Dateline Rice for March 27, 2013

FEATURED ITEM

Let’s remember the Biblical women at Easter
April DeConick, the Isla Carroll and Percy E. Turner Professor of Biblical Studies, authored this op-ed about including the women of the Bible in Easter celebrations. This op-ed was featured on HuffingtonPost.com’s religion home page.
HuffingtonPost.com
http://huff.to/10OvtG3

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Personality can predict how students will do in college
Rice University researchers say there is a link between a personality trait and high grade point averages among college students. Sam McAbee, a graduate student in psychology, is quoted. (Editor’s note: A correction on McAbee’s status as a student at Rice in the U.S. News University article has been requested.)
U.S. News University
http://bit.ly/YyAvIX
Being conscientious may help boost academic performances
Yahoo.com
http://bit.ly/14o3Y9k

Why IBM made a liquid transistor
Researchers at IBM last week unveiled an experimental new way to store information or control the switching of an electronic circuit. Douglas Natelson, professor of physics and astronomy, is quoted.
MIT Technology Review
http://bit.ly/Zu0n5n

Key quotes from Tuesday’s gay marriage hearing
An article of quotes from yesterday’s Supreme Court hearing over California’s Proposition 8 includes a photo of Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. at Rice.
USA Today
http://usat.ly/WVQzB1

Signing cuts, Obama lets priorities slip
With his signature this week, President Barack Obama will lock into place deep spending cuts that threaten to undermine his second-term economic vision just four months after he won re-election. Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in history at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
China Securities Journal
http://www.cs.com.cn/english/ei/201303/t20130326_3920974.html

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Drainage problems interconnected across area
James Blackburn, professor in the practice of environmental law, addressed the Memorial City District Drainage Coalition’s annual meeting March 20.
West University Examiner (This article also appeared in the Memorial Examiner, the River Oaks Examiner, the Bellaire Examiner and the Katy Rancher.)
http://bit.ly/14o1JTx

Living room for the performers
Sydney Boyd, a graduate student in English, is interviewed about the Liminal Space Contemporary Music Ensemble.
ArtsJournal.com
http://www.artsjournal.com/texas/2013/03/living-room-for-the-performers/

High-stakes testing is a perversion
Rice research is cited in an op-ed about Texas high school testing legislation.
Corpus Christi Caller-Times
http://bit.ly/14o19oH

College’s TRAC center hosts a variety of university representatives this spring
Rice is mentioned in an article about Lone Star College-Montgomery’s Maverick Transfer, Recruitment and Career Center.
Paper Magazine
http://bit.ly/YzjmP3

BROADCAST/WEBCAST

KHOU-TV
Members of the Rice Emergency Medical Services team were honored for their efforts to save a man who collapsed at a Rice running track.
http://bit.ly/ZrNqJk
KTRK-TV
http://bit.ly/16fHPbF

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Inexact design: Beyond fault-tolerance
Krishna Palem, the Ken and Audrey Kennedy Professor of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering, is featured in an article for his research to create a probabilistic computer chip that is faster and more energy-efficient.
Communications of the ACM
http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2013/4/162511-inexact-design/fulltext

Temple of light
A news brief discusses the James Turrell "Twilight Epiphany" Skyspace at Rice.
Lux
https://news2.rice.edu/files/2013/03/TurrellLux.pdf

Vanadium oxide and graphene ribbons increase EV battery lifespan
Hybrid ribbons thousands of times thinner than a sheet of paper could speed the development of powerful lithium-ion batteries, Rice researchers report.
GreenOptimistic.com
http://bit.ly/14o0KCT

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Missing missionaries
The number of black churches in the Southern Baptist Convention has surged more than 80 percent in the last decade to 3,400 U.S. congregations. However, the number of African American missionaries remains tiny: Only 27 of the SBC’s 4,900 international missionaries are black. Michael Emerson, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and co-director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted.
Christianity Today
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/april/missing-missionaries.html

Could Spanish-language legislative sites boost civic engagement?
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 a Texas bill that would translate legislative information into Spanish in an effort to boost civic engagement.
HispanicTrending.net
http://bit.ly/XE8f1e

Study finds skim milk linked to obesity in preschoolers
An article about research showing that preschoolers who drank skim milk gained more weight between the ages of two and four than those who drank whole milk cites research by Justin Denney, assistant professor of sociology, and Rachel Tolbert Kimbro, assistant professor of sociology and director of the Kinder Institute’s Urban Health Program, showing that children living in lower-income neighborhoods had a 28 percent higher chance of becoming obese.
MetroParent.com
http://bit.ly/11IwSwN

George P. Bush enters political game
Alumnus George P. Bush ’98 filed paperwork in Texas to run for land commissioner.
Watchdog.org
http://watchdog.org/76516/is-america-ready-for-bush-3/

SPORTS

Bearkat baseball pounds Rice 9-3
Articles recap a baseball game between Rice and Sam Houston State University.
KBTX.com (Bryan/College Station, Texas)
http://bit.ly/14o0tzP
Bearkats have Rice’s number
Huntsville Item (Texas)
http://itemonline.com/sports/x1221099983/Bearkats-have-Rices-number

The most important player on every college football team
McMurtry College junior Taylor McHargue appears in a photo slideshow of standout college football players.
BleacherReport.com
http://bit.ly/XGDkS9

Track and field: With area meet, UIL adds level of competition
The Victor Lopez Bayou Classic track-and-field competition at Rice is mentioned in an articles about track-and-field teams.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/16fKOkw
Extra postseason round brings hurdle
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/15U0d89
Megan Yanik named Big East women’s outdoor track athlete of the week
UND.com
http://www.und.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/032613aaa.html

Kempner picks up where it left off
Rice is mentioned in an article about the Kempner High School baseball team.
Houston Chronicle (subscription required)
http://bit.ly/14o2YSN

NEWS RELEASE

Obama administration should consider new Syria strategy, Baker Institute experts say
With news this week that the United Nations is withdrawing staffers from Syria due to the growing violence there, experts at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy say the U.S. should execute a new, more forward-leaning strategy toward Syria now.
https://news2.rice.edu/?p=42392