Audience members listen to Research Relay speakers during the 2023 STaRT@Rice opening reception.
Photo: Gustavo Raskosky
The second installment of Research Relays for the fall 2024 semester will be held on October 11 during the STaRT@Rice opening reception. The October relay, featuring innovative research from five new School of Social Sciences faculty members, will begin following opening remarks by Rice University President Reginald DesRoches, Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies Seiichi Matsuda, Dean of the School of Social Sciences Rachel Kimbro, and STaRT@Rice co-director Tony Brown.
"We are excited to showcase five of our outstanding new faculty, especially to an audience that includes current and prospective graduate students,” said Kimbro. “This is a great way for them to learn about the fascinating research our faculty are conducting in Social Sciences.”
Research Relays provide a relaxed setting for faculty to share and discuss their research with one another, sparking new ideas and fostering interdisciplinary collaboration. In the upcoming relay, the following five faculty members will give four-minute flash talks on their burgeoning research:
- Corey M. Abramson, associate professor of sociology, who studies links between inequality, health, and culture through the use of various empirical methods;
- Tanika Raychaudhuri, assistant professor of political science, who focuses on American politics, race, immigration, and political behavior;
- Joseph Ewoodzie, associate professor of sociology, who explores boundary-making around Blackness in the United States;
- Tianjun Sun, assistant professor of psychological sciences, who researches personnel selection, individual differences, and psychometrics; and
- John Baugh, Barbara Jordan Distinguished Professor of Linguistics, whose research specializes in the linguistic behaviors of numerous communities that are socially stratified.
Statistical Training and Research Techniques at Rice (STaRT@Rice), in its fourth year, is hosted by the School of Social Sciences. STaRT@Rice is a four-day program where participants learn about various research methods and receive statistical training through a series of intensive, applied workshops taught by Rice faculty. Participants include undergraduate and graduate students from Rice and other institutions, academics, and working professionals.
“I could not imagine a more ideal venue for hosting a Research Relay than the STaRT@Rice program,” Brown said. “Our program offers participants a birds-eye view of the research process, access to Rice's world-class faculty, and opportunities to network. Learning about faculty research in the School of Social Sciences motivates STaRT@Rice participants to think differently about success in and outside the academy.”
This year, an anticipated 140 individuals will attend the event, hailing from up to 15 countries, 20 states, and Washington, D.C. – the largest and most diverse cohort to date. Twenty-nine students from Texas Southern University are part of this group, which was made possible by a gift from the provost’s office in support of a longstanding and deepening partnership between the two universities.
“As a social scientist in the field of economics and a quantitative researcher, I understand how important it is for student researchers to receive the training and tools they need to succeed early in their careers,” said Amy Dittmar, Rice’s Howard Hughes Provost, executive vice president for academic affairs, and professor of economics and finance. “I’m delighted that students from Texas Southern will participate in STaRT@Rice and advance excellence in research in the decades to come.”
RSVPs are requested for those who plan to attend Research Relays: “New Faculty Research” on October 11 at 4:00 pm in Kraft Hall 130. Light bites and refreshments will be provided. For questions about Research Relays, contact Pat DeLucia at Pat.DeLucia@rice.edu. To learn more about STaRT@Rice, visit: start.rice.edu.