Dateline Rice for Dec. 23, 2014

FEATURED ITEMS

Houston university ranked as ‘best college value’
Rice is No. 7 on Kiplinger’s Personal Finance’s combined list of public and private best-value colleges. Other Rice rankings are noted in the article.
Houston Business Journal
http://bit.ly/1whyb2G
‘Best College Values’ include Ivy League campuses
Statesman Journal
http://stjr.nl/1whBLtE

The 20 colleges with the friendliest students, according to Niche
Rice is No. 7 on Niche’s top 20 list of the friendliest colleges and universities in the nation.
Huffington Post (This article also appeared in Social Dashboard.)
http://huff.to/1B2acbP

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Incredibly thin material could capture images
A synthetic two-dimensional material known as copper indium selenide could be the basis for ultimately thin imaging devices and optical sensors. Graduate student Sidong Lei and Robert Vajtai, senior faculty fellow in materials science and nanoengineering, are quoted. Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Materials Science and NanoEngineering and of chemistry, is mentioned.
Futurity
http://bit.ly/1A0qZ18
Atom-thick CCD could capture images: Scientists develop 2-dimensional, light-sensitive material
Macro Insider (This article also appeared in Compound Semiconductor, Opli, Controlled Environments, One News Page, National Headlines, World News and Loadeer.)
http://bit.ly/1va2YOE
2-D material shows promise for image sensing
Photonics.com
http://bit.ly/1JO9hCb
New material promises the thinnest-ever imaging device
The Times of India
http://bit.ly/1whxSow

Drilling for jobs
The North American oil and gas boom is raising questions about job growth for each state. Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Energy Studies is cited for its paper on upstream oil and gas investment in the United States.
Forbes (This article also appeared in Social Dashboard.)
http://onforb.es/1sTR8It

Nicaragua starts canal as critics lambaste it
A Chinese-led consortium began construction on an 800-foot-wide canal through one of the world’s most biodiverse regions in Nicaragua, which is worrisome to the natives. Pedro Alvarez, the George R. Brown Professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is quoted.
Wall Street Journal
http://on.wsj.com/1sU2tIE

Sukak backers seek to unite a fragmented market
Sukuk investors, which include the U.K., Luxembourg and Hong Kong, are attempting to take full advantage of sukuk’s potential to be a part of the mainstream capital market. Mahmoud El-Gamal, the Chair of Islamic Economics, Finance and Management, professor of economics and statistics and Rice Scholar at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Institutional Investor
http://bit.ly/1va6OHx

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Student blog: Nicolás Maduro and the politics of Christmas in Venezuela
Baker College senior Kristin Foringer authored a blog post detailing Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro’s decision to reassign the Christmas holiday to Nov. 1.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1B1ZH8n

The beauty of ugly Christmas sweaters
The ugly Christmas sweater has been embraced as a humorous holiday tradition. Christopher Sperandio, assistant professor of visual and dramatic arts, explains the potential conflict in wearing sweaters others deem “ugly.”
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/16MR60o

BROADCAST

Stem cell research at a tipping point, Rice scholars say
Deepak Srivastava, a leading biomedical research policy expert, discusses stem cell research’s rapid advancement.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/16N9PsZ

What could normalized relations with Cuba mean for Houston’s economy?
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, discusses President Barack Obama’s speech regarding U.S.-Cuban relations. Jones is also quoted about the death of former Houston Mayor Bob Lanier and the 2013 “Merry Christmas” law.
Houston Public Media’s “Houston Matters”
http://bit.ly/16N6iL1
America’s ancient relationship eventually ‘breaks the ice’
Watch (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/1vacjpr
Texas: Lanier’s legacy extends from the suburbs to the city
Mass Transit
http://bit.ly/1zRjUi5
Don’t mess with ‘Merry Christmas’
The Lima News (The article is on page 22.)
http://bit.ly/1A0Amh8

Al Jazeera America
Lee Brown, former Houston mayor and police commissioner of Houston, Atlanta and New York City, was interviewed via satellite in the Rice broadcast studio about the deaths of two New York City police officers. Brown is also a former member of RIce’s sociology faculty and a former fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy.
http://bit.ly/1xdUJIz

