Rice University edtech startup adds new partners

best in class

A edtech startup that is lowering the cost of textbooks for students has added nine new partners. Image via openstax.org

Rice University's educational technology initiative has added nine technology partners that will supply everything from business simulation software to test preparation tools.

The initiative's OpenStax Ally program enhances OpenStax textbook content with low-cost learning technology. The nine new OpenStax Ally partners are:

  • Mumbai, India-based Hurix, a provider of e-learning software.
  • San Francisco-based LiveCarta, which digitizes books and other content.
  • San Mateo, California-based Market Games, which gamifies the learning experience for business students.
  • New York City-based Method Test Prep, which offers courses to help students improve their ACT and SAT scores.
  • A Coruña, Spain-based Netex, whose tools help users create digital content.
  • Chicago-based PowerNotes, which provides a tool for organizing online academic research.
  • Chicago-based Red Flag Mania, whose game-based experience is designed to enhance users' critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
  • Amsterdam, the Netherlands-based Sowiso, which offers a virtual teaching assistant for STEM education.
  • Farmington, Connecticut-based Stemify, whose technology helps boost the STEM capabilities of students and teachers.

These companies' platforms will be made available for global users of OpenStax — more than 36,000 instructors and 4 million students — in the spring 2022 semester.

Rice launched OpenStax in 2012. The initiative reported in August that it has saved students $1.2 billion through the publication of free, openly licensed textbooks. More than 60 percent of degree-granting schools in the U.S. use OpenStax textbooks.

"Expanding offerings through the OpenStax Ally program will allow us to provide our adopters and their students with a wide array of tools that can truly meet their unique needs," Daniel Williamson, managing director of OpenStax, says in a news release. "It's essential to provide educators with strong and vast technology options. They know their students and what will work best for them, and should have the ability to choose the right technology."

The nine new partners join 65 organizations that already offer OpenStax tools for purposes such as classroom engagement, content customization, simulations, and online homework.

"Working with OpenStax takes us closer to reimagining the business textbook," says Casey Nguyen, digital marketing manager at Market Games, whose business simulation technology is at aimed at first-year students. "We … can gamify the learning experience to make quality business education more accessible, realistic, and engaging."

Educational technology providers that want to sign up for the OpenStax Ally program can apply during one of two application periods each year. The next period will begin at the close of the spring 2022 semester.

Over 90 percent of students will work with a digital textbook at some point this year. Getty Images

Nearly 3 million students are using Rice University-published online textbooks this year

Uploading education

More and more students and educational institutions are opting out of physical textbooks each year. One company leading the digital textbook revolution is located right here in Houston.

OpenStax is a Rice University-based publisher of open educational resources. The company has been publishing its free resources since 2012, growing its presence to over 36 college and Advanced Placement courses, according to a news release from Rice.

This year, over 90 percent of students will log on to free textbooks digitally in some way — through a website, PDF, or on OpenStax, the release states, and OpenStax new app received almost 58,000 downloads in just a month.

"We are exceeding even our own expectations of growth and impact on a daily basis," says Daniel Williamson, managing director of OpenStax, in a release. "This tells us that people believe in what we've created and that we need to keep going."

The company, which focuses on access to textbooks for students, also provides print books at a lower cost, and OpenStax entered into a deal with Vretta Inc. to expand this print program to Canada earlier this year.

OpenStax itself is responsible for saving 9 million students over $830 million, per the release, not the mention the fact that digital resources is driving the cost of textbooks down in general.

"Until a few years ago the college textbook bubble had seen sustained growth — textbook prices had risen 800 percent over 50 years," says Mark Perry, a scholar at The American Enterprise Institute and professor of economics and finance at the University of Michigan, in the release. "In 2017, there was a market-wide drop in textbook prices, and I believe that free alternatives like OpenStax books are central to that disruption."

OpenStax has plans to continue its growth with the launch of Rover by OpenStax, which is a low-cost online math tool that incorporates a step-by-step feedback technology called Stepwise.

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Houston robotics co. unveils new robot that can handle extreme temperatures

Hot New Robot

Houston- and Boston-based Square Robot Inc.'s newest tank inspection robot is commercially available and certified to operate at extreme temperatures.

The new robot, known as the SR-3HT, can operate from 14°F to 131°F, representing a broader temperature range than previous models in the company's portfolio. According to the company, its previous temperature range reached 32°F to 104°F.

