Educational
Outreach & Exchange

The SSPEED Center hosted more than 170 attendees at its 12th conference on November 6-7.  The conference was opened by Rice President Reginald DesRoches and throughout the two days, we had more than thirty top academic, consulting and governmental experts present on a wide variety of topics.​​​​​​

Presentations on the first day included a detailed overview of the Galveston Bay Park Plan, MaapNext updates with 2D modeling from Harris County Flood Control District, and a detailed session over the July 4th Hill Country Floods. There was also a session on nature-based solutions that included a keynote address from Rob Rogers, a premiere architect based in New York City, Rob Thomas, chief program manager of the Gulf Coast Protection District, and Anne Loes Nillesen from TU-Delft, the Netherlands. After a day of presentations, the SSPEED Center hosted a reception by our sponsors with student poster sessions. 

Day 2 focused on Market-based Natural Carbon Solutions. This included presentations on the carbon market and how to intersect ecological stewardship and economic innovation.  Attendees listened to a series of in-depth presentations on soil carbon sequestration, the launch of BCarbon, forest carbon storage and coastal blue carbon. We will use this time to continue to build on the diagolue with the community on these topics. 

We want to thank our sponsors for this successful event. 

In the Spring of 2023, SSPEED and TAMU's IDRT hosted a one-day workshop on 2D HEC-RAS Modeling. If you are interested in attending a future training, please email us at sspeed@rice.edu.

SSPEED students, True Furrh and Mia Peeples, spend two weeks in the Netherlands performing research through NSF's PIRE program.

More than 150 attendees gathered for the SSPEED Center's 10th Conference, "Post-Harvey Climate and Flood Impacts on the Built Environment "at the Rice Glasscock School of Continuing Studies. Over the two-day conference, over 30 top academic, consulting and governmental experts presented on a wide variety of topics, including Urban Design & Policy for Flood Protection, Climate Change and Recent Storms, Impact of the Big Freeze and Energy Systems, COVID in the Environment, and Institute for Disaster Resilient Texas.

Bedient's grad students present their research at AGU's 2021 Fall Meeting in New Orleans.

Three Rice students spend time researching in the Netherlands through NSF's PIRE program.

Our REA grant will support the purchase and installation of thermal probes for hydrometeorological monitoring in the Harris Gully Natural Area on campus. Thermal probes will be used to estimate hydraulic conductivity, or the flow of water through soil after rainfall events. Saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) of soil is a key parameter in many hydrologic models, but values are typically based on literature or lengthy field and lab testing. By collecting continuous data during real events, we will better understand soil-water interactions and can assess how reasonable traditional parameter estimates are at characterizing infiltration processes.

- True Furrh & Mia Peeples

A group of over 30 students and instructors visit the SSPEED Center as part of a 10-day visit to Houston and Galveston.  After a campus tour, SSPEED presented the Galveston Bay Park Plan.

Professor Bedient and SSPEED's project manager, Larry Dunbar, take CEVE students to Barker Reservoir to look at dam operations and discuss Harvey.