William Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded 295-acre (1.19 km) campus in Houston, Texas, United States. The university is situated near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Opened in 1912 after the murder of its namesake William Marsh Rice, Rice has grown into a preeminent research university with an undergraduate focus. Its emphasis on undergraduate education is demonstrated by a 5:1 student-faculty ratio, the lowest among the top American universities including the Ivy League. Rice alumni are prominent in every sector of society today. The university has produced 81 Fulbright Scholars, 17 Marshall Scholars, and 11 Rhodes Scholars. The university has a very high level of research activity for its size, with $95.9 million in sponsored research funding in 2010. Rice is noted for its applied science programs in the fields of artificial heart research, structural chemical analysis, signal processing, space science, and nanotechnology. It was ranked 1st in the world in materials science research by the Times Higher Education (THE) in 2010.