Dateline Rice for Aug. 22, 2012

FEATURED ITEMS

NBC’s ‘Today’
Rice is ranked No. 1 for happiest students in the 2013 edition of the Princeton Review’s "The Best 377 Colleges."
http://bit.ly/SirDAs
Rice University ranks high on happiness
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/PAwtGo
Rice University ranks on nine Princeton Review lists
Houston Business Journal
http://bit.ly/NF82eA
Rice University ranks No. 1 for having happiest college students in the nation
KHOU.com (Houston)
http://bit.ly/OZ5LLg
ASU tapped among elite
San Angelo Standard-Times (Texas)
http://bit.ly/O2EyST
Welcome to the biggest party school in the country
Business Insider
http://read.bi/O0ITpr
UI ranked as fourth-best party school
Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette (Ill.)
http://bit.ly/SSuzBt
UGA drops to fifth as party school
Augusta Chronicle (Ga.)
http://bit.ly/Sm3yc4
UND students still not studying much
Grand Forks Herald (N.D.) (subscription required)
http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/243338/group/homepage/
What are the nation’s top party schools? Top ‘Stone-Cold Sober’ schools?
Southtown Star (Ill.) (This article also appeared in the Aurora Beacon-News.)
http://bit.ly/ORBYhT
University of Texas academics rank high worldwide
WeAreAustin.com (Texas)
http://www.weareaustin.com/news/top-stories/stories/vid_3623.shtml
U of I among top four party schools
WLS.com (Chicago)
http://bit.ly/NEOrXD
KLBJ-AM (Austin, Texas)
http://bit.ly/NFc1Yt
Texas Cable News
http://bit.ly/PFvd6K
KHOU-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/PCABWr
WOAI-AM (San Antonio)
http://bit.ly/O1slOk
WWJ-AM (Detroit)
http://bit.ly/PB0uFX
WABC-TV (New York)
http://bit.ly/QZQxki
WTHI-TV (Terre Haute, Ind.)
http://bit.ly/PcIEsp
KCWE-TV (Kansas City, Mo.)
http://bit.ly/NkBctJ

Current TV’s ‘The War Room’
Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in history at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, appeared on Current TV’s "The War Room" to discuss past political conventions. The interview was done in Public Affairs’ TV studio in Allen Center.
http://youtu.be/9YHKHv-mysI

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Al Jazeera English
Edward Djerejian, founding director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, appeared on Al Jazeera English to discuss the Syrian civil war. Djerejian is also quoted in an op-ed about American diplomacy with Israel.
http://bit.ly/O5GuNV
Why the American silence on Israel
Gulf News (Qatar)
http://bit.ly/SSxDxm

Male scientist balancing act
Research by Elaine Howard Ecklund, associate professor of sociology, director of the Religion and Public Life Program and Rice Scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is cited in an article about the work/life balance of male scientists.
InsideHigherEd.com
http://bit.ly/O557KF

US natural gas prices unlikely to jump with LNG exports
Amid policy debate over potential liquefied natural gas exports from the United States, a new paper from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy predicts the long-term volume of exports from the U.S. will not likely be very large. Ken Medlock, the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and adjunct assistant professor in economics, is quoted.
United Press International (This article also appeared on CIO.com.)
http://bit.ly/SmfFpA

DARPA has seen the future of computing … and it’s analog
Rice research is mentioned in an article about probabilistic computing.
Wired
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/08/upside/

Who wants to live forever?
Research by Justin Denney, assistant professor of sociology, is cited in an article about the longevity of the baby boomer generation.
The Post (South Africa) (This article also appeared on IOL.co.za.)
http://www.thepost.co.za/who-wants-to-live-forever-1.1366982

Chinese, US universities ink cooperation deal
Chongqing Normal University of China and the China-U.S. Center at Rice University have signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen their academic cooperation over the next five years.
China Daily (This article also appeared in the People’s Daily, China.com, CE.cn and CQNews.net.)
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-08/21/content_15694415.htm

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Solar cell efficiency receives a transparent boost
Officials with Phillips 66 announced that their partnership with California startup Solarmer Energy and a Chinese university has yielded the most efficient polymer-based organic solar cell yet, a milestone that puts them closer to marketing the technology. Andrew Barron, the Charles W. Duncan Jr.-Welch Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in Businessweek, Individual.com, PredictWallStreet.com, TMCNet.com and MENAFN.com.)
http://bit.ly/PvKIP5

