On March 11, 2024, Prof. Daniel J. Preston from RICE University's Mechanical Engineering department visited IIT Kanpur as one of the eight awardees for the IITK-Rice - Strategic Collaboration Awards.  Prof. Preston’s collaborator at IIT Kanpur is Prof. Yogesh Joshi . In a meeting with Prof. Dhirendra S. Katti, Dean of International Relations and Prof. Yogesh Joshi’s students, Prof. Preston explored potential partnerships between the institutions and the upcoming joint IITK-Rice University symposium to be hosted by Rice University in May 2024. A promising step towards future collaboration.