Human knowledge and capabilities are advanced daily in medicine, biotechnology, nutrition, public health, agriculture, energy and engineering.
Texas Medical Center institutions have made many major contributions to medicine including the first coronary artery bypass, the first successful implant of a partial artificial heart, first successful heart transplant in the US, first total artificial heart implantation and pioneering use of satellite uplinks.
Rice University is a pioneer in nanotechnology sparked by the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of buckyballs at Rice in 1985. In 1993, Nobel laureate Richard Smalley envisioned the first nanotechnology center in the world, and the Smalley Institute of Rice University now has 151 faculty members in 21 departments and 500 students researching nanotechnology in a variety of societal and scientific arenas including energy, education, aerospace, ethics and human health.
Texas Medical Center institutions expend $1.8 billion annually on research, including $100 million at Rice University in 2008, and Rice was awarded $11 million in federal stimulus funds from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.