Natural Sciences

Zachary Ball, Ph.D.
Professor of Chemistry
Director, Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering
Research areas: medicinal chemistry, bioimaging and protein analysis, synthetic methodology development

Paul Cherukuri, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering
Research areas: scalable directed self-assembly of artificial and biological nanoscale materials

Sylvia Dee, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
Research areas: paleoclimate, climate dynamics, earth system modeling, global change

Adem Ekmekci, Ph.D.
Director of Research, Rice University School Mathematics Project
Clinical Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Research areas: teachers’ learning, motivation, and development of mathematical knowledge for teaching, assessment of student learning of mathematics and science, and large-scale data analysis on teacher quality and student persistence in STEM

Carrie Masiello, Ph.D.
Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
Research areas: biogeochemistry, soil sustainability, carbon, nitrogen, water cycling, synthetic biology

Jose Onuchic, Ph.D.
Harry C. & Olga K. Wiess Professor of Physics
Co-Director, Center for Theoretical Biological Physics
Research areas: biochemical and biological systems, molecular-level interactions to cellular systems to organized multi-cellular structures, medical applications focusing on cancer, protein folding funnels, theory of chemical reactions in condensed matter with emphasis on biological electron transfer, stochastic effects in gene networks with connections to bacteria decision-making and cancer.

Peter Rossky, Ph.D.
Dean of Wiess School of Natural Sciences
Harry C. & Olga K. Wiess Professor of Chemistry
Research areas: structure and dynamics of chemical transformations in condensed-phase materials, role of liquids as an environment for chemistry, understanding the quantum world, especially tracking the evolution of energy in molecular excited states.

Yousif Shamoo, Ph.D.
Vice Provost for Research
Ralph and Dorothy Looney Professor of BioSciences
Research areas: infectious diseases, structural biology, molecular evolution, X-ray crystallography, microbial evolution, antibiotic resistance, microfluidics, synthetic ecology

Yizhi Jane Tao, Ph.D.
Professor of BioSciences
Research areas: structural biology, virology, influenza viruses, birnaviruses; RNA viruses

Mark Torres, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences
Research areas: low-temperature geochemistry, geobiology, surface processes

James Tour, Ph.D.
T. T. and W. F. Chao Professor of Chemistry
Research areas: nanoelectronics, graphene electronics, silicon oxide electronics, carbon nanovectors for medical applications, green carbon research for enhanced oil recovery and environmentally friendly oil and gas extraction, graphene photovoltaics, carbon supercapacitors, lithium ion batteries, lithium metal batteries, CO2 capture, water splitting to H2 and O2, water purification, carbon nanotube and graphene synthetic modifications, graphene oxide, carbon composites, hydrogen storage on nanoengineered carbon scaffolds, and synthesis of single-molecule nanomachines

Peter Wolnes, Ph.D.
Bullard-Welch Foundation Professor of Science
Co-Director, Center for Theoretical Biological Physics
Research areas: many-body phenomena in biology, chemistry and physics; understanding systems where a large diversity of long-lived states is involved, necessitating the use of a statistical characterization of an energy or attractor landscape; in the area of protein folding, we are interested both in describing folding kinetics in the laboratory and the development of bioinformatically based schemes for predicting structure from sequence using computer simulation

Han Xiao, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Research areas: chemical biology, organic chemistry, bioorthogonal chemistry

Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering
Seeks to promote interdisciplinary research and education, foster ties with the Texas Medical Center, create partnerships with industry, promote the translation of research, and facilitate strong research and training programs.

Rice ENRICH (Educational and Research Initiatives for Collaborative Health)
Responsible for advising the Provost about opportunities to strengthen research and educational collaboration between Rice and other members of the Texas Medical Center (TMC).

Shared Equipment Authority
Supports and provides state-of-the-art research equipment capabilities for Rice University and the extended Rice community.