Dateline Rice for Oct. 14, 2014

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Your vote may be safe, but is it being counted?
Only 58 percent of ballots were successfully cast across three voting systems, according to a Rice University study. Postdoctoral research fellow and lead author Claudia Acemyan is quoted.
Futurity
http://bit.ly/1qnZ03e
Only 58 percent of votes cast on tamper-resistant systems counted
Phys.org (This article also appeared in Science Daily.)
http://bit.ly/11j8fvY

How churches are slowly becoming less segregated
Michael Emerson, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology, is mentioned for his analysis of racial segregation in churches in his book, “Divided by Faith.”
Wall Street Journal
http://on.wsj.com/1wzLEVn

Sequoia cofounders talk tech diversity and why they go east to hire engineering grads
Rice students participated in Business Today’s Start @ a Startup Conference in New York City.
Forbes
http://onforb.es/11gEqMz

Gulf states gamble on ambitious but risky mega-projects
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored an op-ed about the Persian Gulf’s re-immersion into multibillion-dollar projects following its financial crisis in 2008.
World Politics Review
http://bit.ly/1sCN2r7

Jón Gnarr moving to Houston, Texas
Comedian and mayor of Reykjavik Jón Gnarr accepted an invitation to an artist’s residency at Rice’s Center for Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sciences.
Grapevine.is
http://bit.ly/1scHgLi

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Transit meeting gives Houston a chance to reflect
Houston is re-evaluating its public transit in preparation for the projected 1 million people expected to move to the Houston area. Stephen Klineberg, professor of sociology and co-director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1o9aUTA

Houston angel investors show uptick in 2nd quarter
The newest Angel Resource Network’s HALO second quarter 2014 report revealed Texas’ improvement in investments. Rice is mentioned as a business incubator and accelerator in innovations.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/ZqxWJH

As a travel destination, Houston ranks right up where?
Houston Chronicle columnist Ken Hoffman mentions that visiting the Rice campus appears on the list of the top 30 things to do in Houston. He also mentions a continuing education course on TV sitcoms that he taught at Rice and the humorous thank-you note he received.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/Zq9N5Z

District attorney candidate Kim Ogg on the ‘human toll’ of prosecuting misdemeanor pot offenders
Drugs have been the main topic of discussion in the race for Harris County District Attorney. According to Rice’s Kinder Institute survey, 72 percent of Houston-area residents don’t think residents should be in jail for small amounts of pot, and 65 percent think medical marijuana should be legal.
Houston Press
http://bit.ly/1ChwwxL

Single images inspire short story subjects for author
Amber Dermont, the Gladys Louise Fox Associate Professor of English, will participate in University of Houston-Victoria’s American Book Review Reading Series.
Victoria Advocate
http://bit.ly/1o9bhxi

100 years of making music
Rice is mentioned in an interview with Mary Ellen Poole, former dean of the San Francisco Conservatory and current director of the Butler School of Music.
Arts + Culture Texas
http://bit.ly/1ChGMGz

Kaz’s Korner
Former Rice baseball player Lance Berkman, who is completing his kinesiology degree at Rice, is mentioned.
The Record
http://bit.ly/1qoicOq

BROADCAST

Davis stands by controversial attack ad
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, comments on the effect of Sen. Wendy Davis’ recent controversial attack ad.
KPRC-TV
http://bit.ly/1wzAboY
Controversial Wendy Davis ad draws national fire
My Fox Houston
http://bit.ly/1w66gGO

KUT 90.5 (Austin)
The cost of crude oil drilled in the U.S. has fallen, and experts predict it will keep falling. Kenneth Medlock III, the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics and lecturer of economics, is quoted.
http://bit.ly/1EUb7iz

WWZN-AM (Boston)
Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in history at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted about the Islamic Military State taking over another town in Iraq.
http://bit.ly/ZY9mB4

KRIV-TV
Green Mountain Energy installed solar panels on top of the Houston Food Bank’s new facility. Rice is mentioned.
http://bit.ly/11jFhMH

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Cheaper Saudi oil to pressure Iran, Russia and Venezuela
Saudi Arabia’s tolerance for lower oil prices is impacting Russia, Iran and Venezuela. William Arnold, professor in the practice of management at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted.
Investors.com
http://bit.ly/1trar10

