Dateline Rice for Feb. 27, 2013

FEATURED ITEM

American Public Media’s ‘Performance Today’
Baker College senior Coleman Itzkoff, a cellist at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, appeared several times on American Public Media’s "Performance Today" to perform several pieces and discuss his career in music.
http://bit.ly/13WE7AV

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Has the US outgrown the Voting Rights Act?
Chandler Davidson, the Radoslav A. Tsanoff Professor Emeritus of Public Affairs and Sociology, is quoted in an op-ed about the Voting Rights Act.
NPR.org (This op-ed also appeared on WKAR.org [Michigan], WCBE.org [Ohio] and nearly 30 other media outlets.)
http://n.pr/12aKTHY

Batteries power up to the next level
An article about battery research notes Rice research to convert a plant extract into a highly effective, natural cathode for lithium-ion batteries. Arava Leela Mohana Reddy, a postdoctoral research associate in mechanical engineering and materials science, is quoted.
Sydney Morning Herald (This article also appeared in the Tenterfield Star, the Port Lincoln Times and nearly 30 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/12aPwS8

Changes afoot for Chicago Philharmonic and Lake Forest Symphony
Larry Rachleff, the Walter Kris Hubert Professor of Orchestra Conducting, will step down as principal conductor and music director of the Chicago Philharmonic. Rachleff will become the orchestra’s music director emeritus.
Chicago Tribune
http://trib.in/13g5Bpq

Moon and Mars exploration pioneer David McKay dies at 76
An article remembers NASA scientist David McKay ’58 and notes that he was in the audience for President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 speech at Rice.
LiveScience.com
http://bit.ly/YyDsSq

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Spending cuts debate turns into blame game
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 articles about the budget sequester and a proposed tax holiday for gun and ammunition sales.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/XaF5Kl
Texas lawmaker wants a sales tax holiday for guns and ammo
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (This article also appeared in the Idaho Statesman, the Anchorage Daily News, the Fort Mill Times, the Raleigh News & Observer, the State, the Biloxi Sun-Herald, the Macon Telegraph and the Tri-City Herald.)
http://bit.ly/13SDmZx

Bitter District 6 race ends with Saturday runoff
Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science and fellow in urban politics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in an article about the special election to replace deceased Sen. Mario Gallegos.
Houston Chronicle (This article appeared on the front of the City & State section and also in the San Antonio Express-News, the Norwalk Citizen, the Danbury News-Times, Greenwich Time, the Connecticut Post, the Stamford Advocate and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.)
http://bit.ly/XG1egd

Is Texas’ Asian-American political voice at risk?
Stephen Klineberg, professor of sociology and co-director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted in an op-ed about the importance of the Voting Rights Act.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/WhHULe

Galveston merchants feud over fee for Mardi Gras entry
The $17 fee revelers pay to enter the fenced Mardi Gras celebration in downtown Galveston will disappear if some merchants on the historic Strand have their way. Rice research is cited.
Houston Chronicle (subscription required) (This article appeared on the front of the City & State section.)
http://bit.ly/YzDYQ9

Fight over gas exports is a prelude to oil exports brawl
The frenzy to sell more U.S. natural gas overseas has sparked a bitter skirmish among large businesses. Ken Medlock, the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics at the Baker Institute, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies and adjunct assistant professor in economics, is quoted.
FuelFix.com
http://bit.ly/V9Ssuo

Two Texas universities dubbed ‘Amazing but Overlooked’
Rice appeared on the Daily Beast’s "Amazing but Overlooked" list.
Texas Monthly (This article also appeared on KBTX.com [Bryan/College Station, Texas].)
http://bit.ly/XYJnQV

Ex-TEA chiefs concede too much testing
Articles report on Monday’s public education symposium at Rice University. The symposium was hosted by the Texas Tribune and Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and Hobby Center for the Study of Texas.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/XexMzZ
Former education commissioners: Kids take too many tests
Beaumont Enterprise
http://bit.ly/15NWED7

