Rice University today introduced the Rice Biotech Launch Pad, a Houston-based accelerator focused on expediting the translation of the university’s health and medical technology discoveries into cures. Supported by federal grants and philanthropic gifts, the new accelerator will bring together local researchers with a national network of industry executives, additional funding sources and about 15,000 square feet of accelerator space.

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The Rice Biotech Launch Pad is the university’s first large-scale initiative designed to help advance internally discovered platform technologies from concept to clinical studies and commercialization. It represents the vision of Rice bioengineer Omid Veiseh and Paul Wotton, who co-founded Avenge Bio and other companies with technology discovered in Veiseh’s lab and other labs in Rice’s Department of Bioengineering. The accelerator’s mission is to identify and support highly differentiated projects while driving the expansion of Houston as a world-class medical innovation ecosystem.

“The Rice Biotech Launch Pad will ensure that our faculty and students have the skills, partnerships, tools and support to create technologies that can transform our city and the world,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “More importantly, the accelerator will provide a pathway for these creations and discoveries to be turned into medical cures that significantly impact people’s lives. Rice researchers have been doing this for years. This development will allow them to do even more and at a quicker, more efficient pace.”

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Veiseh, an associate professor of bioengineering who will serve as the accelerator’s faculty director, said, “We have the infrastructure, financial backing and talent in Houston to do more in creating new medicines to cure disease. The Rice Biotech Launch Pad will help our faculty compete for larger grants from agencies such as ARPA-H, DARPA and the NIH in support of translational work involving platform technologies that can address multiple therapeutic areas. In line with this, we will create short-term pathways for licensing revenue for the university and we will help other entrepreneurs form companies based on innovative work at Rice. This is a thriving environment that warrants more attention and dedication to bring forward Houston’s medical discoveries. I am proud to help make this happen.”

Paul Cherukuri, Rice’s vice president for innovation and member of the accelerator’s advisory council, said, “The Biotech Launch Pad is the first in a series of Rice Moonshots that are hyper-focused on building a ‘speed and scale’ innovation ecosystem across Houston. We at Rice are committed towards driving the Biotech Launch Pad in collaboration with our partners within the Texas Medical Center and the new Helix Park campus.”

Wotton, who will serve as the accelerator’s executive director and chairman, said, “Rice is well-positioned with its faculty, support and location in the Texas Medical Center. In fact, Omid and the founding leadership team at Rice have demonstrated success in securing more than $160 million in grants and spinning out several companies, including Avenge Bio. Omid and I built Avenge with technology from Rice and worked closely with Amir Jazaeri, M.D., to advance from concept to clinical studies within four years. The Rice Biotech Launch Pad will build on this overall success and expand it by integrating Houston’s scientific, engineering, clinical and product development communities. We want to call more attention to the work in Houston, attract new talent and help increase the opportunities for success. At this time, we are building our board and helping researchers lock in additional grants that can serve as a strong foundation of the accelerator.”

In addition to Cherukuri, the accelerator’s founding advisory council members from Rice are:

• Jacob Robinson, professor of electrical and computer engineering and of bioengineering, a core faculty member of the Rice Neuroengineering Initiative and founder and CEO of Motif Neurotech.
• Ashok Veeraraghavan, professor of electrical and computer engineering and computer science, a core faculty member of the Rice Neuroengineering Initiative and co-founder of Synopic.
• Yael Hochberg, head of the Rice Entrepreneurship Initiative and the Ralph S. O'Connor Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business.

By Vikas Mittal, originally published in the Houston Chronicle on Sept. 8, 2023.

Acknowledging that “HISD’s central office has grown too much over the past decade,” Mike Miles, the new superintendent of Houston Independent School District, made his goals clear. “We’re cutting some of that bloat,” he said. Namely, by getting rid of 2,347 jobs in central administration, though only a couple hundred have been cut so far. 

Saving money by reducing administrative bloat may not be enough. HISD needs to begin the important work of taming what I call the “Whirlwind of Administrative Requirements” — W.A.R. — that burdens teachers and principals.

