The 2025 issue of Rice Engineering and Computing Magazine is here!
In our 50th anniversary issue, we celebrate the deep and growing connection between engineering and computing. From our early breakthroughs in high-performance computing to today’s advances in AI and data science, Rice has long been at the forefront of computing innovation. This edition highlights some of the people, ideas, and investments shaping what’s next.
50 Years of Innovation and Impact
Fifty years ago, Rice University leadership made formal something that had been decades in the making: a dedicated school of engineering with a mission to advance knowledge and tackle real-world problems.
They weren’t starting from scratch. Since Rice opened its doors in 1912, engineering had been part of its DNA. Students tinkered, tested, and took on big questions alongside Houston’s industries and institutions. But in 1975, that spirit led to the founding of the George R. Brown School of Engineering. It wasn’t just a school. It was a launchpad.
The school’s formation began a new era—one that brought together faculty, students, and research in a more unified push toward innovation and impact. At its core was a guiding belief that engineering isn’t just about what we can build. It’s about how and why we build it. The school’s approach has long emphasized not only technical excellence, but also a responsibility to work ethically and consider the broader consequences of innovation.
In the decades since, Rice engineers and computer scientists have redefined what’s possible. They’ve built the materials that power tomorrow’s technologies. They’ve engineered better cities, cleaner water, and smarter systems. They’ve created companies, shaped policy, and inspired change—locally and globally.
All the while, computing was quietly gaining ground. What began as a few courses has grown into a driving force behind nearly every discipline. Today, our computing community leads the way in artificial intelligence, data science, and robotics. And that growth is reshaping the very identity of the school.
In 2024, we renamed ourselves the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing—a name that reflects not just where we’ve been, but where we’re going. Our school will continue to push boundaries, driving progress in fields that impact lives and industries around the world.
This anniversary isn’t just a look back. It’s a celebration of our momentum. It’s about every student who worked through the night, every faculty member who sparked a discovery, every alum who turned an idea into impact. It’s about the people who built this legacy, and the ones who will build what’s next.
As we celebrate our golden anniversary, we recommit to fearless thinking, to community, and to shaping a world that works better for more people.
What We Did Then Is Changing the Now
Health and Well-being
Then: Rice researchers collaborated with the Texas Medical Center to develop the first artificial heart.
Now: Our engineers lead innovations in wearable devices, point-of-care diagnostic tools, and regenerative medicine, enabling improved patient monitoring, earlier disease detection, and new treatments for conditions like cancer and diabetes.
Energy and Sustainability
Then: Rice engineers advanced research into porous nanomaterials to capture carbon dioxide.
Now: This work helped spark today’s direct air capture and other carbon reduction technologies, essential to global decarbonization efforts.
Resilient and Adaptive Communities
Then: Rice developed advanced membranes for water desalination.
Now: Today, we’re expanding access to clean, sustainable drinking water while advancing technologies that improve the safety and resiliency of coastal communities from extreme weather events.
Advanced Materials
Then: Rice engineers expanded the field of nanotechnology research, building on the 1985 Rice discovery of buckyballs.
Now: Nanomaterials are transforming medicine, energy, and electronics, enabling targeted drug delivery, more efficient batteries and solar cells, and smaller, faster devices.
Future Computing
Then: Rice pioneered research in high-performance computing and parallel processing.
Now: These efforts paved the way for today’s era of AI, massive data processing, and computational advancements, including cloud computing, machine learning, and real-time analytics in industries from healthcare to finance.
Rice Engineering and Computing through the Decades