HOUSTON — Rice University unveiled the first architectural renderings of the Rice Nexus, a groundbreaking innovation factory within the Ion that will transform ideas from Rice faculty and students into market-ready technology.
Located in the heart of the 16-acre Ion District, the Rice Nexus will open this fall, offering a dynamic space for collaboration and creativity in technology development.
Created to derisk and accelerate commercialization of new technology, the Rice Nexus also aims to bridge the gap between the university and the world at large by fostering partnerships with key corporate, government, community and venture capital firms, all under one roof within the Ion, a news release from the university said.
“We believe in the power of innovation to transform lives and shape the future,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “With the launch of the Rice Nexus at the Ion, we are embarking on a journey to unleash the full potential of Houston’s innovation ecosystem, driving positive change and rapid economic growth.”
The Rice Nexus, which is 10,000 square feet across two floors in the Ion building, reportedly offers state-of-the-art prototyping tools, comprehensive entrepreneurial support and essential venture funding to grow and launch Rice hard tech startups.
“We are thrilled to introduce the Nexus so that our faculty and students can rapidly develop, derisk and deploy solutions into the world by harnessing the full resources and capabilities of the Ion District,” said Paul Cherukuri, Rice’s chief innovation officer. “Houston is a grand city of innovation, and the Nexus at the Ion further amplifies Rice as a global leader in inventing and commercializing world-changing technology at both speed and scale.”
The release said several Rice startups, including newly established climate tech companies founded by faculty, will incubate at the Rice Nexus. These include Solidec, founded by Haotian Wang; Coflux Purification, co-founded by Rafael Verduzco and Pulickel Ajayan; and DirectH2, founded by Aditya Mohite.
Note: All architectural renderings are courtesy of Tramonte Design Studio.
Source: Rice University