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Can artificial intelligence (AI) select job candidates as well — or better — than traditional methods? A new, four-year study from the National Science Foundation seeks to find out.

Fred Oswald, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences and a professor in the Jones Graduate School of Business at Rice, is a co-principal investigator of the study. The researchers will study how AI can impact recruiting, screening and hiring candidates for jobs. They are especially interested in how it will impact equity and inclusion in job access, Oswald said.

“When organizations pay for AI-based candidate assessments, they do so with the trust that they are fair to job applicants by measuring job-relevant characteristics and minimizing irrelevant information and biases,” he said. “But how do they know when AI-based assessments are high quality, fair and select effective employees? Our new NSF grant aims to address this question.”

Julia Stoyanovich , an associate professor of computer science and engineering from New York University, is the principal investigator for the study.

More information on Oswald’s research and projects is available online at https://workforce.rice.edu/.

Meet Alexis Smith, Hybrid MBA Class of 2025, who selected Rice Business as her top choice, drawn to the program's core values such as authenticity and the opportunity to foster meaningful connections. Alexis is located in Houston, TX and works as the Vice President of Human Resources at Next Level Medical, an organization that operates several medical and urgent care facilities across Texas. “It was like Rice knew exactly what I needed,” she says. Learn more about Alexis and her decision to choose Rice Business. 

Why did you select Rice Business and why did you choose the Hybrid MBA program?

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Rice has been my dream school since I was a kid. When I started thinking about pursuing my MBA, there was no doubt in my mind — it had to be Rice. The networking component of the program was really important to me but juggling my job's demands with the weekend and evening programs felt overwhelming. A few days after I opened my application, the Rice Hybrid MBA billboard popped up on my daily drive to work. It was like Rice knew exactly what I needed.

Can you describe your preparation process for business school?

Once I knew that Rice was the only school I would be applying to, my preparation process was mostly A LOT of studying for the GMAT. It had been a minute since my last standardized test, and because Rice Business is a top-tier program, I wanted to ensure I put my best foot forward. I also prepared for the program by attending as many Rice events as I could and interacting with current students to get a sense of how I would need to organize my life for the next two years. 

What do you most look forward to as an MBA student?

I'm most excited about the connections I'll form with my cohort members, as well as students in the other Rice Business programs. I also look forward to enhancing my understanding in areas where I'm less confident, such as finance and accounting.

Can you describe your professional goals after Rice Business?

Short-term, my goal is to further ascend within my current company, with my sights set on ultimately attaining a C-Suite role. My longer-term aspirations extend to launching my own venture, with the focus of enhancing efficiency for HR professionals.

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What advice would you give to someone applying to the Hybrid MBA program?

If you're feeling uncertain, my advice is simple: Take the leap! The most common regret I've encountered amongst my cohort peers is that they wish they had taken the plunge earlier. The perfect moment to invest in yourself doesn't really exist. And while it might sound like a cliché, embracing your authentic self is crucial. The right program will value you for who you are, leading to more meaningful connections during your business school journey — and that's what it's all about.

Want to know more about the Hybrid MBA student experience? Attend one of our admissions events!

We recently caught up with Sherwin Philip, who graduated from Rice’s Master of Accounting (MAcc) program in 2022. We asked him a few questions about his experience working at one of the “Big Four” public accounting firms. Read what he told us below!

Tell us a little bit about your background and why you decided to pursue the MAcc. 

I was born in India and immigrated to the US at the end of middle school. I graduated with my bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston with a double major in finance and accounting. But before I started working full-time, I felt that having a strong accounting knowledge would be a key to me excelling in my career in business. Through a friend, I learned about the Rice MAcc program. Its one-year duration appealed to me. After talking with the program director, Professor Lansford, I applied and decided to enroll in the program.

Where do you work, and how long have you been there? 

I work at KPMG, which is one of the “Big Four” public accounting firms. I have been there for the past eight months. 

What personality characteristics make for an effective accounting professional in your service line? 

