Rice STEM Summer Seminar Series
Student Sessions

About Rice STEM Summer Series

Register today for one of our free student webinars designed for 6th–9th grade students. These seminars are possible due to collaboration between R-STEM, the George R. Brown School of Engineering, and the Tapia Center for Excellence and Equity in Education.

Space is limited so registration is on first-come, first-served basis.


Upcoming Sessions

Currently, there are no upcoming sessions scheduled. R-STEM staff is working to expand this series and will post new seminars as they become available.


Past Sessions

Rice Student Research

Adam Farsheed studied Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University where he studied the 3D printing of biodegradable stents. He took two years off to teach middle school in Seattle, and is now pursuing a Ph.D. in Bioengineering at Rice, where he is studying the treatment of large muscle injuries using hydrogels. Dr. Brant Gracia is a Texan native who attended Texas A&M University. for undergraduate and The University of Texas at Austin for his Ph.D. in biochemistry. Currently, he works in the department of Genetics at MD Anderson Cancer Center investigating how protein folding mutations in cancer associated genes lead to genome damage and carcinogenesis.

Date: July 8, 2020
Time: 2:00–3:00 p.m. CST
Presenters: Adam Farsheed and Brant Garcia


Rice Student Research

After growing up in Kansas City and going to college in Ohio, Pavan Kota is excited to be out of the Midwest. He is now a Ph.D. student in the Department of Bioengineering at Rice where he researches how to detect the DNA of bacteria and viruses to help control infections. Marina Hutchins graduated from Texas A&M University with her Bachelor's Degree in Biology and a minor in Genetics in 2018. She just finished her first year of the Ph.D. program in the Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department at Rice, where she studies animal behavior.

Date: July 15, 2020
Time: 2:00–3:00 p.m. CST
Presenters: Pavan Kota and Marina Hutchins


Rice Student Research

Lydia Wu grew up in Columbia, SC but her family moved to Houston, TX while she was in college. She is a Ph.D. student in the Psychological Sciences Department at Rice University studying how stress gets under the skin to impact your mental and physical health. Madeline Galbraith is from a small town in Ohio and earned her bachelors degree in Physics & Computer Science from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. Currently she is in the Physics & Astronomy department trying to understand how cells decide to become a type (like brain vs muscle) and communicate with their neighbors.

Date: July 22, 2020
Time: 2:00–3:00 p.m. CST
Presenters: Lydia Wu and Madeline Galbraith


Rice Student Research

Christine Nguyen did her undergraduate studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey where she received a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering and conducted research on gold nanoparticles for drug delivery applications. Now she is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Materials Science and NanoEngineering Department in Dr. Jun Lou's lab focusing on laser processing of 2D materials for flexible electronics. Maria Villegas did her undergraduate studies at Peruvian University Cayetano Heredia, a university specialized in life sciences research in Lima-Perú. She had the opportunity to work in many different laboratories during her undergraduate time. Now, she is doing her Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Cell biology where her research is focused in then optimization of biological tools to activate genes in bacteria.

Date: July 29, 2020
Time: 2:00–3:00 p.m. CST
Presenters: Christine Nguyen and Maria Claudia Villegas Kcam


What is it like to be an engineer?

What is it like to be an engineer? Do you do math all day or build stuff? Hear from recent graduate of Cornell and engineer at ExxonMobil, August Longo, about the day-to-day of working as a chemical engineer. He will share his thoughts on why engineers are important, as well as his personal journey to becoming one.

Date: August 5, 2020
Time: 2:00–3:00 p.m. CST
Presenter: August Longo


Rice STEM Summer Seminar Series Administration

If you have any questions about Rice STEM Summer Seminar Series, you can contact the program lead.

Matthew Cushing, M.S.
R-STEM Executive Director
713-348-8210 | mpc3@rice.edu

*Program times, dates, locations, and compensation subject to change before the first day of the program.

Contact Information

Telephone: (713) 348-8211
Fax: (713) 348-3825
stem@rice.edu

Mailing Address

Office of STEM Engagement
Rice University
P.O. Box 1892, MS-7836
Houston, TX 77251-1892

Street Address

IBC Plaza Houston
5615 Kirby Dr., Suite 730
Houston, TX 77005-2445