core resource for a top kinesiology program and essential for professional master’s programs. |
Excellence fundsSupport teaching innovation and research seed grants in kinesiology. |
Graduate and postdoctoral fellowshipsTrain future leaders in human performance and health science, expand our research impact and support the growth of the Methodist–Rice Center for Human Performance. |
Improve our understanding of living organisms and advance medicine, chemical synthesis, and environmental monitoring with synthetic biology
Synthetic biology is a new discipline developing tools to write biological programs in DNA, insert them into genomes and boot them up like software. This bottom up approach to biology harnesses successes in cellular design to increase our understanding of living systems and create transformational technologies. Pioneering early investments have made Rice a global leader in this field, leading to breakthrough advances such as programming cells to efficiently transform cheap biomass into high-value chemicals and to monitor and report conditions in soils and animal guts. In the coming decades, synthetic biology will revolutionize medicine, agriculture, chemicals synthesis, energy, electronics and our understanding of life itself. Further investment at Rice will support creation of hybrid cells and materials (bioelectronics) and the use of microbial communities to manage soils and water to stem the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, develop technologies to prevent vector-borne diseases, and create smart soils that improve agricultural productivity while minimizing fertilizer use and greenhouse gas emissions.
Opportunities to be bold together
Endowed professorshipsFund dynamic faculty who will grow our research and teaching impact and lead a new frontier of synthetic biology solutions. |
Symposium and visitorsFund a symposium to attract renowned researchers and visitors to Rice while establishing the Wiess School as a national hub for synthetic biology. |
Research seed fundsAdvance discoveries at all scales of biological organization, whether investigating the smallest molecular machines in cells and the genetic basis of health and disease or the interactions among organisms and their changing environments. |
Graduate and postdoctoral fellowshipsTrain future leaders use synthetic biology to make transformational advances in medicine, agriculture, chemicals synthesis, energy, electronics and our understanding of life itself. |
Patterns and ORIGINS OF NATURE
Fundamental, curiosity-driven research is essential to understanding our place in the universe and leads to profound discoveries that influence all aspects of existence. We will continue to aggressively invest in the technology, facilities and partnerships that will advance knowledge and sustain life.
With your support,
we will
Explore other worlds in search of life and an understanding of the conditions needed to sustain it
Imagine discovering signatures of life on another planet, and using that knowledge to help understand the origin of life and how to sustain it here on Earth. This vision drives the construction of new telescope that can resolve individual proto-planets forming around distant stars, planned NASA missions exploring our solar system, and interdisciplinary research in the Wiess School in planetary exploration. Now we aim to be a world-leading hub for studying all aspects of planetary habitability and astrobiology by leveraging these research strengths and our proximity to NASA Johnson Space Center and the Lunar and Planetary Institute.
Opportunities to be bold together
Endowed chairsSupport two faculty who will significantly expand our teaching and research in planetary habitability and exploration. |
Excellence fundsSupport program development, teaching innovation, research seed grants and student development. |
Graduate and postdoctoral fellowshipsTrain future leaders who will discover signatures of life on other worlds and transform our understanding of our own planet. |
Put Rice at the fore-front of the quantum revolution
The world is at the start of a quantum revolution that promises to change the way we measure, process, and transmit information. This will lead to dramatically advanced sensors and computers to power better data encryption, h4er national security networks, the design of new drug compounds and next-generation technologies across medicine, security and the environment. Rice is a world leader in the scientific foundations and enabling technologies that are essential for this endeavor, from engineered quantum systems in ultracold atoms to quantum materials and quantum photonics, and Rice’s Quantum Initiative will build upon this bedrock, with interdisciplinary academic programs, expansion of research infrastructure, and additional faculty hiring.
Opportunities to be bold together
Endowed chairs in quantum scienceSupport two faculty who will significantly expand our teaching and research in quantum engineered systems, quantum sensing and quantum algorithms. |
Quantum symposium and visitorsFund a symposium to attract renowned researchers and visitors to Rice while establishing the Wiess School as a national hub for quantum science. |
Seed grants for innovative researchSupport cutting-edge research and grow foundational knowledge that advances our understanding of complex quantum systems. |
Graduate and postdoctoral fellowshipsTrain future leaders in quantum science who will grow our research impact, reputation and visibility. |
Pathways to
Discovery
Our Vision to Expand Student Access and Opportunity in Natural Sciences
The Pathways to Discovery program in the School of Natural Sciences expands access to transformative research experiences and creates new opportunities for all undergraduate and graduate students to grow their disciplinary knowledge and develop communication and leadership skills needed to impact our community today and become decision makers of tomorrow. Support our future scientists, leaders and communicators through the following opportunities.
A New Center for Science Communication and Engagement
We will leverage science faculty with a passion and talent for popular science writing, strong connections with the Civic Scientist Program in the Baker Institute for Public Policy, and Rice’s aspiring young scientists to inspire the next generation of scientists.
Undergraduate Research Experience
Help us ensure that every natural sciences student can participate in a transformative research experience, regardless of their financial means. Your gift will support stipends to help undergraduates prepare for and engage in research experiences early in their college careers.
State-of-the-Art Maker Space
A maker space in the New Engineering and Science Building will allow science graduate and undergraduate students to explore entrepreneurial ideas and opportunities and expose them to the latest techniques in 3D printing, micro-fabrication, manufacturing, and more.
Be bold together
For more information about the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, visit naturalsciences.rice.edu. To explore possibilities and discuss your impact, contact:
Jackie Macha
