# Rice Advanced Materials Institute

The Rice Advanced Materials Institute (RAMI) is a campus-wide research institute at Rice University established in 2023. RAMI conducts research in materials science with applications in energy, sustainability, and national security. Its work includes experimental research and computational techniques, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence, to study and develop materials. RAMI’s research areas include energy efficiency, energy storage, environmental sustainability, and materials for security-related applications.
RAMI collaborates with campus leadership, the George R. Brown School of Engineering, the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, other research institutes, and the Shared Equipment Authority to support materials research at Rice University.

## History

The Rice Advanced Materials Institute (RAMI) was established in 2023 as part of Rice University’s efforts to advance interdisciplinary research in materials science and related fields. The institute was created to consolidate existing strengths in materials science, nanoengineering, and other research disciplines at Rice University and is housed in the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science, which is designed to support research in engineering and the natural sciences.
The formation of RAMI coincided with Rice University's broader strategic initiatives, including plans to hire over 200 faculty members between 2023 and 2028. This expansion is part of a larger effort to strengthen the university’s research capabilities.
Lane W. Martin, a faculty member with expertise in complex oxide thin films, was appointed as RAMI's inaugural director. Under his leadership, the institute has focused on fostering partnerships with academic, government, and industry stakeholders to advance materials research.

## Research

The Rice Advanced Materials Institute (RAMI) conducts research in materials science and engineering with applications in electronics, energy, and environmental sustainability. The institute integrates computational modeling, machine learning, and artificial intelligence with experimental research to study and develop materials. RAMI's research is organized into three primary areas and one cross-cutting theme:
* Next-generation electronic and photonic materials: Research in this area focuses on materials for microelectronics, including memory, logic, communication, and sensing technologies. This includes energy-efficient computing and the development of materials for applications such as edge computing, sensors, and actuators.
* Energy materials: This area explores materials for energy storage and conversion, including electrochemical batteries, capacitive energy storage, and hybrid storage systems. Researchers also study methods to convert waste heat into electricity and improve energy efficiency through advanced materials for energy harvesting and conversion.
* Materials for the environment: Research in this area focuses on sustainable materials development, resource management, and environmental remediation. Topics include designing materials for circularity, replacing rare or toxic elements in supply chains, and addressing climate change-related challenges.
* Cross-cutting theme – Accelerating materials discovery: RAMI also investigates methods to accelerate materials discovery, design, and manufacturing. This includes the integration of computational techniques, machine learning, and artificial intelligence with experimental research to improve materials development processes.

## Facilities

The Rice Advanced Materials Institute (RAMI) is housed in the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science, a research facility designed to support collaboration among scientists and engineers from various disciplines. The institute occupies over 25,000 square feet of office and laboratory space for materials science and engineering research.
The O’Connor Building, located on the site of the former Abercrombie Engineering Laboratory on the east side of the Engineering Quadrangle, is one of the largest construction projects at Rice University in the past decade. Spanning approximately 250,000 square feet, the building includes faculty research laboratories, core labs, classrooms, conference facilities, a café, and departmental offices. It has four above-ground floors and a basement, with RAMI as one of its primary research tenants.
RAMI also collaborates with the Rice Shared Equipment Authority to develop shared research infrastructure for materials science on campus.

## Key People
### RAMI Leadership

* Dr. Lane Martin – Founding Director of the Rice Advanced Materials Institute (RAMI) and Robert A. Welch Professor at Rice University, with appointments in Materials Science and NanoEngineering, Chemistry, and Physics. His research focuses on complex oxide thin films, particularly ferroelectric and multiferroic materials, with applications in energy-efficient materials and quantum technologies.
* Dr. Soumya Vinod – Executive Director of RAMI. She holds a doctorate from Rice University in Materials Science and NanoEngineering and oversees the institute’s administrative and strategic initiatives.

### Faculty Hires

* Dr. Lea Nienhaus – Fellow of RAMI and associate professor at Rice University with joint appointments in Chemistry and Physics & Astronomy. She is also a Norman Hackerman-Welch Investigator. Before joining Rice in 2024, she was an assistant professor at Florida State University (2018–2024). Her research involves coupled scanning probe microscopy and optical spectroscopy to study nanoscale disorder in perovskites, organic semiconductors, and hydrogen-bonded supramolecular networks.
In addition to these leadership figures, RAMI's research efforts are supported by faculty from various departments at Rice University, including Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering.