Rice University Unveils Plans for New ‘Innovation Factory’ at The Ion

Rice University has unveiled the first architectural plans for Rice Nexus, a new makerspace at the Ion in Midtown that aims to bridge the gap between the university’s staff, students and leading businesses, governments, communities and venture capitalists, according to an Aug. 7 press release.

What you need to know

Located at the “heart” of the Ion District’s 16-acre campus, the facility is designed to provide collaboration and creativity in technology development and accelerate the commercialization of new technologies, the release said.

Rice Nexus will span 10,000 square feet across two floors of the Ion. Dubbed “the front door to Rice” in the release, the Nexus will showcase technologies invented by Rice faculty and students and offer lab space for technology development and free office space for early-stage startups.

Quote to note

In a statement on the creation of the new facility, Rice Chief Innovation Officer Paul Cherukuri expressed excitement about the facility’s future offerings to staff, students and Houston at large.

“We are excited to introduce the Nexus so our faculty and students can rapidly develop, de-risk and deploy solutions globally by leveraging the full resources and capabilities of the Ion District,” Cherukuri said in the release. “Houston is a great city of innovation, and the Ion Nexus further solidifies Rice’s position as a global leader in inventing and commercializing world-changing technologies, both rapidly and at scale.”

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Emerging climate technology companies founded by Rice faculty, including Solidec, Coflux Purification and DirectH2, will be incubated at Rice Nexus, the release said.

DirectH2 founder Aditya Mohite is also a professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, electrical and computer engineering, materials science and non-engineering at Rice University, according to the statement. Mohite said in a statement that the new space supports their efforts to pioneer the development of critical hard technologies in the heart of the world’s energy capital.

“The critical support provided by the Nexus underscores Rice’s leadership…revolutionizing the nation’s next-generation clean energy and chemical manufacturing technologies while fostering the next generation of energy sustainability innovators,” Mohite said in the statement.

For more information about the Rice Nexus at Ion, visit the Rice University Office of Innovation website.