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Theory details how ‘hot’ monomers affect thin-film formation
Researchers at Rice and the University of Maryland led by Rice theoretical physicist Alberto Pimpinelli devised the first detailed model to quantify what they believe was the last unknown characteristic of film formation through deposition by vacuum sublimation and chemical vapor deposition. Pimpinelli, faculty fellow in materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted.
National Science Foundation (This article also appeared in AZoNanotechnology and 21 other media outlets.)
http://1.usa.gov/13X7Ukk

Resveratrol: The compound behind all those ‘red wine is good for you’ stories
Graduate student Mohit Kumar Jolly authored an op-ed about recent research on resveratrol, the “anticancer, antidiabetic and cardio-protective” compound found in red wine.
Science 2.0 (This article also appeared in e! Science News.)
http://bit.ly/1xdwl9W

Scientists trace nanoparticles from plants to caterpillars
In one of the most comprehensive studies of its kind, Rice University scientists tracked uptake and accumulation of quantum dot nanoparticles from water to plant roots, plant leaves and leaf-eating caterpillars. The research is available online in Environmental Science Technology. Janet Braam, professor and chair of biochemistry and cell biology; postdoctoral researcher Yeonjong Koo; and Pedro Alvarez, the George R. Brown Professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, are quoted.
Terra Daily (This article also appeared in One News Page.)
http://bit.ly/1x06MXO

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Coal for power and emerging environmental constraints: Biochar to the rescue?
Postdoctoral research fellow Ghasideh Pourhashem authored an op-ed about the new EPA proposal for the reduction of CO2 emissions from the electricity generation sector called the “Clean Power Plan.”
Social Dashboard
http://bit.ly/1HvQojs

Architecturally inspired gingerbread houses
Rice University School of Architecture was second runner-up with its “Ricing on the Cake Project Row House” at the 2014 AIA Gingerbread Bake Off. (The top prize winner, who built a model of the Grand Budapest Hotel from the Wes Anderson film, was also from Rice, but their Rice affiliation isn’t noted in the article.)
Architect
http://bit.ly/1xHUpRR

SPORTS

Fresno State versus Rice Hawaii Bowl – Dec. 24, 2014 college football pick, odds and prediction
Rice football will play at this year’s Hawaii Bowl Dec. 24 at Hawaiian Airlines Field at Aloha Stadium against California State University, Fresno.
Sports Chat Place (Similar articles appeared in over 90 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/1va7RqI
Fresno State takes on Rice in Hawaii Bowl
Visalia Times-Delta
http://vtd-tar.co/1wCTKzC
Rice, Fresno State go from 0-3 to Hawaii Bowl
KHOU.com
http://bit.ly/1A0HZEh
KHOU-TV
http://bit.ly/1xdu4f0
KHLN-TV (Honolulu)
http://bit.ly/1AEpRA1
KMPH-TV (Fresno, Calif.)
http://bit.ly/1E88Oue

Women’s college basketball: TSU rallies past Rice
Rice women’s basketball fell to Texas Southern University 69-63 at H&PE Arena.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1x03JPp
Rice falls to Texas Southern 69-63 in women’s college basketball action
Examiner.com
http://exm.nr/13tvfZN

Owls fall in overtime at Lamar
Rice men’s basketball fell to Lamar University 79-72 at Montagne Center.
Conference USA
http://bit.ly/13X6eaC

Rice’s Casey Clark doubles up to close out Incarnate Word invite
Rice women’s swimming finished with the highest score at the University of Incarnate Word Christmas Invitational. Swimmers Casey Clark and Rachel Moody broke personal records. Erin Flanigan won the 1650y freestyle.
Swim Swam
http://bit.ly/1sTOOB6

NEWS RELEASE

Rice will be closed for holiday recess Dec. 24 through Jan. 4
Rice University will be closed for holiday recess from noon Dec. 24 through Jan. 4. The university will reopen Jan. 5.
http://bit.ly/1x0xrUA