Dateline Rice for Oct. 1, 2014

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Mideast turmoil keeps gasoline at 45 cents in oil states
Saudi Arabian Oil Co. warned ministers from six Arab Gulf nations that there would be low levels of oil to sell in the next two decades if domestic power continues to rise eight percent annually. Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted about the political consequences of raising oil prices.
Bloomberg
http://bloom.bg/10ln6pf

Syria raids show Saudi, UAE ambition to extend regional authority
An article about Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates’ decision to join air strikes in Syria quotes Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for Kuwait at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Chicago Tribune (This article also appeared in ABNA.ir, Orlando Sentinel, Reuters India, CNBC, Voice of America, Dublin News, Toronto Telegraph and TradeArabia.)
http://trib.in/ZrO0eY

Boehner teases big highway bill — Chicago air traffic slow to resume — TSA expanding PreCheck — White House order on drones
Dan Wallach, professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering, is quoted about privacy concerns concerning flight passenger data.
Politico
http://politi.co/1mQKp4n

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Baker Institute panel to discuss Texas population, health care
A panel to discuss population change and its possible effects on Texans’ health care will be held at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Speakers will include Elena Marks, scholar in health policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy; Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at the Baker Institute for Public Policy and professor of economics; and Steve Murdock, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and director of Rice’s Hobby Center for the Study of Texas.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1ozchFK

Robert Heineman is still crafting The Woodlands’ vision
Alumnus Robert Heineman ’69, vice president of planning for the Woodlands Development Co., is featured for his involvement in the Woodlands’ architectural and landscape design.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1E04UkE

Rice launches center for quantum materials
Qimiao Si, the Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of Physics and Astronomy, discusses Rice’s investment in bringing quantum materials to campus. Provost George McLendon and Vice Provost for Research Yousif Shamoo are quoted.
Houston Style Magazine
http://bit.ly/1vwMT8G

Going viral
Rice scientists found the crystal structure of the Orsay virus that naturally infects a certain type of nematode, which make up 80 percent of the current animal population. Yizhi Jane Tao, associate professor of biochemistry and cell biology, and Weiwei Zhong, assistant professor of biochemistry and cell biology, are featured.
Houstonia
http://bit.ly/1pFLuqD

6 young artists who are reshaping Houston’s art scene
Tenor David Portillo, will perform at the Houston Grand Opera, follows a strict regimen overseen by his voice teacher at Rice.
Houstonia
http://bit.ly/1vxux8g

CFISD representatives attend Houston Arts Partners Conference
Musiqa artistic director Anthony Brandt, associate professor of composition and theory at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, spoke at the annual Houston Arts Partners Conference.
Cypress Creek Mirror
http://bit.ly/YTNV2E

JCC and Houston Symphony present Jeffrey Siegel’s ‘Keyboard Conversations’
Internationally renowned concert pianist Jeffrey Siegel, who has performed at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music for the past three years, will perform at the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center in Houston.
Cypress Creek Mirror (This article also appeared in Sugar Land Sun.)
http://bit.ly/YMBG86

BROADCAST

What’s fact or fiction in Texas governor’s race?
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 ineffectiveness of political “attack” ads, and the debate between Wendy Davis and Greg Abbott.
KPRC-TV
http://bit.ly/1v4PIMG
Tonight Sen. Davis and AG Abbott to debate over TEF
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/ZroCGf
The brief: Abbott and Davis to clash once more, with feeling
The Texas Tribune
http://bit.ly/1yz3T2D
KPFT-AM
http://archive.kpft.org/

WBZ-AM (Boston)
Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in history at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted about President Jimmy Carter on his 90th birthday.
http://bit.ly/1nLicg3 (This broadcast also aired on WBEN-AM.)

Al Jazeera America
Russell Green, the Will Clayton Fellow in International Economics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and an adjunct assistant professor of economics, is mentioned.
http://bit.ly/1uBuNV4

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Cerego awarded grant to develop next-generation digital courseware
Rice’s OpenStax College is mentioned as one of the grant finalists in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Next Generation Courseware Challenge.
BioSpace (This article also appeared in Sun News and 12 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/1vx8QnX

Cheap hybrid outperforms rare metal as fuel-cell catalyst
James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, and his lab combined the graphene quantum dots he created last year with microscopic sheets of graphene to create a hybrid that could cut the cost of generating energy with fuel cells.
Phys.org
http://bit.ly/YMnFr6

