As the School of Social Sciences completes its first 20 years we are continuing to seek new ways to expand our instruction and study of enduring questions of importance to society. Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Rice professors of chemistry Richard Smalley and Robert Curl and Harry Kroto of the University of Sussex in England for their discovery of fullernes, including buckyballs. Madeleine Albright makes her first speech as secretary of state outside of Washington at Rice. Rice undergraduates win 27 National Science Foundation Fellowships, placing Rice first per capita among universities. In May, Rice baseball team ranked first in nation.
Owls go on to College World Series, the team's second trip in two years.