Dateline Rice for Oct. 11, 2013

FEATURED ITEMS

Best of Houston — 2013
Rice made the Houston Press’ annual “Best of Houston” issue in several categories:
Best sports role model
Head football coach David Bailiff is named the best sports role model in Houston.
http://www.houstonpress.com/bestof/2013/award/best-sports-role-model-3577532/
Best Democrat
Mayor and Rice alumna Annise Parker ’78 is named the best Democrat in Houston.
http://www.houstonpress.com/bestof/2013/award/best-democrat-3574695/
Best concert poster artist
Carlos Hernandez, lecturer and visiting artist in visual and dramatic arts, is named the best concert poster artist.
http://www.houstonpress.com/bestof/2013/award/best-concert-poster-artist-3574666/
Best local label
Recording label Swishahouse is named best local label. The special collection of its mementos at Fondren Library is mentioned.
http://www.houstonpress.com/bestof/2013/award/best-local-label-3574636/
Best installation
James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace is named the best installation in Houston.
http://www.houstonpress.com/bestof/2013/award/best-installation-3574687/

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Did the college textbook bubble burst?
An article about the rising cost of college textbooks quotes Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor of Engineering and founding director of OpenStax College. OpenStax College, Rice’s free textbook publisher, is mentioned.
FOXBusiness
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2013/10/10/college-textbooks-next-bubble-to-burst/

‘Artificial nose’ detects dangerous vapors
Rice University researchers combined a common mineral, zeolite, with a metallic compound based on rhenium to make an “artificial nose” that can sniff out solvent gases. Angel Martí, assistant professor of chemistry and bioengineering, is quoted.
Futurity.com
http://www.futurity.org/ship-bottle-compounds-detect-solvent-vapors/
‘Ship in a bottle’ detects dangerous vapors: Scientists trap metallic compounds to sniff out signs of hazardous solvents
Science Daily (This article also appeared on Nanowerk, e! Science News, Science Newsline and Science Recorder.)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131010105046.htm

Argentina’s president recovering well from surgery
An article reports on Argentine President Cristina Kirchner’s recovery after surgery to remove a blood clot near the surface of her brain and the effect her health problems will have on midterm congressional elections Oct. 27. Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor and chair of political science and fellow in political science at Rice, is quoted.
Wall Street Journal (Subscription required)
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304066404579127791325486098.html

Vice Premier Liu Yandong meets president of Rice University
A photo shows President David Leebron meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong in Beijing Oct. 10.
Women of China
http://www.womenofchina.cn/html/womenofchina/report/166112-1.htm

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Hall may be pulling back on TV ads leading up to election
An article reports on the television-ad purchasing by mayoral candidate Ben Hall. Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required) (This article appeared on the front of the City & State section.)
http://tinyurl.com/mgenfty

No more TV time for mayoral candidate Hall?
An article reports that Houston mayoral challenger Ben Hall will not to purchase any more television advertising between now and Election Day, Nov. 5. Rice political scientist Mark Jones is quoted.
Houston Chronicle
http://blog.chron.com/houstonpolitics/2013/10/no-more-tv-time-for-mayoral-candidate-hall/

Robinson for City Council At-large Position 2
An op-ed about City Council candidate David Robinson mentions he holds a master’s degree in architecture from Rice University.
Houston Chronicle
http://www.chron.com/opinion/editorials/article/Robinson-for-City-Council-At-large-Position-2-4885894.php

Florida leader in early childhood education gives a Houston pep talk
An article reports on a recent speech by David Lawrence Jr., president of Miami nonprofit The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation. The article mentions a recent KUHF-KHOU poll conducted by Rice political scientist Bob Stein and an education-related survey by Stephen Klineberg, professor of sociology and co-director of Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required)
http://tinyurl.com/kaqnwkl

Houston mayoral debate fails to lift sluggish challengers
An article reports on the Oct. 8 Houston mayoral debate. A poll conducted last month by Rice University’s Center for Civic Leadership is mentioned.
Examiner.com
http://www.examiner.com/article/houston-mayoral-debate-fails-to-lift-sluggish-challengers

Houston architect Carlos Jimenez is closing speaker at architecture, design weekend
The slate of speakers for the second Marfa Architecture + Design Symposium and Home Tour Nov. 1-3 has been finalized with the addition of the closing speaker, Carlos Jimenez, professor of architecture.
Big Bend Sentinel (Marfa, Texas)
http://tinyurl.com/kfemqqt

Battery spray paint — It’s not a pigment of your imagination
Researchers at Rice University have developed a lithium-ion battery that can be painted on virtually any surface. Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and of chemistry, and graduate student Neelam Singh are quoted.
WOAI.com
http://www.woai.com/pages/michaelmain.html?article=10236831

BROADCAST/WEBCAST

‘Morning Joe’
Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in history at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, participated in a roundtable discussion about public opinion of government.
MSNBC
http://tinyurl.com/k2pu452

‘Great Day Houston’
A profile of Eric Ober ’96 mentions he studied mechanical engineering at Rice.
KHOU-TV
http://tinyurl.com/n62ocsp

