Dateline Rice for July 9, 2014

FEATURED ITEM

In Galena Park, truck diesel level in air poses cancer risk
Air Alliance Houston observed small particles in Galena Park to determine the cancer risk in air coming from ships and trucks. Rice studied the data.
Houston Chronicle (This article appeared online in the Houston Chronicle last week and is on the front of the City/State section in today’s print edition. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1xGrdHY

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Survey probes volcano’s depths
Scientists will set off a series of underground explosions across southwest Washington to map the plumbing system beneath Mount St. Helens. Alan Levander, the Carey Crone Professor of Earth Science, is quoted.
Nature.com
http://bit.ly/1rOnuaL

How much do our genes influence our political beliefs?
Research by graduate student Aleksander Ksiazkiewicz on the correlation between religious importance and conservatism is referenced in an opinion column.
New York Times
http://nyti.ms/U3zmY5

Are women more attracted to tall men?
Is height important in matters of the heart? According to research from Rice University and the University of North Texas, the height of a potential partner matters more to women than to men, and mostly for femininity and protection.
The Telegraph (U.K.)
http://bit.ly/U3wQRu

Buzz Aldrin says US space policy ‘adrift,’ calls for Mars mission
John F. Kennedy’s speech given at Rice in 1962 is referenced.
Washington Examiner
http://washex.am/1oBv2IQ

Civil rights’ new challenge: Closing the educational achievement gap (opinion)
An opinion column on equality in public education cites Rice research.
NJ.com
http://bit.ly/1znXbdF

Corporate America ready to invest billions of dollars in India
Tough reforms are needed to overcome the challenges facing the Indian economy and to revive the critical Indian manufacturing sector, according to Russell Green, the Will Clayton Fellow in International Economics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and an adjunct assistant professor of economics at Rice.
ZeeBiz (India)
http://bit.ly/U3Bzmd

Ambition, investor greed fuel rise and fall of Arabtec
Arabtec’s plan to expand may be halted due to the company’s financial collapse. Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Reuters (The Reuters newswire story also appeared in more than 30 other news outlets.)
http://tinyurl.com/py3ozpz
Ebb and flaw of Arabtec’s dreamy ride
Oman Tribune
http://bit.ly/1k5muHG

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Inside the lab making 3-D-printed hands (video)
Jordan Miller, assistant professor of bioengineering, joined a global team to provide affordable prosthetic hands to children around the world.
Houston Business Journal
http://bit.ly/1rOk87F

Awty cellist seeks to promote intercultural collaboration
Kian Raissian of Awty International School was chosen as one of 20 outstanding student artists for 2014 by the Texas Commission on the Arts and the Texas Cultural Trust. Raissian receives instruction at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1zplt7i

BROADCAST

KHOU-TV
Bioengineering graduate students Zachary Crannell and Brittany Rohrman are profiled for their research to develop a simple, highly accurate test to detect signs of HIV and its progress in patients in resource-poor settings. (This story also aired on Texas Cable News statewide.)
http://bit.ly/1r8lUxX

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Survey: Many Texans eligible for subsidies from the ACA still believe coverage is too expensive
Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at the Baker Institute for Public Policy and professor of economics, and Elena Marks, scholar in health policy at the Baker Institute, issued a report on the Affordable Care Act.
Medical Xpress (This article also appeared in Science Daily and five other publications.)
http://bit.ly/1rOkr2m

A smashing new look at nanoribbons
Rice scientists have found a chemical-free way to unzip graphene nanoribbons. Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and of chemistry, and chair of the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering; Enrique Barrera, professor of materials science and nanoengineering; and Robert Vajtai, senior faculty fellow in materials science and nanoengineering, are mentioned. Graduate student Sehmus Ozden is quoted.
Printed Electronics World
http://bit.ly/1oEbLIv

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Katherine Whaley leaving KHOU
Alumna Katherine Whaley ’04 is leaving KHOU.
MediaBistro.com
http://bit.ly/1zntU2J

The 20 best college traditions in the US
Rice’s Beer Bike relay race is included in a list of the best college traditions.
Wellsville Daily Reporter (Similar stories appeared in Wicked Local Ambington and Somerville, U.K.)
http://tinyurl.com/l7f6ys4

SPORTS

Rice’s Christian Covington named to Bednarik Award watch list
Rice junior defensive tackle Christian Covington on Monday was named to the preseason watch list for the Bednarik Award, presented annually to college football’s defensive player of the year.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1ne8zUy

NEWS RELEASES

Survey: Many Texans eligible for subsidies from Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace still believe coverage is too expensive
Half of Texans who are eligible for premium subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and who looked for health plans in the ACA’s Health Insurance Marketplace said cost was the main reason they didn’t enroll in a plan. That’s just one of the findings in a report released by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Episcopal Health Foundation.
http://bit.ly/1jdWQ8p

2 Rice mathematicians honored
Rice University mathematicians Shelly Harvey and Tim Cochran have won prestigious fellowships from the Simons Foundation.
http://bit.ly/VY4gmr