Rice University President Reggie DesRoches delved into the institution’s transformative advancements, identifying research and community collaboration as top priorities of focus at the Partnership’s annual State of Education.  Supporting nearly 9,000 students, Rice is a critical part of the region’s higher education ecosystem and serves as a catalyst for building Houston’s future workforce. To better serve Houston’s community and key industries, Rice has strategically increased its efforts to advance impactful research within the institution. These efforts include a significant 20% augmentation of undergraduate and graduate students, the addition of 200 faculty members and the inauguration of a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to energy transition research – The Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science.  “The focus of our research is not just to have research but to have an impact in the region and the greater community,” said DesRoches. DesRoches highlighted that Rice is also working to increase the presence of graduate students focusing on PhD programs, which will further expand the institution’s research initiatives. To drive more impactful research and to cement the university’s position as a leading innovation hub, DesRoches pointed to collaboration. Through the support and partnerships of local entities and organizations like The Ion Houston and Greentown Labs, Rice has established many groundbreaking programs such as the Entrepreneurship Exchange for Energy. These efforts underline the university's dedication to cultivating research and innovation within Houston and beyond. As a true testament of research and collaboration, Rice recently partnered with Houston Methodist to open the Center for Human Performance; a 6,000-square-foot research facility located in Rice’s Tudor Fieldhouse. The new facility aims to propel research focusing on injury prevention and recovery, improving overall health across the region.  However, Rice sees more potential to be unlocked by leveraging the Texas Medical Center as a resource to deepen its engagement in health sciences, aiming for elevated contributions to the field. "The research and development stemming from [Rice University] are key drivers of technological advancement, which helps us attract businesses seeking to leverage the latest innovations to Houston," said Partnership President and CEO Bob Harvey.  Learn more about Houston’s Higher Education Institutions.

Leaders in the aerospace industry convened for the Greater Houston Partnership’s annual Future of Space event this week, highlighting how Houston is positioned to become a leading aerospace hub. Here are a few takeaways. A Hub for Innovation The establishment of the Texas Space Commission, propelled by the passing of House Bill 3447, represents a new chapter in Houston's space leadership."HB3447 has set the stage to keep Texas at the forefront of aerospace and space exploration," said Nancy Currier-Gregg, Director of the Texas A&M Space Institute. This legislation allocates $350 million to the commission over the next two years, with over 56% of those dollars invested in the Houston area through the Texas A&M Space Institute—a cutting-edge research and training facility being constructed next to NASA’s Johnson Space Center. The state-of-the-art facility is poised to further bolster Houston's momentum in revolutionizing space exploration. Johnson Space Center Director also praised the legislation, saying " it's going to cement Houston as a hub for space exploration." Education's Vital Role Panelists emphasized the vital role of higher education in Houston's space journey. Mario Diaz, the Director of Houston Airports, unveiled plans for the Aerospace Institute, an extension of the San Jacinto College’s EDGE Center at the Houston Spaceport. This visionary initiative seeks to connect students with the aerospace industry, focusing on key elements educating talent for various aerospace roles. With the goal of making Houston a hub for high-tech manufacturing and workforce training, this project is essential in ensuring that Houston has a well-trained and capable workforce to support this growing industry. "The industry wasn't mature enough to start producing that level of commercial launches that would take 10 spaceports to do, so we decided to develop our strategy to focus on manufacturing with workforce training."  The Future of Space As we look ahead to the future, the speakers discussed innovations such as electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL), hypersonic and supersonic transport, and widespread broadband internet via satellite constellations like SpaceX's Starlink.  Learn more about Houston's aerospace industry.