Dateline Rice for July 3, 2014

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Practice doesn’t make perfect: Rehearsing only plays a small part in boosting performance
Researchers studied to determine if practice positively improves a skill. Fred Oswald, department chair and professor of psychology, is mentioned.
Daily Mail (This article also appeared in PsychCentral.com, Lab Manager Magazine, Health News Digest, Science Newsline and Science Codex.)
http://dailym.ai/1ocngVM

News in brief – July 3, 2014
The Swedish research initiative UBI Index named the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship No. 1 among top university business incubators.
Times Higher Education
http://bit.ly/1pLIkYK

The 22 White House staffers who make the most money
Alumnus Josh Earnest ’97 is included in a list of the most highly paid White House aides.
Business Finance (This article also appeared in Yahoo! Finance.)
http://read.bi/1qBkAG2

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Fiske Guide to Colleges names Rice a 2015 ‘best buy’
Fiske Guide to Colleges named Rice one of 22 “best buys” for 2015 for its quality of academic offerings and affordable cost.
Memorial Examiner (This article also appeared in the Sugar Land Sun.)
http://bit.ly/1rnTFxA
KTRH-AM
http://bit.ly/VhWhjl

The Scottish referendum: The stakes for the United States
Joe Barnes, the Bonner Means Baker Fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, and James Coan, research associate for the Energy Forum at the Baker Institute, authored a blog post about Scotland’s referendum on independence.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1j0uf6E

‘We’re tired of seeing people being hurt,’ says Houston producer of film calling for Islamic mosque reforms
The movie “unMosqued” is featured. A screening of the movie was held at Rice.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1qT9Oc0

Pathways to progress: Texans should get atop the coming demographic wave
The March issue of Texas Monthly magazine includes a review of “Changing Texas” by Steve Murdock, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and director of Rice’s Hobby Center for the Study of Texas.
San Angelo Standard-Times (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1mNzi5r

BROADCAST

Edward Djerejian
Edward Djerejian, founding director of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and former U.S. ambassador to Syria and Israel, discusses Syria on the show “Red, White & Blue.”
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/1jNhreT

Princeton Miles: HPM intern by day, R&B singer by night
Houston Public Media’s MusicLab program intern Princeton Miles is leaving to take a full-time job in sales and marketing. Rice’s Shepherd School of Music is mentioned.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/1t1BAHj

WSCL-AM (Salinsbury, Md.)
Shepherd School violinist Boson Mo discusses violin.
http://bit.ly/1kintnA

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

2-D model may help explorers find reservoirs of the ‘ice that burns’
Rice scientists produced a 2-D model to prove how gas hydrate is formed under the ocean floor. Alumnus Sayantan Chatterjee ’12 is quoted. George Hirasaki, research professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is mentioned.
Phys.org (This article also appeared in Green Car Congress.)
http://bit.ly/1mnIW4t

Palladium-gold nanocatalysts used for faster glycerol conversion
Rice researchers examined whether palladium-gold nanocatalysts could convert glycerol into high-value chemicals. Michael Wong, professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of chemistry, and graduate student Zhun Zhao are quoted. Postdoctoral research associate James Clomburg and Ramon Gonzalez, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, are mentioned.
Biodiesel Magazine (This article also appeared in Sustainability Matters.)
http://bit.ly/1xlVfk5

Thomson Reuters includes 2 UNT plant science researchers to 2014 ‘highly cited researchers’ list
Richard Dixon, adjunct professor of biosciences, is included in the 2014 Thomson Reuters list of highly cited researchers.
BioNews-Texas
http://bit.ly/1rotiHN

Shooting off nanotubes to unzip them
Rice scientists have found a chemical-free way to unzip graphene nanoribbons.
Overclockers Club
http://bit.ly/TFaaXg

One-step chemical mix reduces reflectivity of silicon for better light absorption
Rice scientists created a one-step process to etch nanoscale spikes into silicon to allow more than 99 percent of sunlight to reach cells’ active elements and produce electricity. Andrew Barron, the Charles W. Duncan Jr.-Welch Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science, and graduate student Yen-Tien Lu are mentioned.
EcoSeed
http://bit.ly/1s2UfhM

Researchers identify piezoelectric materials with 1 atomic layer thickness
Scientists at Rice, University of Washington and University of Houston have identified one of the thinnest piezoelectric materials, graphene nitride. The material is about one thousand times thinner than a single strand of human hair. Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Engineering, professor of mechanical engineering and materials science, of chemistry and of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is mentioned.
AZonano.com (This article also appeared in Energy Harvesting Journal, Electronic Component News, Science Codex, Science Newsline and Phys.org.)
http://bit.ly/1jNfgYL

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Energy trading firms may rue the decline of quants
Vincent Kaminski, professor in the practice of executive education at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted in an article about quant finance.
Risk.net (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1qTc2YL

Ozark Daze: Versailles hometown barber Jim Daniels
Head football coach David Bailiff is mentioned.
The Lake Today
http://bit.ly/TRrrx4

BITS Pilani ties-up with edX to offer open online courses
Rice is mentioned as a contributing member to the edX consortium.
Medianama.com
http://bit.ly/1iZSPos

10 percent of Android devices under serious threat!
Researchers released a warning about a high-risk security issue for Android users with version 4.3 or lower. Dan Wallach, professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering, is quoted.
EFYTimes.com
http://bit.ly/1j0qdv3

NTU grads take 3rd in Rice business competition
National Taiwan University graduates won third place at the Rice Business Plan Competition for their innovative cooling system.
Taiwan Today
http://bit.ly/TRhmQs

Madeira native’s quartet wins chamber music competition
Alumnus Joseph Maile ’09 won the grand prize at the 2014 Fischoff Chamber Music Competition.
Cincinnati.com
http://cin.ci/1orHXyy

SPORTS

Wednesday’s probable pitchers
Rice baseball player Kevin McCanna is profiled.
Cape Cod Online
http://bit.ly/1rokZvI

Rhys’ piece: Top 5 Panthers games to watch in 2014
The Rice Owls will play Florida International University in November.
FIUSM.com
http://bit.ly/1t1oSs5