Rice University’s Pedro J.J. Alvarez, a world leader in environmental nanotechnology and water sustainability, has been awarded the 2026 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Civil Engineering, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and engineering honors in the United States.

Rice University researchers, in collaboration with international partners, have developed the first eco-friendly technology to rapidly capture and destroy toxic “forever chemicals” (PFAS) in water. The findings, recently published in Advanced Materials, mark a major step toward addressing one of the world’s most persistent environmental threats.

As climate change and population growth place mounting pressure on global water resources, communities around the world are seeking sustainable ways to reclaim water from nontraditional sources such as stormwater, agricultural runoff and municipal wastewater.

Transforming desalination systems

The system has been developed in the university’s labs and is currently intended for off-grid applications rather than full-scale coastal desalination.

In a time of escalating climate risks, crumbling infrastructure and ballooning industrial demand, understanding how water and energy intertwine has never been more urgent. That was the resounding message from experts who convened May 19 in Washington, D.C., for “The Intersection of Water and Energy, 2025-2030,” a forum hosted by Rice University and Arizona State University.

A team of researchers from Rice University, Carnegie Mellon University and other leading global institutions has outlined a bold new roadmap for harnessing heterogeneous catalysis to destroy per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), the so-called “forever chemicals” that have contaminated water supplies worldwide.

Rice University and ExxonMobil have entered into a master research agreement to collaborate on research initiatives focused on sustainable energy solutions. This landmark collaboration reflects their shared commitment to addressing global challenges in energy, climate and the environment while leveraging their unique expertise and coastal location in the heart of the world’s energy capital, Houston.

Rice University’s Menachem Elimelech was honored with the Sidney Loeb Award at the European Desalination Society Conference held in Porto, Portugal, April 28. The award recognizes his pioneering contributions to the science and application of membrane-based water treatment technologies.

In a city defined by innovation and resilience, the Rice Water Technologies Entrepreneurship and Research (WaTER) Institute hosted its distinguished lecture and panel discussion in Houston April 16, drawing together industry leaders, venture capitalists, researchers and aspiring entrepreneurs to tackle one of the most urgent challenges of our time: water.

Rice University has established the Rice Center for Membrane Excellence (RiCeME), which is dedicated to developing advanced membrane materials and separation technologies for energy, environmental sustainability and chemical processing applications. The announcement was made during the Rice Global Paris Center Symposium held March 17-18 in Paris.

In the race to meet the growing global demand for lithium — a critical component in batteries for electric vehicles — a team of researchers from Rice University’s Elimelech lab has developed a breakthrough lithium extraction method that could reshape the industry.

Boron is a natural component of seawater that becomes a toxic contaminant in drinking water when it sneaks through conventional filters for removing salts.

Seawater’s boron levels are around twice as high as the World Health Organization’s most lenient limits for safe drinking water, and five to 12 times higher than the tolerance of many agricultural plants.

Patrick Kurp - Dec. 19, 2024

POSTED IN: RICE ENGINEERING > News

Michael Wong, the Tina and Sunit Patel Professor in Molecular Nanotechnology and chair of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Rice, will receive the 2025 Henry J. Albert Award from the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI).

Researchers at Rice University, in collaboration with Guangdong University of Technology, have uncovered an innovative approach to treating high-salinity organic wastewaters — streams containing both elevated salt and organic concentrations — by employing dialysis, a technology borrowed from the medical field.

The Water Technologies Entrepreneurship and Research (WaTER) Institute at Rice University and Yokogawa Corporation of America, a provider of industrial automation and test and measurement solutions, announced today a new partnership in support of modular autonomous water treatment and reuse processes.

Menachem Elimelech, among the world’s leading researchers in energy-efficient desalination and wastewater reuse, will join the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) as the Nancy and Clint Carlson Chair in Molecular Nanotechnology, effective Jan. 1.

Silvia Cernea Clark - Aug. 30, 2024

POSTED IN: RICE NEWS > Current News > 2024

Rice University inaugurated a new research center dedicated to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Wednesday during a visit to campus by representatives of the United States Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC).

Rice University chemist James Tour has led a research team to develop a rapid electrothermal mineralization (REM) process, which in seconds can remediate the accumulation of synthetic chemicals that can contaminate soil and the environment. The study was published in Nature Communications on July 20.

By Jade Boyd
Special to Rice News

Rice University climate scientist Sylvia Dee has won a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, the agency’s most prestigious early career honor.

Patrick Kurp - Jul. 18, 2024

POSTED IN: RICE ENGINEERING > News

For 80 years, “forever chemicals” have been used to coat our pots and pans, put out fires and make our carpets resistant to stains, among many other applications.

HOUSTON – (April 29, 2021) – Wind power has a bright future, but what happens when wind turbines power down? A worn blade the length of a football field isn’t easy to recycle.

