Fall 2025
By Katharine Shilcutt

As associate vice president for strategy and investments at Rice’s Office of Innovation, Adrian Trömel brings a rare fusion of engineering precision, entrepreneurial experience and global perspective to his role.

Raised in Luxembourg and educated across Europe, Trömel moved to Houston in 2016 with the goal of learning how to commercialize breakthrough technologies and received his MBA from Rice’s Jones Business School in 2018.

Today, he’s helping to lead Rice’s transformation into a hub of innovation, supporting researchers, students and startups as they turn cutting-edge ideas into global solutions. Or, as he succinctly puts it, “I help people start companies.”

How did you end up at Rice?
“I was always the enabler,” Trömel said. “Whether it was building sail-powered cars with friends or helping them study, I was the one making ideas happen.” That instinct drove him to study materials science — a discipline he calls a “language school” for engineers — before pursuing entrepreneurship. He arrived in Houston to pursue his MBA at Rice’s Jones Business School, drawn by its reputation in natural sciences and engineering, connection to the Texas Medical Center and its entrepreneurial ecosystem. After helping launch several startups, including a neurostimulation startup and a telemedicine-enabled primary care company, Trömel reconnected with Rice’s Vice President for Innovation Paul Cherukuri, who brought him onboard to help build Rice’s Office of Innovation from scratch.

What does your work with the Office of Innovation entail?
“Our goal is to enable the incredible research and talent at Rice to reach the market,” Trömel said. He’s helped shape the office around three pillars: talent, facilities and money. One flagship initiative he launched is One Small Step, which provides funding to help researchers generate the final piece of “fundable” data needed to launch a startup. He was also foundational in the development of key community infrastructure, like the Rice Nexus, a physical space where startups, researchers and investors converge weekly. “We’re not just offering programs — we’re building a thriving ecosystem,” he said.

How do you collaborate with other innovation hubs on campus?
Trömel sees the Office of Innovation as part of a larger continuum of support across Rice. “The Office of Technology Transfer handles licensing and patents. The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Rice Alliance are where students and faculty learn about entrepreneurship,” he said. His office steps in to help with market validation, industry connections and startup formation. The partnerships span from innovation fellowships with Lilie to co-developing initiatives such as RBL LLC and the Woodside-Rice Decarbonization Accelerator to accelerate technology validation and the formation of startups.

What excites you most about Rice’s global reach?
As a self-described third-culture kid with roots across Europe, the U.S. and Asia, Trömel feels personally aligned with Rice’s new strategic plan tagline: personalized scale for global impact. “To maximize the impact of our research and talent, we need to bring it to market globally,” he said. “That’s what excites me — being part of a university that’s ready to lead on the world stage.”