Rice Sustainability
Showcase
ADVNACING SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS THROUGH Research and Collaboration
As the world confronts accelerating environmental challenges, sustainability research has never been more essential, and universities like Rice play a pivotal role in analyzing problems and catalyzing solutions. In honor of Earth Month, our 2026 showcase highlights the innovative, interdisciplinary work unfolding across Rice's campus to advance environmental adaptation, energy transitions, circular economies, and community well‑being.
Spaces for several events are limited and registration may be required, don't wait.
Events We're Showcasing
Across disciplines and formats, each event is an opportunity to engage with sustainability in action this Earth Month.
SymposiumIRESS 2026
Industry-Rice Earth Science Symposium
Join Rice University's Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences Department in partnership with The Rice Sustainability Institute & The Baker Institute's Center for Energy Studies, April 9–10, 2026, James A. Baker Hall, Rice University.
WorkshopCFAR Spring Workshop
Green Infrastructure & The Polycrisis
In this workshop we want to assess to what extent GI is capable of providing an integrated response to various aspects of the polycrisis. Where, specifically, can GI help and what are its limits? How should GI interventions be most effectively implemented and scaled? What success stories should we be sharing and what cautionary tales should we be studying? Speakers will include experts in GI drawn from a wide range of fields including: architecture, civil engineering, environmental studies, geography, policy and urban planning.
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LectureCSWGS Martel Lecture
Featuring - Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality at Rice University in cooperation with the Center for Environmental Studies, the Cherry Reading Series, the Walter Isle Memorial Endowment, the Department of History, the Office of Sustainability, and the George R. Brown School of Engineering and Computing, invites you to a Marian Fox Martel Distinguished Lecture in Gender and Science featuring Robin Wall Kimmerer Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology and Director, Center for Native Peoples and the Environment State University of New York - College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
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SummitAnnual Sustainability Summit:
Innovations and Collaborations in Circularity & Supply Chain Resilience
The summit convenes researchers, industry leaders, policymakers, and students to examine sustainability challenges through a systems-level perspective across the environmental, economic, and societal dimensions, highlighting research, policy insights, and emerging technologies shaping the energy and sustainability landscape.
PresentationSustainable Construction Studio
As part of the Rice School of Architecture Spring 2026 Final Reviews, this April 22 event features the culminating public presentations of the Sustainable Construction Studio, showcasing innovative approaches to sustainable design.
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WorkshopExperiential Futures of Houston Energy
For this year’s Earth Day, the Rice Sustainability Institute will partner with Rice Nexus’s Social Design Lab and the Los Angeles-based Situation Lab to stage an Experiential Futures (XF) workshop focused on possible futures for Houston’s energy industry.