Dateline Rice for Sept. 24, 2013

FEATURED ITEMS

Poll puts Parker ahead of Hall, but ‘don’t know’ leads
A poll released Monday in Houston’s mayoral contest shows Houston Mayor Annise Parker ’78 with a wide lead over top challenger Ben Hall, but both candidates trailing “don’t know.” The poll, conducted for Houston’s KUHF-FM and KHOU-TV by Robert Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science and fellow in urban politics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, also shows that more than 62 percent of voters say Houston is headed in the right direction.
Houston Chronicle (The article appeared on the front page of the print edition.)
http://bit.ly/18TLBWU
KUHF-FM
http://bit.ly/1eE9wBQ (Click audio.)
KHOU-TV
http://bit.ly/18mhsBh (Click broadcast.)
KTRH-AM
(A link was not available.)

Houston not so affordable after all
A report from Rice’s Shell Center for Sustainability notes that housing in half of Houston’s City Council districts do not meet the conventional definition of affordable, which stipulates that the average household should not spend more than 30 percent of its income on housing costs. The report revealed that the average Houstonian spends 30 percent on housing costs and 16 percent on transportation costs, putting the city at No. 26 in the nation for affordability compared with the 50 largest cities in the U.S. Lester King, author of the report and a sustainability fellow for the Shell Center, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (The article appeared on the front page of the print edition.)
http://bit.ly/1b1ubvB
KUHF-FM
http://bit.ly/18S3tY4

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

New password in a heartbeat: Researchers propose touch-to-access security for implanted devices
Rice researchers have designed a secure way to dramatically cut the risk that an implanted medical device such as a pacemaker, insulin pump or defibrillator could be altered remotely without authorization. Their technology would use the patient’s own heartbeat as a kind of password that could only be accessed through touch. Farinaz Koushanfar, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, and graduate student Masoud Rostami are quoted.
Futurity.org (Similar stories appeared in five other news outlets.)
http://bit.ly/18nl325

Can you be yourself at work?
A study co-authored by Rice researchers, which covered how professionals present themselves at work, is referenced. Michelle Hebl, professor of psychology and management, is quoted.
U.S. News & World Report
http://bit.ly/15oFGOE
Yahoo!Finance
http://yhoo.it/1gUnwUO
http://bit.ly/1b9rD22 (Singapore)

The top 25 universities to work for
Rice was No. 15 on a list of the best universities to work for in 2013, according to the job-seeker website Glassdoor.com. The ratings were based on employee feedback.
Forbes.com
http://onforb.es/18Sznh5
KROI-FM (Houston)
http://bit.ly/18Un9Vh

Wendy Davis versus Greg Abbott in Texas: ‘Bruising’
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, comments on a potential Texas gubernatorial race between Texas Sen. Wendy Davis and Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. He also comments on recent gaffes by Republican statewide candidates in Texas, a potential closing of some U.S. government activities because of congressional budget disputes, the likely runoffs in Houston’s City Council races and the lack of federal funding for Brooks County in Texas.
Politico.com
http://politi.co/16SG06o
Molly Ivins would love this: Texas governor wannabes ride the goof-up trail
JournalGazette.net (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
http://bit.ly/17ZQcd3
Early stumbles in GOP races for post-Perry Texas
LakeWyliePilot.com (Lake Wylie, S.C.)
http://bit.ly/16Xe0i2
KTRH-AM (Houston)
http://bit.ly/18T1PFE
KRIV-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/1gULTl9 (Click broadcast.)

The TEDx talk you’ll never see
This op-ed on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights in Bangladesh references a recent op-ed written by graduate student Rainer Ebert.
The Huffington Post
http://huff.to/1gTphBJ

Bridenstine, Mullin take different routes to similar destinations
U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstine ’97 of Oklahoma is featured.
Tulsa World (Tulsa, Okla.)
http://bit.ly/16j05p2

Today in history
The William Marsh Rice Institute, later Rice University, opened for classes Sept. 23, 1912.
The Lexington Dispatch (Lexington, N.C.)
http://bit.ly/18myIZ0
The Gaston Gazette (Gastonia, N.C.)
http://bit.ly/15QZ31b
KWTX-TV (Waco, Texas)
http://bit.ly/1fxoAA6

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Houston universities make another elite list
Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business is No. 4 on a list of top graduate schools for entrepreneurs compiled jointly by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine.
Houston Business Journal
http://bit.ly/18P298d
Ashby not hurting home values; better rankings for Houston, UH and Rice; support the Astrodome
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1eErpjT
KTRH-AM (Houston)
http://bit.ly/19Ao7XJ (Click audio.)
WESA-FM (Pittsburgh)
http://bit.ly/14D334h (Click audio.)

Domestic abuse law in Saudi Arabia a step forward
Ariana Marnicio, research assistant for the Women and Human Rights in the Middle East Program at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, comments on Saudi Arabia’s first domestic abuse law.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1b2FXpB

Rice students’ robot arm a Dee-light for teen
Three Rice students designed a device that allows teen Dee Faught to manipulate a robotic arm fitted to his motorized chair. The students — Baker College junior Matthew Nojoomi and Duncan College seniors Nimish Mittal and Sergio Gonzalez — did the bulk of their work at Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen and hope to commercialize the product. All three students are quoted.
YourHoustonNews.com
http://bit.ly/15QX1Oz

Back to school for Bastrop mayor
The husband of alumna Patricia Orr ’85 is going back to college at age 75.
Austin American-Statesman
http://bit.ly/18Umjry

BROADCAST/WEBCAST

KPRC-TV (Houston)
Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and professor of economics, comments on the Affordable Care Act’s Marketplace, a government website where individuals can shop for health care coverage Oct. 1.
http://bit.ly/1ffUinL

KPRC-TV (Houston)
A Rice study about people in the Houston area who evacuated because of Hurricane Rita eight years ago is cited.
(A link was not available.)