BROADCAST/WEBCAST

KPRC-TV
Rice research is cited in a story reporting that fewer people are eating out.
http://bit.ly/VNrRlM

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Ozone season is coming …
An article about protecting yourself from smog and ozone cites Rice research linking smog levels and cardiac arrests.
EDF.org
http://bit.ly/XzDjSF

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

New Zealand heating up faster than predicted
New Zealand may be in for a much hotter future than previously thought, according to the international authors of leading climate change research. Gerald Dickens, professor of Earth science, is mentioned.
Hutt News (New Zealand)
http://bit.ly/Yzoy0o

Coastal Concert Series hosts Jasper Quartet
The Jasper String Quartet will perform as part of the Coastal Concert Series March 2. The members include alumni Sam Quintal ’08, John Freivogel ’08 and Rachel Henderson Freivogel ’08.
Salisbury Daily Times (Md.)
http://bit.ly/15iARCo

SPORTS

Rainbows swept for second consecutive week
An article recaps a baseball series between Rice and the University of Hawaii.
Honolulu Star-Advertiser
http://bit.ly/VLryrz

Southern Methodist Mustangs vs. Rice Owls
An article previews a men’s basketball game between Rice and Southern Methodist University.
SportsChatPlace.com
http://bit.ly/13nqr5O

Sports hall of fame seeking nominations
Baker College freshman Hodson Harding is mentioned in an article about the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame.
TheNowNews.com (Canada) (This article also appeared in the Abbottsford-Mission Times.)
http://bit.ly/YYWLqf

For pitcher, a fresh start close to home
An article discusses former Rice baseball player Philip Humber’s career. A separate article about the Houston Astros mentions Humber.
New York Times
http://nyti.ms/VLrOXM
Houston Astros — team report
Chicago Tribune (This article also appeared in the Imperial Valley Press, the South Bend Tribune, WSBT.com [South Bend, Ind.] and WDBJ7.com [Roanoke, Va.].)
http://bit.ly/Wr7KqH

Softball trio active in community
Rice is mentioned in an article about Louisiana State University student-athletes serving their community.
LSUSports.net
http://bit.ly/YXxifx

NEWS RELEASES

Rice builds nanotube photodetector
Researchers at Rice University and Sandia National Laboratories have made a nanotube-based photodetector that gathers light in and beyond visible wavelengths. It promises to make possible a unique set of optoelectronic devices, solar cells and perhaps even specialized cameras.
https://news2.rice.edu/?p=41083

Married opposite-sex couples have better overall health than same-sex couples who live together
Same-sex couples who live together have worse health than married opposite-sex couples and similar health as opposite-sex couples who are living together (after adjusting for socio-economic differences), according to a new study from researchers at Rice University.
https://news2.rice.edu/?p=41073

Rice’s Boniuk Center and high school students to unveil mural March 2 at Bread of Life homeless shelter
Two dozen Houston-area high school students who explored the theme of a lifelong spiritual quest through painting will unveil their creation — a 7-by-64-foot mural titled "Epiphany in All Eyes" — at the Bread of Life homeless shelter. The mural was the students’ capstone project as part of the third annual Sacred Sites Quest organized by Rice University’s Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance.
https://news2.rice.edu/?p=41074

Rice University experts available to comment on looming sequestration and potential impacts
Just a few days remain before new government spending cuts take effect March 1, pending any 11th-hour action by President Barack Obama and Congress. Regardless of full or partial sequestration, what will the impacts be nationally and locally here in Texas? Rice experts are available to comment.
https://news2.rice.edu/?p=41053

Rice health economist available to comment on TIME story
Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, a professor of economics at Rice and a professor in the Department of Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, is available to comment on Steven Brill’s lengthy TIME magazine article, "Bitter pill: why medical bills are killing us," that cites examples of the cost of health care run amok and the outlook for consumers when the Affordable Care Act is fully enacted.
https://news2.rice.edu/?p=41059