Dateline Rice for Aug. 29, 2013

FEATURED ITEMS

Free digital-textbook venture at Rice U. adds users and titles
A little more than one year after its debut, Rice’s digital-textbook program OpenStax College is set to expand by adding a sixth title to its slate of free online textbooks.
Chronicle of Higher Education
http://bit.ly/15knlf1

NASA initiative gives students hands-on experience
Hanszen College senior Joseph Huseman is quoted in this feature on NASA’s Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program. He and four other Rice students from an engineering design team at Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen conducted experiments in a NASA aircraft that simulates zero-gravity. The article was featured as one of the top stories on the homepage of AviationWeek.com.
Aviation Week & Space Technology
http://bit.ly/156FWMl

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

CBS-TV
Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in history at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, provided live commentary during the Lincoln Memorial ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. In the second link, he comments on President Barack Obama’s ceremony speech.
http://bit.ly/157FRrK (Click broadcast.)
http://bit.ly/17oCLlp (Click broadcast.)

HOUSTON/TEXAS

The Menil Collection’s corporate conversations
Photos from last spring’s fifth annual Corporate Conversations lunch by the Menil Collection in Houston feature Rice President David Leebron; George McLendon, the Howard H. Hughes Provost and professor of chemistry; and William Cannady, professor of architecture.
PaperCityMag.com
http://bit.ly/14GnmOK

100 creatives 2013: Sara Kumar, artistic director for Shunya Theatre
Alumna Sara Kumar ’03, the artistic director for the Shunya Theatre, is featured.
HoustonPress.com
http://bit.ly/17gCTqE

Twisting, leaning luxury apartment tower to rise over Hermann Park: 42 stories of illusion?
Landscape architect James Burnett, known for his award-winning work including at Rice’s Brochstein Pavilion, will design the grounds of a new apartment complex.
Houston.CultureMap.com
http://bit.ly/1a0qtFz

Coal plants taking heat from Dallas physicians group
A study by Daniel Cohan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, was included in a petition to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality by physicians and environmentalists to restrict the emissions of some Texas coal plants.
Dallas Business Journal
http://bit.ly/12P6Ydq

BROADCAST/WEBCAST

KPRC-TV (Houston)
Andrew Bowen, the Baker Institute Scholar for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted about statements made by President Barack Obama regarding Syrian chemical weapons use.
http://bit.ly/14F8Iam (Click broadcast.)

KRIV-TV
Chris Bronk, fellow in information technology policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, commented on cyber security.
http://bit.ly/1dTjkpG (Click broadcast.)

KOB-TV (Albuquerque, N.M.)
Tony Payan, fellow in Mexican studies and director of the Mexico Center at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, commented on recent tightening of immigration rules. (This Associated Press article also appeared in two other broadcast outlets and three news outlets.)
http://bit.ly/18mNNXl

KLFY-TV (Lafayette, La.)
Stephen Klineberg, professor of sociology and co-director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, commented on the civil rights movement in this article on the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington.
http://bit.ly/17ojpwM

NTV-TV (Canada)
The story mentions a Rice study which found that a large majority of university scientists interviewed saw no conflict between religion and science.
http://bit.ly/1dq5KeC (Click broadcast.)

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

NIH-funded study by Rice University, MD Anderson researchers to show detailed protein networks in cells
Researchers at Rice University and the MD Anderson Cancer Center have received a $1.3 million four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to create processes that will clarify the mechanism of the protein networks that drive cells. Amina Qutub, assistant professor of chemistry, is quoted and Michael Diehl, associate professor of bioengineering and of chemistry, is mentioned.
BioNews-Tx.com
http://bit.ly/1dRgT6V

Scientists uncover how superbug fights off antibiotic
Yousif Shamoo, professor of biochemistry and cell biology, co-authored a study that identified a novel mechanism that a particular superbug uses to fend off a key front-line antibiotic called daptomycin.
InfectionControlToday.com (This article also appeared in four other news outlets.)
http://bit.ly/184E0Gd

Sabin Vaccine Institute continues to lead in fighting NTDs, currently heading 4 critical vaccine initiatives
Peter Hotez, fellow in disease and poverty at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in this feature on the Sabin Vaccine Institute in Houston, which he heads.
BioNews-Tx.com
http://bit.ly/1dt9BbG

‘Graphing Parking’ charts out of whack US minimum parking regulations
Architect and Rice alumnus Seth Goodman ’09 has composed a series of infographics that show inconsistencies in how much space is devoted to parking across different cities.
Archinect.com
http://bit.ly/15gUxuC

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

4 RPCC post finalists to meet public
Alumnus Olin Joynton ’75 is a finalist for chancellor of River Parishes Community College in Sorrento, La.
TheAdvocate.com (Baton Rouge, LA)
http://bit.ly/12P3Z4U

SPORTS

‘No evidence’ Manziel took money for autographs, A&M says
Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel will be suspended for the first half of the Owls’ season-opening game against Texas A&M on Saturday for an ‘inadvertent violation’ of NCAA rules regarding autograph signing.
USA Today
http://usat.ly/12LU7IU
ESPN-TV
http://bit.ly/12Phdi1(Click broadcast. Similar articles mentioning the Owls’ season opener against Texas A&M appeared in more than 1,000 broadcast outlets and more than 500 news outlets.)

Rice visits No. 7 Texas A&M to kick off 2013 campaign
Owl quarterback Taylor McHargue is quoted in this preview of the Owls-Aggies game Aug.31. Several other Owls are mentioned.
SportsNetwork.com (This article also ran in 19 other news outlets and 20 broadcast outlets.)
http://bit.ly/16XzkQ1

KHOU-TV
The 2013 Rice Owls football team is previewed. Football head coach David Bailiff and quarterback Taylor McHargue are quoted. Several players are mentioned.
http://bit.ly/1429sYU (Click broadcast.)

C-USA breakdown: Volleyball has high aspirations
Rice is No.1 in a Conference USA pre-season volleyball poll.
North Texas Daily (Denton, Texas)
http://bit.ly/14DUQNE

KABB-TV (San Antonio)
Former Owl quarterback Tommy Kramer was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame.
http://bit.ly/1dTjJII (Click broadcast.)