Rice on the Hill

Fall 2024
By Lynn Gosnell

On any given day, Rice faculty can be found in campus classrooms, labs and research facilities around the world — and more and more, in conversation with elected leaders in the U.S. Congress and the Texas Capitol, providing expertise on today’s timely topics. Here are a few recent examples.

Artificial Intelligence

Fred Oswald, professor and Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, participated in a Department of Education/White House working session on AI in postsecondary education. He joined a group of 50 higher ed leaders in roundtable discussions about the critical importance of leveraging  AI to advance responsible innovation. Oswald is a member of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee. 

Rodrigo Ferreira, assistant teaching professor of computer science  and a Baker Institute faculty scholar, and César A. Uribe, the Louis Owen Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, weighed in at a public hearing of the National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee on the risks, opportunities and potential for leveraging AI as an arena for international collaboration between the U.S. and Latin America.

Immigration 

Tony Payan, the Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies and director of the Center for the U.S. and Mexico, traveled to D.C. to discuss immigration policy, Mexico’s presidential election and visa reforms with Congressional members and staff. Among other engagements, Payan met with members of the U.S. House Task Force to Combat Mexican Drug Cartels and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

Ana Martín Gil, research manager at the Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East, and Kelsey Norman, fellow for the Middle East and director of the Women’s Rights, Human Rights and Refugees Program at the Baker Institute, discussed Afghan refugee policy in recent visits to Texas’ delegation on Capitol Hill.

Energy

Michelle Michot Foss, fellow in energy, minerals and materials with the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies, appeared before the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce to provide expert testimony on the energy transition with respect to supply chain and economic leadership related to the minerals and mining industries. 

Gabriel Collins, Baker Botts Fellow in Energy and Environmental Regulatory Affairs, testified at the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission hearing on issues around stockpiling energy goods for competition and conflict. Collins also provided invited testimony before the Texas House of Representatives’ Select Committee on Protecting Texas LNG Exports at a public hearing in May. 

Kenneth Medlock, senior director of the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies, helped organize the Texas Electricity Policy Summit event at the Baker Institute last spring at which Gov. Greg Abbott spoke. In Austin, Medlock has helped Rice engage with the Texas Senate Business and Commerce Committee members on issues impacting the Texas electric grid, an important issue for Texans.