Our Research Pillars

The Smalley-Curl Institute (SCI) at Rice University is a hub for interdisciplinary research at the frontiers of physics, chemistry, engineering, and nanotechnology. SCI is home to several major programs and centers, including:

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Research Entities

SCI and APP support three pillars of research - Nano, Quantum and Materials - with the actions of six centers and initiatives, all set on a foundation of innovation and creativity that we call TWIGs: Thematic Working Interest Groups.

TWIGs are self-assembled groups of faculty from different departments and schools, developing ideas of their own creation with an eye toward generating large, multi-PI research proposals. Once a TWIG wins a big grant, we promote it to long-term status as a center or initiative:

  • RCCQ - the Rice Center for Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics - is supported by an NRT - an NSF Research Traineeship grant.

  • RLEMM - the Rice Laboratory for Emergent Magnetic Materials - is supported by a large DOE grant.

As these new centers come up to speed, our legacy entities conduct workshops, multi-day schools and other activities designed to promote even more collaborative research across Rice and the globe. As seen above, those are the RCQM, RQI, LANP and eQMA.

All of the SCI entities reach across at least two of the main pillars, while the 100+ students of the Applied Physics Program affiliate for their research with faculty across about 8 host departments in the School of Natural Sciences and the School of Engineering and Computing - plus a handful who work in labs in the Texas Medical Center. Add to that the 5-7 Smalley-Curl Institute Postdoctoral Fellows that we fund at any given time and one can begin to see the rich ecosystem of innovation and discovery that the SCI provides - to Rice and to the world.