A small school with a global vision, the Wiess School of Natural Sciences sees the universe as its laboratory. Intense curiosity drives each of us to explore the unknown. From hunting the smallest subatomic particles to investigating the unfathomable distances of our universe — and scientific inquiries at every scale in between — the goal at the heart of the School of Natural Sciences is discovery.
Natural Sciences is home to six departments: Biosciences; Chemistry; Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences; Kinesiology; Mathematics; and Physics and Astronomy, and many interdisciplinary programs and research centers and institutes. Our location in Houston — home to the largest medical complex in the world, NASA's Johnson Space Center and the U.S. center of the energy industry — provides many opportunities for research and collaboration beyond the hedges for Natural Sciences faculty and students.
The Natural Sciences were Rice's foundation as it established itself as a world-class university, and the sciences have taken center stage when Rice has received the most international attention. From the crucial founding of NASA and the space sciences, to the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of buckyballs, to the development of Veech groups in geometry, to the engineering of microbes to synthesize valuable chemicals, many of Rice's most celebrated achievements have originated from members of the School of Natural Sciences.
The community of talented students and faculty that is the Wiess School of Natural Sciences is committed to excellence in research, education and service. We thank you for visiting the Wiess School here and invite you to explore and discover the school further. We are delighted to share the excitement of Rice science with you.