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Mix of graphene nanoribbons, polymer has potential for cars, soda, beer
A discovery at Rice aims to make vehicles that run on compressed natural gas more practical. It might also prolong the shelf life of bottled beer and soda. James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry and professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and of computer science, is quoted; Rice graduate student Changsheng Xiang is mentioned.
Phys.org (This article also appeared on Nanowerk and Innovations Report.)
http://phys.org/news/2013-10-graphene-nanoribbons-polymer-potential-cars.html
Tanks, graphene! Rice advances compressed gas storage
Houston Community Newspapers
http://tinyurl.com/lzjxj38
Car research could boost carbonated beverage packaging
FoodProcessing
http://www.foodprocessing.com.au/news/63654-Car-research-could-boost-carbonated-beverage-packaging

Carbyne — strongest material yet known, possesses a number of useful properties, research finds
A material called carbyne could be stronger even than graphene or diamond, according to Rice researchers who have calculated its properties. Boris Yakobson, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, professor of chemistry and member of the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, and postdoctoral researcher Vasilii Artyukhov are quoted.
Clean Technica
http://tinyurl.com/kcok3mj
Carbon’s new champion
Printed Electronics World (This article appeared in eight other media outlets.)
http://www.printedelectronicsworld.com/articles/carbons-new-champion-00005884.asp?sessionid=1
Atom-thick carbyne may be strongest material ever
Laboratory Equipment
http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/10/atom-thick-carbyne-may-be-strongest-material-ever

Novel ways bubbles form in foam
Scientists have uncovered two new ways bubbles form in foam, a finding that could help engineers extract every last drop from an oil reservoir. Lisa Biswal, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and George Hirasaki, research professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, are quoted.
Materials Today
http://www.materialstoday.com/view/34994/novel-ways-bubbles-form-in-foam/

Rice moves up on global university ranking
Rice University was named one of the top universities in the world in the new Times Higher Education World University Rankings, making it one of only two Texas institutions to make it into the top 100. Rice was ranked No. 65, up 10 spots from last year’s ranking; the University of Texas at Austin was ranked No. 27.
Universities News
http://www.universitiesnews.com/2013/10/10/rice-moves-up-on-global-university-ranking/

The euro area institutional framework
An article mentions the upcoming conference Eurocrisis Minefield: Mapping the Way Out set for Oct. 14 at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
International Financing Review
http://www.ifre.com/the-euro-area-institutional-framework/21112943.article

Richard G. Baraniuk: Offering free textbooks on the Lego plan
An article profiles Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor of Engineering and founding director of OpenStax College.
Edutopia
http://www.edutopia.org/richard-g-baraniuk?page=15

Iqbal promoted to senior VP at Associated Bank
Rice alumnus Farhan Iqbal has been promoted to senior vice president, relationship manager, with Associated Bank.
Oil & Gas Financial Journal
http://www.ogfj.com/articles/print/volume-10/issue-10/departments/energy-players.html

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Amy McCarley talks vinyl, farmers market gigs, upcoming LP before free Concerts on the Dock show
A Q-and-A features singer/songwriter and Rice alumna Amy McCarley ’98.
AL.com
http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2013/10/amy_mccarley_talks_vinyl_farme.html

UT professor, ORNL staff member to be honored for supercomputing accomplishments
Jack Dongarra, distinguished professor of computer science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has been selected to receive an ACM-IEEE Computer Society Ken Kennedy Award. The award was established in 2009 in honor of the late Ken Kennedy, founder of Rice University’s computer science program and a renowned expert on high-performance computing.
Oak Ridge Today (Tennessee)
http://oakridgetoday.com/2013/10/10/ut-professor-ornl-staff-member-honored-supercomputing-accomplishments/

SPORTS

Rice a surprising underdog at UTSA
An article previews Rice’s upcoming football game against the University of Texas, San Antonio.
FOXNews.com (This article also appeared on WZZM.com [Grand Rapids, Mich.] and the Times Colonist [British Columbia] and about 30 other news outlets.)
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2013/10/10/rice-surprising-underdog-at-utsa/

Rice-Roadrunners preview
An article previews Rice’s upcoming football game against the University of Texas, San Antonio.
USA Today
http://content.usatoday.com/sportsdata/football/ncaaf/game/Rice_Texas-SanAntonio/2013/10/12#preview

Southern Miss to host C-USA baseball tourney
Southern Miss will host the Conference USA baseball tournament May 21-25 in Hattiesburg. Rice is mentioned as a member of C-USA.
Biloxi Sun-Herald (Mississippi)
http://www.sunherald.com/2013/10/10/5021082/southern-miss-to-host-c-usa-baseball.html

NEWS RELEASE

Tanks, graphene! Rice advances compressed gas storage
A discovery at Rice University aims to make vehicles that run on compressed natural gas more practical. It might also prolong the shelf life of bottled beer and soda. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour has enhanced a polymer material to make it far more impermeable to pressurized gas and far lighter than the metal in tanks now used to contain the gas.
https://news2.rice.edu/2013/10/10/tanks-graphene-rice-advances-compressed-gas-storage/