Rice University and Advanced Material Development Inc. (AMD Nano) have signed a three-year Strategic Master Agreement for Research Teaming, establishing a framework for collaborative materials science and engineering research.
Each project will require a separate research plan defining its scope, budget, schedule, principal investigator and deliverables. Future work will combine Rice’s research and characterization capabilities with AMD Nano’s application-led development, engineering, scale-up and commercialization experience. Potential areas include multifunctional materials, coatings and composites, sensing, and electromagnetic and thermal material systems.
Projects may be funded directly by AMD Nano or pursued with U.S. federal agencies when the parties identify a shared priority across defense and wider dual-use markets. The framework does not announce a funded project or award. It builds on existing joint work, including advanced radar materials for a U.S. Army program announced in 2024.
Richard Lee, CEO of AMD Nano, said: “Our work with Rice has shown what can be achieved when strong materials research is connected from the start to a practical need. This agreement gives us a long-term way to build projects together and respond when an opportunity emerges, whether in defense or a wider dual-use market.”
The agreement took effect on Aug. 15 and runs for three years, with an option to extend by mutual agreement. The parties will announce specific projects after agreeing on the corresponding research plans.