Energy pricing 2012
Dan Wallach, associate professor of computer science and in electrical and computer engineering, authored this op-ed about choosing an electric power provider in Houston.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/PXvXGb

Cornyn leads GOP damage control on Missiouri Senate candidate

Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor and chair of political science and fellow in political science at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in news items about statements made by Rep. Todd Akin.
Longview News-Journal
http://bit.ly/OZ2xax
KTRK-TV
http://bit.ly/OwpYF9

Rice University assists with NASA storm probes mission
Anthony Chan, professor of physics and astronomy, is assisting in a NASA project that may help predict space weather.
UltimateWestU.com (This article also appeared on UltimateBellaire.com.)
http://bit.ly/PXv00l

NISD gala to salute the 2012 Pillars of Character
Alumna Martha Mims ’78 will be honored at the Northside Independent School District gala.
San Antonio Express-News
http://bit.ly/O5DvVE

UT makes top 50 list of world universities
Rice is ranked 91st in the Center for World-Class Universities’ 2012 Academic Ranking of World Universities.
KVUE.com (Austin, Texas)
http://bit.ly/OVWvaU
UT ranks No. 35 among world universities
Austin Business Journal (Texas)
http://bit.ly/NHmDSk
KVUE-TV (Austin, Texas)
http://bit.ly/PwJAux

Hazed and confused? Houston gets first-ever realtime smog map
Rice is mentioned in an article about the Houston Clean Air Network.
Culturemap.com
http://bit.ly/PCTb2v

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

The technology race for intelligent e-textbooks
Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and founder of Rice’s OpenStax College open-education project, is quoted in an article about intelligent e-textbooks.
Communications of the ACM
http://bit.ly/Pb9qS3

Why daily deal sites are a mixed bag for small businesses
An article discusses research on daily deal websites such as Groupon by Utpal Dholakia, professor of marketing at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business.
Business News Daily
http://bit.ly/NkCBR3

MD Anderson loses device with patient data
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center officials notified 2,200 patients that a computer flash drive containing their names and health information had been lost in the institution’s second security breach in less than three months. Chris Bronk, fellow in information technology policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
SecurityInfoWatch.com
http://bit.ly/QZTkdh

Fracking concerns are legitimate: International energy chief
An article discusses a Rice lecture by Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the International Energy Agency. Van der Hoeven’s lecture is also cited in articles about recent energy industry news.
NACSOnline.com
http://www.nacsonline.com/NACS/News/Daily/Pages/ND0821123.aspx
Iran to seek collective OPEC reaction if West releases oil stocks: report
Platt’s Energy Weekly (subscription required) (This article also appeared on HellenicShippingNews.com.)
http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/Oil/8654285
French CPSSP official says oil stocks agency yet to hear about possible release
HellenicShippingNews.com
http://bit.ly/QqdWuF

Time to split Apple
Research by David Ikenberry, a former associate professor of management at the Jones Graduate School of Business, is cited in an op-ed about Apple.
SeekingAlpha.com
http://seekingalpha.com/article/819951-time-to-split-apple

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

A health exchange in which states gain authority
Elena Marks, scholar in health policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored this op-ed about health care exchanges.
Akron Beacon-Journal (Ohio) (This op-ed also appeared in the Columbia Daily Tribune.)
http://bit.ly/PCvSUt

SPORTS

UM professor’s research back in news after double-amputee sprinter at Olympics
Rice is mentioned in an article about amputee sprinter Oscar Pistorius.
Billings Gazette (Mont.)
http://bit.ly/PwCHcO

UCLA football fall camp: Coach Jim Mora praises defensive line
Rice is mentioned in an article about the University of California, Los Angeles football team.
SBNation.com
http://sbn.to/MLASsr

Pierson will see most running back playing time
Rice is mentioned in an article about the University of Kansas football team.
Kansan.com
http://bit.ly/O4tnMM

NEWS RELEASE

Mexico’s drug violence and the role of the US are focus of forum at Rice’s Baker Institute Aug. 27
Poet Javier Sicilia, founder of Mexico’s "Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity," will take part in a discussion on the human cost of current U.S. and Mexican drug policies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Aug. 27.
https://news2.rice.edu/?p=33046