The new robot has received the NEC/CEC Class I Division 2 (C1D2) certification from FM Approvals, allowing it to operate safely in hazardous locations and to perform on-stream inspections of aboveground storage tanks containing products stored at elevated temperatures.

“Our engineering team developed the SR-3HT in response to significant client demand in both the U.S. and international markets. We frequently encounter higher temperatures due to both elevated process temperatures and high ambient temperatures, especially in the hotter regions of the world, such as the Middle East," David Lamont, CEO of Square Robot, said in a news release. "The SR-3HT employs both active and passive cooling technology, greatly expanding our operating envelope. A great job done (again) by our engineers delivering world-leading technology in record time.”

The company's SR-3 submersible robot and Side Launcher received certifications earlier this year. They became commercially available in 2023, after completing initial milestone testing in partnership with ExxonMobil, according to Square Robot.

The company closed a $13 million series B round in December, which it said it would put toward international expansion in Europe and the Middle East.

Square Robot launched its Houston office in 2019. Its autonomous, submersible robots are used for storage tank inspections and eliminate the need for humans to enter dangerous and toxic environments.

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

Houston's Ion District to expand with new research and tech space, The Arc

coming soon

Houston's Ion District is set to expand with the addition of a nearly 200,000-square-foot research and technology facility, The Arc at the Ion District.

Rice Real Estate Company and Lincoln Property Company are expected to break ground on the state-of-the-art facility in Q2 2026 with a completion target set for Q1 2028, according to a news release.

Rice University, the new facility's lead tenant, will occupy almost 30,000 square feet of office and lab space in The Arc, which will share a plaza with the Ion and is intended to "extend the district’s success as a hub for innovative ideas and collaboration." Rice research at The Arc will focus on energy, artificial intelligence, data science, robotics and computational engineering, according to the release.

“The Arc will offer Rice the opportunity to deepen its commitment to fostering world-changing innovation by bringing our leading minds and breakthrough discoveries into direct engagement with Houston’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said in the release. “Working side by side with industry experts and actual end users at the Ion District uniquely positions our faculty and students to form partnerships and collaborations that might not be possible elsewhere.”

Developers of the project are targeting LEED Gold certification by incorporating smart building automation and energy-saving features into The Arc's design. Tenants will have the opportunity to lease flexible floor plans ranging from 28,000 to 31,000 square feet with 15-foot-high ceilings. The property will also feature a gym, an amenity lounge, conference and meeting spaces, outdoor plazas, underground parking and on-site retail and dining.

Preleasing has begun for organizations interested in joining Rice in the building.

“The Arc at the Ion District will be more than a building—it will be a catalyst for the partnerships, innovations and discoveries that will define Houston’s future in science and technology,” Ken Jett, president of Rice Real Estate Company, added in the release. “By expanding our urban innovation ecosystem, The Arc will attract leading organizations and talent to Houston, further strengthening our city’s position as a hub for scientific and entrepreneurial progress.”

Intel Corp. and Rice University sign research access agreement

innovation access

Rice University’s Office of Technology Transfer has signed a subscription agreement with California-based Intel Corp., giving the global company access to Rice’s research portfolio and the opportunity to license select patented innovations.

“By partnering with Intel, we are creating opportunities for our research to make a tangible impact in the technology sector,” Patricia Stepp, assistant vice president for technology transfer, said in a news release.

Intel will pay Rice an annual subscription fee to secure the option to evaluate specified Rice-patented technologies, according to the agreement. If Intel chooses to exercise its option rights, it can obtain a license for each selected technology at a fee.

Rice has been a hub for innovation and technology with initiatives like the Rice Biotech Launch Pad, an accelerator focused on expediting the translation of the university’s health and medical technology; RBL LLC, a biotech venture studio in the Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park dedicated to commercializing lifesaving medical technologies from the Launch Pad; and Rice Nexus, an AI-focused "innovation factory" at the Ion.

The university has also inked partnerships with other tech giants in recent months. Rice's OpenStax, a provider of affordable instructional technologies and one of the world’s largest publishers of open educational resources, partnered with Microsoft this summer. Google Public Sector has also teamed up with Rice to launch the Rice AI Venture Accelerator, or RAVA.

“This agreement exemplifies Rice University’s dedication to fostering innovation and accelerating the commercialization of groundbreaking research,” Stepp added in the news release.

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