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Custom optical network will tackle big data
Backed by a grant from the National Science Foundation, Rice researchers are creating a customized, energy-efficient optical network to feed rivers of data into Rice’s supercomputers. The network, dubbed “Big data and Optical Lightpaths-Driven networked systems research infrastructure,” or BOLD for short, will use optical data-networking switches to handle the huge data generated by Rice labs. T.S. Eugene Ng, associate professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering and principal investigator on the project, is quoted. Qianfan Xu, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and William Symes, the Noah Harding Professor of Computational and Applied Mathematics, professor of Earth science and director of the Rice Inversion Project, are mentioned.
NetworkComputing.com
http://ubm.io/18Sk8Vn
A BOLD idea for handling big data
Photonics.com
http://bit.ly/1eDAWb1
Rice researchers developing optical network to master big data management
CampusTechnology.com
http://bit.ly/15lMMmT

Huntsville native’s Houston company makes top 10 in Wall Street Journal’s startup-of-the-year contest
Rebellion Photonics, a company co-founded by Rice alumna Allison Lami Sawyer ’10, is among a handful of businesses across the U.S. to make the top 10 in The Wall Street Journal’s startup-of-the-year contest.
AL.com (Birmingham, Ala.)
http://bit.ly/15nrTYs

People don’t ‘get’ me: Tips for the misunderstood long-term care provider
A study by Rice researchers and others on problems faced by some professionals because people don’t understand their fields is cited.
McKnight’s Long-Term Care News & Assisted Living
http://bit.ly/1fxZBN5

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

‘We the people of the United States … Reflections on our written and unwritten Constitution’
Rice alumna Jane Scarborough ’64 will speak about the Constitution Sept. 25 in Cape Cod, Mass.
Cape Cod Today (Cape Cod, Mass.)
http://bit.ly/1dGRA6w

Cultural arts preview: Classical music
Larry Rachleff, the Walter Kris Hubert Professor of Orchestra Conducting at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, will conduct the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Oct. 24 and 26.
Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, N.Y.)
http://on.rocne.ws/1gVwnp8

In 1983 Dennis Hopper performed this Russian dynamite death chair act in Houston
The article notes that Rice students watched a 1983 daredevil act in Houston by actor Dennis Hopper and quotes from a Rice News piece on that event. Brian Huberman, associate professor of visual arts, is quoted.
Anorak.co.uk
http://bit.ly/16EeDtA

2Cellos, Forbidden Broadway, Alvin Ailey American Dance and more set for SPA’s 2013-14 season
Timothy Pitts, professor of double bass at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, will perform at Rice’s Stude Concert Hall Oct. 24 with the Grammy award-winning Takacs Quartet.
Vermont.BroadwayWorld.com
http://bit.ly/15pHDdM

Professor tells of ‘extraordinary’ Reynolds couple
Rice alumna Michelle Gillespie ’83 spoke at the Mount Airy Museum of Regional History in Mount Airy, N.C.
ElkinTribune.com (Elkin, N.C.)
http://bit.ly/14DUDK4

Keane leads a pack of Mavericks
Champion high school swimmer Anna Keane plans to visit Rice.
HeraldNet.com (Everett, Wash.)
http://bit.ly/1fyqMqW

SPORTS

ESPN 2-TV
Rice kicker Chris Boswell executed an excellent onside kick late in the Owls’ Sept. 21 game against the University of Houston.
http://bit.ly/1fgDWeF (Click broadcast.)
Yahoo!Sports
http://yhoo.it/16DGY3n (Scroll down to ‘Kickers Kicking Tail.’)
Video: Rice pulls off one of the craziest onside kicks you will ever see
DeseretNews.com (Salt Lake City)
http://bit.ly/19wDGB5 (Click broadcast.)
BMOC Power Rankings: Baylor will win the ever-shrinking Big 12
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/18ncwy7 (Scroll down to broadcast of kick.)
KATU-TV (Portland, Ore.)
http://bit.ly/1b20Xg5 (Click broadcast.)
KTRK-TV (Houston)
Rice football head coach David Bailiff is quoted.
http://bit.ly/18Sw8fI (Click broadcast.)

Bailiff laments missed chances against Houston
Rice football head coach David Bailiff is quoted along with Owls Jordan Taylor and Paul Porras.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/18ncOFc
American Athletic Conference news and notes
A review of last weekend’s games by teams of the American Athletic Conference includes a brief on Rice’s 31-26 loss to the AAC’s University of Houston.
SportsNetwork.com (This article also appeared in three additional news outlets and on 15 broadcast outlets.)
http://bit.ly/1b9zP2c

KRIV-TV (Houston)
Clark Haptonstall, professor in the practice of kinesiology and director of the Sport Management Program, comments on the prospect of college athletes being paid following reports that a former player for the University of Tennessee was paid while in college.
http://bit.ly/1dGaGKb (Click broadcast.)

Grizzlies announce coaching staff
Shawn Respert, formally the director of basketball operations at Rice, is assistant coach of the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.
NBA.com (Similar articles appeared in two other news outlets and three broadcast outlets.)
http://on.nba.com/15mXOsc

Berkman likely approaching finish line
Former Owl Lance Berkman ’98, now playing for the Texas Rangers, may retire.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/16Ds9xu