Dateline Rice for Jan. 24, 2013

FEATURED ITEMS

Rice University sophomore takes on creationism laws
A front-page article profiles Hanszen College sophomore Zack Kopplin for his efforts to repeal the Louisiana Science Education Act.
Houston Chronicle (subscription required)
http://bit.ly/W1gfeu

What are the odds of facing your brother in the Super Bowl?
San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh and his brother, Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, will face off against each other in the Super Bowl next week, but what are the odds of playing your brother in the big game? Katherine Ensor, professor and chair of statistics, is quoted. The NFL.com article was featured on the website’s homepage.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in the Danbury News-Times.)
http://bit.ly/WMm0uS
What are the numerical odds of the Harbaugh Bowl?
NFL.com
http://on.nfl.com/WhWP5q

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Practically human: Can smart machines do your job?
From giant corporations to university libraries to startup businesses, employers are using rapidly improving technology to do tasks that humans used to do. Moshe Vardi, the Karen Ostrum George Distinguished Service Professor of Computational Engineering and professor of computer science, is quoted.
San Francisco Chronicle (This Associated Press article also appeared in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle, ABCNews.com, HuffingtonPost.com, NPR.org and nearly 200 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/SGzQRm

A reunification Rx for Korea
Peter Hotez, a fellow in disease and poverty at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored this op-ed about "vaccine diplomacy" and Korean reunification.
Los Angeles Times
http://lat.ms/WoNs0V

MSNBC-TV’s ‘PoliticsNation’
Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in history at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, appeared on MSNBC-TV’s "PoliticsNation" to discuss presidential politics.
http://bit.ly/TrhV2N

How to turn your unused Groupons into cold, hard cash
Utpal Dholakia, professor of marketing at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted in an article about social couponing services such as Groupon.
NBCNews.com
http://on.today.com/WMlk8D

Camera shoots and compresses image in one go
Researchers have designed a camera that can capture microwave images using a single-pixel sensor and produce ready-compressed data. Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering, is quoted.
Nature
http://bit.ly/UVIuu1

George P. Bush says Texas will be majority Hispanic in six years
Steve Murdock, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and a former director of the U.S. Census Bureau, is quoted in an article about the projected increase in Texas’ Hispanic population.
Politifact.com
http://bit.ly/YnpMQj

HOUSTON/TEXAS

UT among social media friendly MBA programs
Rice’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business placed No. 8 in OnlineMBAPage.com’s list of the top 100 social media-savvy business schools.
Austin Business Journal
http://bit.ly/1499J89

Unluck of the draw: Wendy Davis’ two-year term dashes Dems best hope for 2014
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 an article about the Texas Senate lottery.
Austin American-Statesman
http://bit.ly/YpKC1B

Rice grad snags Sierra Club post
The Sierra Club has named alumna Scheleen Walker ’87 the next director of its Lone Star chapter.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared on FuelFix.com.)
http://bit.ly/VlqYD4

Horsemen, goodbye
Alumnus Larry McMurtry ’60 authored this op-ed about urban sprawl in Texas.
Texas Monthly
http://www.texasmonthly.com/2013-02-01/feature8.php

Found in translation
Rice research is cited in an op-ed about "the immigrant experience in Houston."
Texas Monthly (subscription required)
http://www.texasmonthly.com/preview/2013-02-01/feature23

Greater Houston Partnership rallies members to ‘imagine’ region’s future
The Greater Houston Partnership hopes to broaden its influence in 2013 by increasing membership and playing a larger role in building consensus about what the future should look like for Houston. Edgar Odell Lovett and Rice’s centennial are mentioned.
Tomball Potpourri (This article also appeared in the Magnolia Potpourri and the Cypress Creek Mirror.)
http://bit.ly/WtuCqd

The public university system still works and pays
Rice is mentioned in an op-ed about the benefits of public education.
TheDailyCougar.com
http://bit.ly/Wwoc9K

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Nanoparticles digging the world’s smallest tunnels
Researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Rice University have dug nanoscale tunnels into graphite samples. Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Engineering, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, professor in chemistry and professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering, is mentioned.
PDDNet.com (This article also appeared on EurasiaReview.com, AZONano.com, TorontoTelegraph.com, Nanowerk.com, ScienceDaily.com, RDMag.com, Phys.org, ECNMag.com and Bio-Medicine.org.)
http://bit.ly/UVJBd6

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Eric Reed returns to Harrisburg with Canadian Brass
An article discussing an upcoming concert by the Canadian Brass quotes alumnus Eric Reed ’02.
Cumberlink.com
http://bit.ly/Y0NLAR

Feds clear way for Kitimat LNG plant
Rice research is cited in an article about a liquefied natural gas plant in British Columbia.
The Province (Canada)
http://bit.ly/WJJpgu

UW administrator steps down
An article reports that University of Waterloo provost Sallie Ann Keller has stepped down and notes that she once taught at Rice.
Waterloo Region Record (Ontario)
http://bit.ly/SGjyId

Practice practical optimism
A column about optimism cites an article written in the Rice Standard.
MichiganDaily.com
http://bit.ly/WQ2hKC

SPORTS

UCF 78, Rice 67
An article recaps a men’s basketball game between Rice and the University of Central Florida.
CBSSports.com (Coverage of this game also appeared in the Bradenton Herald, CentralFloridaFuture.com, WTSP.com [Tampa Bay, Fla.], WFTV.com [Orlando, Fla.], BayNews9.com [St. Petersburg, Fla.] and nearly 20 other media outlets.)
http://cbsprt.co/XZF5eh

Conference USA finalizes 2013 football home-and-away schedule
Rice is mentioned in an article about the Conference USA 2013 football schedule.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/W2x75s

Trustees look at repairing SISD track
Rice is mentioned in an article reporting on ways the Sealy Independent School District plans to improve a stadium.
Sealy News (Texas)
http://bit.ly/WWDjI2

Grandview star Adaeze Obinnah flies high on the court, well-grounded off it
An article profiling a Denver student-athlete mentions that she has signed to play basketball at Rice.
Denver Post
http://www.denverpost.com/preps/ci_22437675/almost-perfect

NEWS RELEASE

Cells ‘flock’ to heal wounds
Rice University physicist Herbert Levine and his colleagues have discovered that the healing process works much more efficiently if highly activated cells in every part of the patch exert force as they pull their neighbors along.
https://news2.rice.edu/?p=39628