page_title: Rice University
section_title: Innovation District
hierarchical_section_title: Rice University / Campus / Innovation District
caption_attribution_description: English: Sears store in Midtown Houston Español: Tienda de Sears en Midtown Houston
context_page_description: William Marsh Rice University, commonly known as Rice University, is a private research university in Houston, Texas. The university is situated on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and is adjacent to the Texas Medical Center.
  Opened in 1912 after the murder of its namesake William Marsh Rice, Rice is a research university with an undergraduate focus. Its emphasis on education is demonstrated by a small student body and 6:1 student-faculty ratio. The university has a very high level of research activity, with $156 million in sponsored research funding in 2019. Rice is noted for its applied science programs in the fields of artificial heart research, structural chemical analysis, signal processing, space science, and nanotechnology. In 2010, it was ranked first in the world in materials science research by Times Higher Education. Rice is a member of the Association of American Universities since 1985 and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".
  The university is organized into eleven residential colleges and eight schools of academic study, including the Wiess School of Natural Sciences, the George R.
context_section_description: In early 2019, Rice announced the site where the abandoned Sears building in Midtown Houston stood, along with its surrounding area, would be transformed into an innovation district named "The Ion". President of Rice, David Leebron stated "We chose the name Ion because it's from the Greek ienai, which means 'go'. We see it as embodying the ever-forward motion of discovery, the spark at the center of a truly original idea."
caption: The abandoned Sears building in Midtown Houston will be renovated as The Ion, the first building of the innovation district.
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