Size of minority population impacts states’ prison rates, researcher finds
Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy found that states with a large minority population incarcerate more people. Postdoctoral research fellow and lead author Katharine Neill is quoted.
Phys.org (This article also appeared in Science Daily.)
http://bit.ly/1z7rYxH

2015 Rice Oil & Gas High-Performance Computing Workshop
Rice will host the Oil and Gas High-Performance Workshop March 4-5.
Scientific Computing
http://bit.ly/1vqMO92

Nanotech research makes color displays ‘squid-like’
Rice’s Laboratory for Nanophotonics created a color-display technology, which may aid in the development of artificial camouflaging “squid skin.”
Electronics Weekly
http://bit.ly/1D9yWAU

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Bismarck to host EmPower ND energy conference Tuesday at BSC
Charles McConnell, executive director of Rice’s Energy and Environment Initiative, will speak at the eighth annual Great Plains & EmPower ND Energy Conference Oct. 14 at Bismarck State College.
The Jamestown Sun
http://bit.ly/ZCjazT

Richard Tapia presents ‘Diversity Crisis in Higher Education’
Richard Tapia, University Professor, the Maxfield-Oshman Professor in Engineering and a professor of computational and applied mathematics at Rice, will present at the University of Delaware’s “Delaware Will Shine” Thought Leader Speaker Series.
UDReview.com
http://bit.ly/1nkMoyb

Author explores how religions would react to life on other planets
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 cited for her study, “Religious Understandings of Science.”
Daily American (This article also appeared in Imperial Valley Press.)
http://bit.ly/1p9mB7G

HBO debuts documentary ‘Joshua Bell: A YoungArts MasterClass’ tonight
Ivo-Jan van der Werff, professor of viola, is mentioned.
Broadway World
http://bit.ly/1p9biMN

Could listening to hip-hop help treat mental illness?
Scientists at Cambridge University are testing the theory that hip-hop can treat mental illness. Bernard “Bun B” Freeman, the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning’s Distinguished Lecturer, is mentioned.
MTV.com
http://on.mtv.com/1r3f7Tm

Alternative to Common App sees surge in use
Rice became a member of the Universal College Application.
The Brown Daily Herald
http://bit.ly/1o8X03J

SPORTS

Rice and North Texas to kick off at 11 a.m.
Rice football will play against North Texas University Oct. 25 at Rice Stadium.
Memorial Examiner
http://bit.ly/1z7L6vH
Football: UNT QB situation: Back to drawing board
DentonRC.com
http://bit.ly/1sCPRIQ

College standouts: Ex-Roo almost leads Kansas to upset
Rice football beat the United States Military Academy 41-21 at Michie Stadium in New York.
Killeen Daily Herald
http://bit.ly/1D9KxAb
Lambert Meadowlands Trophy, week 7: Rutgers, Temple Run 1-2 just as everyone predicted
BC Interruption
http://bit.ly/1o9dj0w
Kent State Golden Flashes versus Army Black Knights pick-odds-prediction
Sports Chat Place
http://bit.ly/1qolC3I

NEWS RELEASES

OpenStax College’s free textbooks have saved students $30 million
Rice University-based nonprofit OpenStax College today announced its free textbooks have saved students more than $30 million and have been adopted by instructors in more than 1,000 courses worldwide in less than three years.
http://bit.ly/1w0setM

STEM catalyst: New office will promote K-12 outreach
Rice University has created the Office of STEM Engagement to support and promote its wide-ranging efforts to improve K-12 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Houston-area school districts.
http://bit.ly/1rsRq6K

Size of minority population impacts states’ prison rates, Baker Institute researcher finds
New research from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy found that states with a large minority population tend to incarcerate more people.
http://bit.ly/1v3N8ZI

Only 58 percent of votes cast on tamper-resistant systems counted
A Rice University study of tamper-resistant voting methods revealed that only 58 percent of ballots were successfully cast across three voting systems. The researchers concluded additional work is needed to make voting both secure and user-friendly.
http://bit.ly/1qjTf6T