Dateline Rice for April 16, 2014

FEATURED ITEM

Rice University students create balancing device for Special Olympian
A group of Rice students created an assistive device for a 10-year-old special needs gymnast. Jones College sophomore Austin James, Sid Richardson College sophomore Kelsey Nanneman, Baker College freshman Mickyle Stanbury and Baker College sophomore Kylie Balotin are quoted. The story includes a video produced by Public Affairs’ Brandon Martin.
KTRK-TV (This article also appeared in WABC-TV.)
http://bit.ly/1eMUDcz

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Ambassador Aas meets with Secretary James Baker III
Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, honorary chair of the Baker Institute, met with Norway’s Ambassador to the U.S., Kåre Aas, after a press conference at Baker Institute.
Norway.org
http://bit.ly/1hVbmdY

Navigating rough waters ahead
Trinidad and Tobago has achieved wealth through its successful gas manufacturing processes. A Rice analysis about the materialization of liquefied natural gas trains and export terminals outstripping the Asian market’s projected demand is referenced.
Trinidad Express
http://bit.ly/1j0kJdf

Al Jazeera
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, and Joe Barnes, the Bonner Means Baker Fellow at the Baker Institute, are quoted.
http://bit.ly/Rp270z (An English translation is not available.)

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Team in Rice contest gets a million-dollar payoff
Forty-two teams from around the world competed at the 14th Rice Business Plan Competition.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1hLheMy
Rice competition sets record with $3M awarded to MBA entrepreneurs
Business Because
http://bit.ly/1eyEcWK
Behind the deal: Mercury Fund wows Rice competition with $1M investment prize
Houston Business Journal
http://bit.ly/1mcDhv2
How Innoblative uses competitions to build a cancer-removing device
Chicago Tribune
http://bit.ly/1l1M7i6
From moonshine to mosquitos, budding entrepreneurs win big at Idea State U
Ky Forward
http://bit.ly/1mcNY0O

Castro, Patrick both claim victory in raucous immigration debate
Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor and chair of political science and fellow in political science at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted about the debate between Democratic Mayor Julián Castro and GOP lieutenant governor candidate Dan Patrick. He is also quoted about Gov. Rick Perry’s veto threat.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/QprAGb
Sen. Dan Patrick, San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro face off over immigration
Austin American-Statesman
http://bit.ly/1hLEAl6
Castro, Patrick engage in lively immigration debate
San Antonio Express (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1j0wznQ
Castro, Patrick ready to square off
KTSA.com
http://bit.ly/1eJk0lp
The Rick Perry grand jury convenes
Off the Kuff
http://offthekuff.com/wp/?p=60018

Four elected to Rice University Board of Trustees
Three prominent alumni and the former president of Brown University were elected to the Rice University Board of Trustees at its March 20 meeting. Nancy Packer Carlson, principal of Carlson Capital LP; Charles “Charley” Landgraf, a partner at Arnold & Porter LLP; Ruth Simmons, president emeritus of Brown University; and Amy Sutton, a partner with Deloitte Tax LLP, will serve four-year terms on the board.
Bellaire Examiner (This article also appeared in Memorial Examiner.)
http://bit.ly/1qITyd2

Rice University does well by ‘Little Shop of Horrors’
Rice Theatre and the student-run Rice Players troupe will present “Little Shop of Horrors” at the university’s Hamman Hall. Performances are at 8 p.m. April 17-19.
Houston Press
http://bit.ly/1p9RSMw

Experts want a big corporate tax cut
John Diamond, the Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and an adjunct professor of economics, is quoted about the plan to cut the corporate tax rate.
KTRH-AM
http://bit.ly/1gGqOhX
http://bit.ly/1hV6c1r

Russia provokes US with aggressive war planes
Russian warplanes flew close to an American destroyer. Joe Barnes, the Bonner Means Baker Fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is interviewed about the possibility of another Cold War.
KPRC-AM
http://bit.ly/1eJ9hqS
KTRH-AM
http://bit.ly/1hJCRfc

Prelude Music Classes for Children in the Woodlands invites families to make music together at free demo classes
Alumni Jonathan Godfrey ’00 and Ana Trevino-Godfrey ’00 are leading a music class for children in the Woodlands.
Here Houston
http://bit.ly/1j0jpqR

Comedian: College is like sadistic reality show
Alumnus Matthew Broussard ’10 performed at Rosebud Theatre as part of the EXCEL Spotlight Entertainment Series.
The Shorthorn
http://bit.ly/1qJbpR6

Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra and NSU choirs to perform April 24
Baritone Brandon Gibson will perform at Northwestern State University of Louisiana. Rice is mentioned.
Shreveport Times
http://bit.ly/1paeTPo

BROADCAST

Investigators keep searching for missing spring breaker
Bay County sheriffs are not giving up their search for Martel College senior Reny Jose.
WJHG-TV (Panama City Beach, Fla.)
http://bit.ly/1iZVsBg

