Rice Innovation

The Houston InnovationMap Awards was a fantastic event, shining a spotlight on the brilliant innovators and trailblazers shaping Houston’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. The Rice Innovation team had a great time celebrating alongside so many talented individuals and organizations driving progress and innovation in our community. As a proud sponsor of this year’s awards, we’re honored to support the growth and collaboration that define Houston’s role as a leader in innovation. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners for their outstanding achievements—your work is truly shaping the future! #HoustonInnovation #Entrepreneurship #InnovationMapAwards #RiceInnovation #RiceUniversity Paul Cherukuri, Adrian Trömel, Brad Burke, Dr. Sanjoy Paul, MBA (Wharton), IEEE Fellow, Nafisa Istami, Roslynn Velasquez, Neethu P., Grant Belton, Tianshu Zhai, Chen-Yang Lin, Alec Ajnsztajn, Natalie Harms

Meet Dr. Sanjoy Paul, MBA (Wharton), IEEE Fellow, Executive Director of Rice Nexus and AI Houston! At Rice University, Dr. Paul spearheads innovation, offering leadership, mentorship, and essential resources to help faculty and students transform groundbreaking ideas into impactful technologies. With over a decade in R&D at Bell Labs Research, where he drove research and innovations, Dr. Paul has an impressive foundation in pioneering technologies. As the former Managing Director at Accenture, he further advanced AI, 5G, and Digital Twin solutions globally. Additionally, his experience as CTO of two venture-backed startups has honed his skills in product development and launch. Now, at Rice Nexus and AI Houston, he connects academia and industry through dynamic partnerships that accelerate innovation from lab to marketplace. Learn more about Dr. Paul here: https://lnkd.in/gNamJp8w #RiceNexus #AIHouston #Innovation #RiceUniversity #RiceOfficeofInnovation

Tonight, I’m heading back to India for the first time in over two decades— 4 cities in 5 days: Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Delhi! This moment feels unexpectedly emotional, stirring memories of my long and winding journey from India to West Virginia and Kentucky, and now at Rice University. Born in India, I spent part of my early childhood there, with my parents ensuring we made annual trips back. Those visits—and the family ties they nurtured—instilled a deep connection to my roots and a lasting sense of identity. Now, I’m coming full circle to engage with a vibrant community of thinkers, dreamers, and doers as a member of a large delegation from Rice leadership. I’m excited to learn from their journeys, share ideas, and explore how we can build bridges between India’s aspirations and the work we’re driving at Rice. If you’re in India, let’s connect! I’d love to meet up and make this trip even more meaningful. Rice University Rice Innovation Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Ion Houston Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship Rice University School of Engineering and Computing

Rice hosted its inaugural Deeptech Day last week, bringing together VC investors including GOOSE Capital, Fitz Gate Ventures, Fathom Fund, and Matter Venture Partners to spotlight cutting-edge Rice deeptech companies. The showcase featured presentations from Solidec, ThirdAI Corp., HEXAspec, and CircuitGenie, highlighting the groundbreaking innovations shaping the future of technology. A huge thanks to our incredible partners and the startups leading the charge in deeptech—exciting things are on the horizon for Rice's innovation ecosystem! #Deeptech #Innovation #RiceUniversity #RiceInnovation Andrew Nicholson, David Bender, Eric B., Johnathan Budd, Wen H. Hsieh, Ph.D., Jim Cohen, Mark Poag, Neal Dikeman, Craig Beach, Paul Cherukuri, Adrian Trömel, Nafisa Istami, Tianshu Zhai, Chen-Yang Lin, Yang Xia, Shrivastava Anshumali, Dhanraj Pondicherry, Taiyun Chi, Ion Houston

Congratulations to Rawand Rasheed, PhD and Brad Husick, Rice alumni and cofounders of Helix Earth commercializing a cutting edge hardware platform invented at NASA, further developed at Rice University in Daniel J. Preston's lab, starting off by revolutionizing how HVAC systems work! Rice University School of Engineering and Computing Rice Engineering Alumni Rice University School of Natural Sciences Paul Cherukuri Nafisa Istami Dr. Sanjoy Paul, MBA (Wharton), IEEE Fellow Adrian Trömel Brad Burke

Had a fantastic visit with Daikin Comfort! Daikin is the largest air conditioning company in the world and they built their largest factory in the US employing over 8000 people right outside of Houston! It was a pleasure meeting with their CEO and leadership team, and getting a firsthand look at their incredible world class facility —- it’s the world’s largest tilt-wall building and the third-largest factory in the US (behind Tesla and Boeing)! Truly impressive to see their scale, brainstorm on developing new tech innovations to mitigate the effects of greenhouse gases, and the remarkable precision of their operations up close! Many thanks to the Daikin Comfort for the warm welcome and inspiring tour. Looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together! Rice University Rice Innovation

"As the Ion Houston continues to attract leading companies and organizations across industries, it’s clear that our vision of creating a dynamic and collaborative environment for innovation is resonating." - Ken Jett, vice president of facilities & capital planning at Rice University and adjunct professor at Rice Business Read more about the exciting developments on InnovationMap ➞ https://lnkd.in/gnYWtXxD

Last Friday, Rice Innovation hosted an awards luncheon to highlight the exceptional teams awarded in the second cycle of the One Small Step Grant. Their projects are poised to make a profound impact, and we’re thrilled to support their journey as they drive innovation forward. 🎉 LymphGuide – Led by Martha Fowler in Rice professor Omid Veiseh’s lab, this project is pioneering a customizable hydrogel platform combined with engineered cell therapy to treat and prevent lymphedema.  🎉 HEXAspec – Developed by Tianshu Zhai and Chen-Yang Lin in Rice professor Jun Lou's lab, HEXASpec focuses on next-gen chip packaging with innovative materials that enhance chip protection and heat dissipation. Congratulations to these well-deserved awardees – we’re inspired by their vision and can’t wait to see the transformative outcomes they achieve! #RiceInnovation #OneSmallStep #TechInnovation #Entrepreneurship #RiceUniversity

Thank you to Aaron Barker at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP for sharing his expertise and valuable insights at Startup Law 101! His guidance on navigating the legal landscape of startups, from incorporation to exit strategies, was incredibly helpful for all who attended. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the Rice University Office of Technology Transfer for co-hosting this fantastic event. We’re excited to continue fostering collaboration and providing essential resources to support our entrepreneurial community. Stay tuned for more great events as we work together to empower innovators and entrepreneurs at every stage of their journey. #StartupLaw #Entrepreneurship #Innovation #RiceInnovation #Lilie #RiceUniversity Nicholaus Tucker, Taylor Anne Adams, Andy Castillo, Patricia Stepp, Nafisa Istami, Adrian Trömel, Paul Cherukuri