Through Momentous, Rice is working to position itself as a global leader in developing lasting solutions to the world’s energy, climate, and environmental challenges. The Rice Living Lab Program embodies this vision by transforming the campus into a hands-on testing ground for innovation, where students, faculty, and staff collaborate to bring ideas to life.
About the Living Lab
The Living Lab Program invites anyone in the Rice community, including external partners, to propose and pilot ideas that make our community more sustainable. By using Rice’s own operations and infrastructure as a platform for experimentation, the program bridges classroom learning with real-world problem-solving.
Whether it’s conserving water, reducing waste, improving energy efficiency, or strengthening biodiversity, each Living Lab project connects academic discovery with tangible action. Participants gain hands-on experience, collaborate across disciplines, and contribute to a more sustainable campus and society.
Projects are reviewed by the Office of Sustainability and the Rice Sustainability Institute. Selected proposals receive their guidance to refine ideas, engage stakeholders, and navigate logistics such as funding, timelines, and implementation.
Current Projects
Since the late 1990s, Rice has been using its own campus as a living classroom for sustainability. This academic year, approximately 18 Living Lab projects are planned or underway, reflecting the university’s deepening commitment to hands-on innovation and sustainable progress. Some of them include:
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Give a Hoot! Donate Your Loot! – A student-led idea turned campus-wide tradition, this program collects reusable items during move-out and redistributes them, diverting thousands of pounds from landfills each year while supporting a circular economy.
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Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion Sustainability Planning – Graduate students are partnering with Pavilion leadership to assess operations and design a roadmap for improving sustainability across energy, water, and waste management.
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Energy Harvesting from Campus Steam Tunnels – Students in MECH 595 are studying how to capture and repurpose heat from Rice’s steam tunnels and parking garages as a new renewable energy source.
New project ideas are reviewed each semester but can be submitted at any time via this form. The next review cycle will be held in Spring 2026.
To learn more about the Office of Sustainability and its various programs, visit their website or follow them on Instagram at @sustainablerice.