How probationary accreditation status of BISD affects students applying for college
Parents and prospective students are worried about the lowered status of the accredited-probation affecting the college application process. Rice is mentioned.
KFDM-TV (Beaumont)
http://bit.ly/1pa4Utn
KBTV-TV (Beaumont)
http://bit.ly/1ez2L5E
http://bit.ly/1hV63uW

KQED-FM
Zack Kopplin, who is taking a year off from his studies at Rice, explains his opposition to legislative efforts to make the King James Bible the state book of Louisiana.
http://bit.ly/P5gOE0
http://bit.ly/1r065ar

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

James McLurkin interview: Future of robotics, AI
James McLurkin, assistant professor of computer science, is interviewed about robotics.
Think Digit
http://bit.ly/P5dubV

Here comes $75 oil
Lowering the price of oil may hurt Russia, but benefit the U.S. economy. The article mentions a study co-authored by Mahmoud El-Gamal, the Chair of Islamic Economics, Finance and Management, professor of economics and statistics and Rice Scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Wyoming Business Report
http://bit.ly/1tadAzu

Synthetic collagen promotes natural clotting
Rice researchers developed a synthetic collagen that may help wounds heal through natural clotting of blood. Jeffrey Hartgerink, professor of chemistry and of bioengineering, and postdoctoral researcher Vivek Kumar are quoted.
National Science Foundation (This article also appeared in BioSpace.)
http://1.usa.gov/QdpIk0

Louisiana Tech engineering students win national design competition
Louisiana Tech University won first place in the 2014 Best Senior Design Competition at the AlChE Spring Meeting and 10th Global Congress on Process Safety held in New Orleans. Kenneth Cox, professor in the practice of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is mentioned.
Shreveport Times (This article also appeared in News-Star.)
http://bit.ly/1kyc2uV

Dream Chaser Spacecraft may land at Houston Space Port
Sierra Nevada Corp.’s Space Systems announced its intent to partner with local contractors to work on the technology and logistics for the Dream Chaser during a news conference held at Rice University.
Aero News Network
http://bit.ly/1hJxo8q

SanDisk set to beat Wall Street forecast, again
A Rice stock market study is referenced.
Investing.com
http://bit.ly/RoRjzw
Google: Solar-powered drones, driverless cars and more revenue growth ahead
Seeking Alpha
http://bit.ly/P5ddFZ

EV Energy Partners, Enervest report organizational changes
Alumnus Terry Wagstaff ’90 is the new vice president of acquisitions and engineering at EV Energy Partners.
Oil & Gas Financial Journal
http://bit.ly/1nbFxFw

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Roxbury principal to head Lincoln School in Brookline
Alumnus Andrew Bott ’96 is the new principal at Lincoln School in Brookline, Mass.
Brookline Tab
http://bit.ly/1ezhpdd

SPORTS

Lamar Cardinals baseball knock off No. 16 Rice Owls
Rice baseball fell to Lamar University 10-1 at Vincent-Beck Stadium. Head baseball coach Wayne Graham is mentioned.
Boxscore
http://bit.ly/1m7yZrk
KBMT-TV (Beaumont)
http://bit.ly/1nqpLnA

Tennis heads to postseason
Rice women’s tennis is mentioned as a tough contender at the upcoming Conference USA tournament against University of North Texas.
NTDaily.com
http://bit.ly/1kyE8q6

Bears waive defensive end Cheta Ozougwu
Alumnus Chetachi Ozougwu ’11 is featured.
CSN Chicago (This article also appeared in Sun-Times.)
http://bit.ly/1p7NhKO

Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman is ready for a visit to the University of Michigan
Basketball player Muhammad Ali Abdur-Rahkman visited Rice in search of a team.
Groller’s Corner
http://bit.ly/1gAHJ24

NEWS RELEASES

Rice U. study: Performance measures for CEOs vary greatly
As companies file their annual proxy statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) this spring, a new study by Rice University and Cornell University shows just how S&P 500 companies have tied CEO compensation to performance. The study found large variations in the choice of performance measures, and the researchers said that companies tend to choose measures that are informative of CEO actions.
http://bit.ly/Qdrhyv

Survey: Percent of uninsured Texans has declined since September 2013
The percentage of uninsured adults ages 18 to 64 in Texas declined from 24.8 to 23.5 between September 2013 and March 2014, according to a report released today by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Episcopal Health Foundation. The decrease in uninsured appears to be attributable to an increase in employer-sponsored health insurance.
http://bit.ly/1kyEQDQ

Cybersecurity and civil society topic at Rice’s Baker Institute April 23
American computer scientist and former U.S. government official Anita Jones will discuss the balance between personal computer privacy and national security interests at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy April 23. This Baker Institute Civic Scientist Lecture Series event is open to the public.
http://bit.ly/1hVfdHL

Beaming on a balance beam
A 10-year-old Special Olympian is able to work her way along a balance beam without a helping human hand; an assistive device from a crew of Rice University freshmen gave her the independence she so desired.
http://bit.ly/P5ma2d