Process for producing layered 2-D materials determines their electronic properties
Rice, in collaboration with scientists from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University and Pennsylvania State University, led the first single-step growth of self-assembled hybrid layers that can be structured multiple ways. Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Materials Science and NanoEngineering and of chemistry, and Robert Vajtai, senior faculty fellow in materials science and nanoengineering, are quoted.
IEEE Spectrum (This article also appeared in AZoNano.com.)
http://bit.ly/YTJLrk

Indian scientists more religious than British ones
According to the first cross-national study of religion and spirituality, Indian scientists are more religious than United Kingdom scientists. The results were presented at the Religion Among Scientists in International Context Study conference in London, which is co-sponsored by Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Elaine Howard Ecklund, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair and Professor of Sociology, co-director of the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance and director of Rice’s Religion and Public Life Program, is quoted.
Asian Scientist
http://bit.ly/1CG8Yoo

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Nation is facing a refugee crisis, not an immigration crisis, says writer
Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Sonia Nazario spoke at Rice for the President’s Lecture Series during Hispanic Heritage Month. Rice President David Leebron is quoted.
DailyNewsEn.com
http://bit.ly/1sNcso0

Oct. 13: Diversity crisis
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/ZrzDHx

More than just a soundtrack: The music behind video games
Janet Rarick, associate professor of music career development, is quoted in an article about the evolution of video game music.
The Michigan Daily
http://bit.ly/1xBRvNZ

Guest editorial: Wikipedia grows up
Diana Strassmann, the Carolyn and Fred McManis Distinguished Professor in the Practice of the Humanities and director of Rice’s Program on Poverty, Justice and Human Capabilities in the Center for the Study of Women, Gender and Sexuality, is quoted about the board of the Wiki Education Foundation’s goal to engage professors and students to become active contributors to Wikipedia.
Northwest Georgia News
http://bit.ly/1v50HFW

Bun B uses Howlin’ Wolf performance to show talent is ageless
Bernard “Bun B” Freeman, the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning’s Distinguished Lecturer, performed at the Howlin’ Wolf in New Orleans.
The Hullabaloo
http://bit.ly/1BzNkQp

A new kind of learning
Rice students participated in a human rights and global ethics seminar at the United Nations.
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1thb1IS

Midland Symphony Orchestra caps season with trips to Prague and Vienna
Alumnus Bohuslav Rattay ’97 is featured. Karim Al-Zand, associate professor of composition and theory at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music, is mentioned.
MLive.com
http://bit.ly/1ruxvKG

Low and slow
Alumnus Greg Gatlin ’03 is featured.
West University Buzz
http://bit.ly/1ruCw61

SPORTS

Rice Owls versus Hawaii Warriors pick-odds-prediction
Rice football will play against the University of Hawaii Oct. 4 at Rice Stadium.
Sports Chat Place
http://bit.ly/1sN5U91
‘Bows ready for a weekend serving of Rice
Hawaii News Now
http://bit.ly/1qVjxvd

Teams bravely explore new depths
Rice football beat Southern Mississippi University 41-23 at Roberts Stadium.
ESPN (Similar articles appeared in CBS College Sports Network and 35 other media outlets.)
http://es.pn/1v1U2fG

TCU club golf gets the ball rolling
Texas Christian University is competing in its first tournament of the year at Cross Timbers Golf Course in Azle, Texas. The team competes in a competitive Texas region, which includes Rice.
TCU 360
http://bit.ly/1BzFTsh

NEWS RELEASES

Platinum meets its match in quantum dots from coal
Graphene quantum dots created at Rice University grab onto graphene platelets like barnacles attach themselves to the hull of a boat. But these dots enhance the properties of the mothership, making them better than platinum catalysts for certain reactions within fuel cells. The Rice lab of chemist James Tour created dots known as GQDs from coal last year and have now combined these nanoscale dots with microscopic sheets of graphene, the one-atom-thick form of carbon, to create a hybrid that could greatly cut the cost of generating energy with fuel cells.
http://bit.ly/1thkdg9

OpenStax takes ‘personalized’ learning to college
Rice University-based nonprofit OpenStax, which has already provided free textbooks to hundreds of thousands of college students, has been chosen by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop personalized courseware for college students as part of the foundation’s $20 million Next Generation Courseware Challenge.
http://bit.ly/1qVpGHR

Rice launches Center for Quantum Materials
Rice University has launched the Rice Center for Quantum Materials (RCQM), a multidisciplinary effort to solidify Rice’s leadership in the exploration of high-temperature superconductors and other exotic materials both by attracting top faculty and students and by inviting the world’s leading experts to Rice to collaborate on research.
http://bit.ly/1wY8UgP