Rice University engineering students are working on environmentally sensitive strategies to process decommissioned blades for recycling or disposal. The Bladecycle project, based at Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, requires them to think big.

Silvia Cernea Clark - May. 19, 2023

Rice University chemist Raúl Hernández Sánchez is one of 12 early-career scientists named to C&EN’s 2023 Talented 12 cohort for his research in inorganic and supramolecular chemistry.

Mike Williams - Apr. 16, 2021

Students at Rice University’s Brown School of Engineering calling themselves “PFAS and PFurious” took four prizes, including first place, in this year’s 31st WERC Environmental Design Contest for their development of a system to remove harmful chemicals from fluids.

HOUSTON – (July 25, 2022) – Rice University chemical engineers have improved their design for a light-powered catalyst that rapidly breaks down PFOA, one of the world’s most problematic “forever chemical” pollutants.

HOUSTON -- (July 7, 2020) -- Rice University chemical engineers found an efficient catalyst for destroying PFAS "forever" chemicals where they least expected.

Rice University professors Pedro Alvarez and Antonios Mikos have been elected fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the oldest learned societies in the nation.

Spring 2024
By Mike Williams

Building successful, sustainable solutions to our urgent climate and energy challenges means balancing communities’ technical, economic, environmental and social needs. These goals are at the core of Rice’s new Sustainability Institute. Led by Professor Caroline Masiello and executive director Marie-Nathalie Contou-Carrere, the institute’s strategy is to link science and technology, economics and policy, and social sciences and the arts to effect real change.

As part of a ramp-up in Rice’s strategic research aspirations in health care sciences and technologies, data science and machine learning, and energy, environment and sustainability, the Office of Research, led by Vice President Ramamoorthy Ramesh, recently launched several new institutes. Meet the distinguished scholars leading these dynamic institutes and learn more about their goals in this roundup of Rice’s growing research portfolio.

Spring 2024
By Mike Williams

“Clean water can save more lives than doctors,” says Pedro J. Alvarez, the director of Rice’s new Clean Water Technologies Entrepreneurship and Research Institute (WaTER). But the challenge of accessing clean water for all becomes more extreme by the year.

Water scarcity is one of the greatest global crises of our time. Increasing water supply beyond what is available from the hydrological cycle can be achieved by seawater desalination and wastewater reuse. Highly effective, low-cost, robust membrane-based technologies for desalination and wastewater reuse are needed, with minimal impact on the environment. However, progress in current state-of-the-art water purification membranes has been limited.

Rice University chemist James Tour was named to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest professional distinctions accorded “in recognition of distinguished contributions” to the field.

Rice University and the United States Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) have signed an Education Partnership Agreement in formal recognition of their collaboration as part of a multi-institutional program that provides financial and educational support for students from low-income backgrounds seeking master’s degrees in engineering and related fields.

Story by Samantha Ketterer •

Rice University has opened five new research institutes and increased funding of existing ones in recent months as part of a broader effort to boost the private university's graduate program under President Reginald DesRoches’ administration.

The Rice Synthetic Biology Institute and WaTER Institute are among the new institutes that create interdisciplinary hubs based off ongoing research, aiming to draw more students, faculty and grant dollars to the fields.

Sarah Peters - Feb. 1, 2024

POSTED IN: RICE NEWS > Current News > 2024

By Patrick Kurp
Special to Rice News

Houston’s water and wastewater system could be more resilient with the development of hybrid urban water supply systems that combine conventional, centralized water sources with reclaimed wastewater, according to a study by Rice University engineers published in Nature Water.

Nine faculty members in the George R. Brown School of Engineering are ranked among the world’s highly cited researchers, including five in the materials science category.

The 2021 Highly Cited Researchers list is a global accounting of scientists who produced the last decade’s most influential papers, compiled by the Web of Science group, a Clarivate Analytics company.

Pedro Alvarez and Antonios Mikos, senior researchers in the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University, have been elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

Construction of the new $152 million, 266,000-square-foot engineering and science building on the engineering quadrangle at Rice is underway.

The facility, on the site of the former Abercrombie Engineering Laboratory, will feature five floors, including laboratories, classrooms, a makerspace, a cafe and a reception suite. It will serve as both a meeting place and a focus on campus for research and technological advances.

This past June, we thought the COVID-19 situation was improving and we would soon return to normal at Rice, only for the Delta variant of the virus to upend our plans.

Despite the horrors of COVID, working from home for close to a year and a half gave families an opportunity to spend more time together, time to reflect and discover things about themselves. I feel I spent much more time with my wife and kids (though I’m not sure how excited about that they have been!).

The Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment Center (NEWT), a National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center (ERC) with its headquarters at Rice University, has earned a five-year renewal to continue its work on next-generation water treatment systems.