I’m in the Healthcare and Life Sciences industry group of KPMG’s Financial Due Diligence sub-practice, and each deal in this sector can be quite different. Over the last eight months, I have worked on over six different deals, ranging from one public pharmaceutical company acquiring another one to a private equity firm acquiring a healthcare management company. While there are many tasks that are consistent from deal to deal, there are also many aspects that are different. So, an ability to learn quickly and a willingness to adapt would be the two most important characteristics for someone to be effective.

What does a typical workday for you entail? 

I usually arrive at the office around 9:00 am and begin the day by checking emails. I then check the data room of the deal I am working on and check in with the senior associate/manager. The next two to three hours could entail internal team meetings, meetings with the client, or meetings with management. My team tries to go for lunch together around noon. Then for the rest of the day, till about 5:00 pm, I tend to do all the deal-related tasks, starting from databasing the financial statements from raw data and ending with the final presentation. When there’s a tight deadline coming up, the workday can stretch into the evening.

What do you like most about what you do? 

I like the fact that I get to learn something new every day, as every deal I have worked on is different. For example, the analyses we do for the acquisition of a pharmaceutical company is very different from what we do for the sale of an optometry group. This makes it challenging but also very interesting.

What are some noteworthy experiences you’ve been able to have working at your firm? 

My two almost week-long training sessions at KPMG’s “Lakehouse” training facility in Orlando were a lot of fun! I learned a great deal and got to meet peers from across the country. Another noteworthy experience was helping the Asian and Pacific Island business resource group organize the International Week at the Houston office. We presented cultures and cuisines from around the world.
 

Does a career powered on accounting expertise sound right for you? Learn more about Rice Admissions and attend one our events to see where the Rice MAcc degree can take you!

The 20th Annual Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum will see industry leaders showcase energy tech innovations for the shift toward a more sustainable, reliable and lower carbon future on Sept. 21 at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business.

For two decades, the Energy Tech Venture Forum — hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship — has served as the premier conference bringing together energy industry leaders, venture capital investors and promising energy and cleantech ventures to propel the future of energy.

Across interactive panels, keynotes speeches and venture pitches, attendees can explore emerging energy sources, enhancements and efficiencies within existing energy resources and advances in clean or renewable technologies — and learn where investors are contributing to the acceleration of these advancements.

Keynote speakers include Christina Karapataki, partner at Breakthrough Energy Ventures, the venture capital fund cofounded by Bill Gates; Scott Nyquist, vice chairman at Houston Energy Transition Initiative, founded by the Greater Houston Partnership; and Jeff Tillery, chief operating officer at Veriten, founded by Rice alumnus Maynard Holt, formerly with Tudor Pickering Holt.

More than 90 startup technology ventures commercializing energy transition innovations will present their businesses and meet investors looking for disruptive energy technologies that can accelerate clean and renewable energy.

The event also includes Rice Alliance’s Clean Energy Accelerator Class 3 Demo Day pitches and the announcement of “Most Promising Company” chosen by the energy tech industry experts and participating investors.

The presenting companies:

• Element Resources
• Eugenie AI
• Flash H2 Synthesis from Waste Plastic at Zero Net Cost
• Fluid Efficiency
• Galatea Technologies
• Heimdal
• Impact Technology SystemsAS
• INGU
• Lithos
• Luminescent
• Mantel
• Mars Materials
• Microgrid Labs
• Mirico
• Mobilus Labs
• Muon Vision
• Nano Nuclear
• NobleAI
• Numat
• Ourobio
• Planckton Data Technologies
• Polystyvert
• Princeton NuEnergy
• Protein Evolution
• Qult Technologies
• Sage Geosystems
• Salient Predictions
• Sawback Technologies
• SHORELINE AI
• Solidec
• Spectral Sensor Solutions
• Teren
• Terradote
• TexPower
• Thiozen
• Volexion
• Xecta
• Technology from the Lab of James Tour

The Clean Energy Accelerator Class 3 Demo Day pitches:

• Ayrton Energy
• Carbix
• CryoDesalination
• Digital Carbon Bank
• EarthEn
• H Quest Vanguard
• Highwood Emissions Management
• Icarus RT
• Khepra
• Natrion
• Oceanways
• Relyion Energy
• Triton Anchor
• TROES

Register here. The agenda can be found here.