FROM THE EDITOR THE RICE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Robert T. Ladd, chair; Elle Anderson; Bart Broadman; D. Mark Durcan; Josh Earnest; Michol L. Ecklund; Terrence Gee; George Y. Gonzalez; James T. Hackett; Jennifer Kneale; Holli Ladhani; Lynn A. Lednicky; Elle Moody; Brandy Hays Morrison; Asuka Nakahara; Vinay Pai; Brian Patterson; Byron Pope; Gloria Meckel Tarpley; Jeremy Thigpen; Claudia Gee Vassar; James Whitehurst; Lori Rudge Whitten; Randa Duncan Williams; Michael Yuen. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS
Reginald DesRoches, president; Amy Dittmar, provost; Paul Cherukuri, vice president for Innovation; Jeff Falk, interim vice president for Public Affairs; Kelly Fox, vice president for Finance and Administration; Caroline Levander, vice president for Global and Digital Strategy; Paul Padley, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer; Yvonne Romero Da Silva, vice president for Enrollment; Ronica Smucker, interim vice president for Development and Alumni Relations; Omar A. Syed, vice president and general counsel; Allison Kendrick Thacker, vice president for Investments and treasurer. POSTMASTER
Send address changes to: Rice University Development Services–MS 80 P.O. Box 1892 Houston, TX 77251-1892 EDITORIAL OFFICES
Creative Services–MS 95 P.O. Box 1892 Houston, TX 77251-1892 Phone: 713-348-6768 ricemagazine@rice.edu
IL LU S T R AT IO N B Y PA DDY MIL L S
PROTOTYPE NO. 2 “WHAT IF … ?” Our themed issues generally begin with the kind of openended questions that inspire curiosity and creative experimentation. Last year, we asked our team, “What if we turned over an entire magazine issue to research news, stories and data?” Borrowing a page from Rice’s engineering design projects, we built a prototype — and published a snapshot of some of Rice’s most “dynamic, complex and ambitious scholarship” taking place across, and far beyond, campus. This summer, we’re back with a new iteration of the research issue — one that we think readers will find informative, engaging and visually delightful. This issue kicks off with a note from President DesRoches in which he quotes the great Harlem Renaissance writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston: “Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.” In these pages, we see Hurston’s wisdom reflected in the questions our undergraduate researchers are exploring — in plant genetics, tropical ecology, urban planning and purpose-driven engineering design projects. We see the fruits of formalized curiosity in critical and creative scholarship from graduate students and faculty at home and abroad. We marvel at the ongoing discoveries of alumni researchers working in biomedical engineering, religion, medicine, philosophy and fusion energy — and praise the brilliance of an alumnus who can turn the history of chemistry into a
Our four-page explainer, “The Year in Research,” breaks down the data categories describing Rice’s banner year in research, and it’s expanded online. dad-joke-strewn graphic novel (really!). We also hear this philosophy expressed in the voice of Vice President for Research Ramamoorthy Ramesh, who joined Rice last year from the University of California, Berkeley. A condensed matter physicist with a breadth of experience across academic and government spheres, Ramesh exudes an infectious belief about Rice’s future as an innovation powerhouse. One lesson we took away from last summer’s issue is that research “by the numbers” could be richer in meaning with additional context. So, we’re trying something new. Our four-page explainer, “The Year in Research,” breaks down the data categories describing Rice’s banner year in research, and it’s expanded online. Finally, “what if … ” we ended all these stories of purpose with a moment of pure joy from a perfect commencement day?
We’ll see you in the new (academic) year. In the meantime, send your comments about this issue to ricemagazine@rice.edu.
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