Dateline Rice for Sept. 18, 2014

FEATURED ITEMS

Students design special wheelchair for Houston teen
Rice students created a unique wheelchair with paddles instead of armrests for a Houston teenager suffering from arthrogryposis. Will Rice College junior Michaela Dimoff, McMurtry College senior Jared Elinger, Martel College senior Christina Petlowany, Hanszen College senior Reed Thornburg and Baker College junior David Smith are quoted. Phil Kortum, assistant professor of psychology; Alan Russell, director of Rice Disability Supports Services; Ann Saterbak, professor in the practice of bioengineering education; Maria Oden, director of Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen and co-director of Beyond Traditional Borders; Matthew Wettergreen, a lecturer in Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering; and alumni adviser Larry Ciscon are mentioned.
KPRC-TV
http://bit.ly/1tn4OyT
‘Rowing’ wheelchair is a moving experience
Today’s Medical Developments
http://bit.ly/XnNQ6x

Incomes haven’t risen for most in Houston, Census survey finds
Despite Houston’s booming economy, many residents are seeing a slow increase in wages. Steve Murdock, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and director of Rice’s Hobby Center for the Study of Texas, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (This appeared on the front page. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1r3F1JN

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

How to make carbon thread without ‘clumps’
Rice scientists designed a process to create lined single-walled carbon nanotubes. Angel Marti, assistant professor of chemistry, bioengineering, materials science and nanoengineering is quoted. Matteo Pasquali, professor of chemical and biological engineering and of chemistry; graduate student Chengmin Jiang; and graduate student alumnus Avishek Saha are mentioned.
Futurity (This article also appeared in Phys.org and Nanotechnology Now.)
http://bit.ly/1mfI2Is

New technology may let you throw away your ice scrapers
Rice scientists refined their de-icing film for radar domes to work as a transparent coating for glass. James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted.
PBS
http://to.pbs.org/1tn4mQV
Nanoribbon film keeps glass ice-free
Product Design & Development (This article also appeared in Laboratory Equipment, DailyNewsEn.com, Interiors & Sources and Cutting Edge News.)
http://bit.ly/1p2it91
Transparent film keeps windows ice-free
Buildings.com
http://bit.ly/1r2aOfo

Wonkbook: The Federal Reserve has returned to being boring
Analysts are warning the Obama administration that oil production will decline if the United States does not lift its long-standing ban on exporting crude. Kenneth Medlock III, the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics and lecturer of economics, is quoted.
The Washington Post (This article also appeared in Energy Guardian.)
http://wapo.st/1r24NPS
Medlock: Without oil exports, drilling rigs could flee US
Fuel Fix
http://bit.ly/1uKfKGa
‘Day of reckoning’ ahead for oil export ban
Houston Chronicle (This appeared on the front of Fuel Fix. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1uKu6au
Economist predicts crude export ban will stand for now
San Antonio Express-News
http://bit.ly/1s8pZGv

Alibaba IPO investors in China find creative ways to get around government restrictions
Yan Anthea Zhang, professor of management, is quoted about Alibaba, the largest e-commerce website in China.
International Business Times (This article also appeared in Austin American-Statesman.)
http://bit.ly/1pkszS5
Chinese investors find ways around rules to buy into Alibaba
Investing.com
http://bit.ly/1o5Nh8L

‘Squid skin’ technology produces vivid color display
Rice’s Laboratory for Nanophotonics created a color-display technology, which may aid in the development of artificial camouflaging “squid skin.” Naomi Halas, the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of Rice’s Laboratory for Nanophotonics and professor of physics and astronomy, and Stephan Link, associate professor of chemistry and of electrical and computer engineering, are quoted. Postdoctoral fellow Alejandro Manjavacas and Peter Nordlander, professor of physics and astronomy and in electrical and computer engineering, are mentioned.
Yahoo! India (This article also appeared in DaijiWorld and 10 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/1udAoNo

Acadia National Park aided by policies of Theodore Roosevelt and FDR
An article about President Theodore Roosevelt’s role in laying the groundwork for Acadia National Park and other national parks quotes from Douglas Brinkley’s biography of Roosevelt, “The Wilderness Warrior.” Brinkley is a professor of history and fellow in history at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Acadia National Park on My Mind
http://bit.ly/1o67viC

Mapping the spread of housing inequality over the great recession
Sociologists at Rice and Cornell University found that African-Americans are 45 percent more likely than whites to switch from owning their home to renting it.
City Lab
http://bit.ly/1qhnIRy

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Houston schools’ entrepreneurship programs ranked among top 5 in US — again
Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business has the No. 4 graduate entrepreneurship program in the U.S. for the third consecutive year, according to rankings announced this week by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.
Houston Business Journal
http://bit.ly/1uK3aqv

Chronicle critics offer entertainment suggestions
The Apollo Chamber Players will open their season with performances at Rice’s Alice Pratt Brown Hall Sept. 21.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1r3LhRU

Culture scene: Sept. 18-24
The Fisher Duo will perform at Rice’s Alice Pratt Brown Hall Sept. 19.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1uWzxRG

BROADCAST

In perspective: Is the Israeli-Palestinian cease-fire a calm before another storm?
Ussama Makdisi, the Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair of Arab Studies and professor of history, participated in a discussion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
KUT.org
http://bit.ly/1qNTKek

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Persian Gulf states have new role to play in Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for Kuwait at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is featured for his paper, “The Gulf States and Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Resolution,” which proposes policy recommendations on how the Gulf states can engage with regional and international partners.
Phys.org
http://bit.ly/1s8vrsT
Baker Institute paper: Persian Gulf states have new role to play in Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution
The Rancher (This article also appeared in Fort Bend Sun and Memorial Examiner.)
http://bit.ly/YV4ADS

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Sept. 29: Thought Leader Speaker Series
Richard Tapia, University Professor, the Maxfield-Oshman Professor in Engineering and a professor of computational and applied mathematics at Rice, will speak at the Oct. 13 Thought Leader Speaker Series at the University of Delaware.
University of Delaware
http://bit.ly/1p2lZR1

Live music in New Orleans for Sept.: Rapper Bun B at the Howlin’ Wolf
Bernard “Bun B” Freeman, the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning’s Distinguished Lecturer, will perform at Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans.
The Times-Picayune
http://bit.ly/1tnqoDo

Sprague graduate playing in the NFL of orchestras
Alumnus Brian Johnson ’10 is now a bass player for the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Statesman Journal
http://stjr.nl/Zq4uEf

SPORTS

Old Dominion (2-1) at Rice (0-2) (ET)
Rice football will play Old Dominion University Sept. 20.
The State (This article also appeared in Kansas City Star and 13 other publications.)
http://bit.ly/XKYB3e

Owls seeing ‘eye-to-eye’ after players-only meeting
The Rice football team held a players-only meeting in preparation for their game against Texas A&M University. Player Jowan Davis is quoted.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1uWxugD

NEWS RELEASE

Rice football coach Bailiff T-shirt exchange program Friday
Rice Owls head football coach David Bailiff will hold his annual T-shirt exchange at 11:45 a.m. Sept. 19 in front of William Marsh Rice’s statute in the middle of the university’s academic quadrangle.
http://bit.ly/XL4ldt