Dateline Rice for Feb. 4, 2015

FEATURED ITEM

Is your first-grader college ready?
Elementary schools are embracing college prep and helping children understand and explore higher education options. Rice’s elementary and middle school tours, teacher resource page and classroom packets are mentioned. A student who visited campus and wants to attend Rice is quoted. The slide show includes a picture of fifth-graders from Pine Forest Elementary by Willy’s Statue with a Rice student who served as their tour guide.
New York Times
http://nyti.ms/16n3pA7

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Tiny worms test nanoparticles for safety
Rice University scientists use roundworm populations in low-cost, high-throughput toxicity tests for a range of nanoparticles. The tests could cut the cost of determining which nanoparticles should be studied further for applications and for their effects on the environment. Weiwei Zhong, assistant professor of biochemistry and cell biology, and Qilin Li, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering, are quoted. Postdoctoral researchers Sang-Kyu Jung and alumna Xiaolei Qu ’13 are the lead authors of the paper. Co-authors are research scientist Boanerges Aleman-Meza, graduate students Tianxiao Wang and Zheng Liu and alumna Celeste Riepe ’13.
Futurity
http://bit.ly/1z9HZ05
Worms enable nanoparticle toxicity testing
Controlled Environments (This article also appeared in One News Page, Space Daily, European Coatings Journal, Animal Lab News and Science Newsline.)
http://bit.ly/1KrohmR

At 1994 Argentina bomb site, deja vu and fading hope for justice
Nicolas Shumway, dean of humanities and the Frances Moody Newman Professor of Humanities and professor of Spanish and Portuguese, is quoted about the death of Alberto Nisman, the prosecutor investigating the bombing at the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association.
Reuters (This article also appeared in the Japan Times and 21 other media outlets.)
http://reut.rs/1I0Zkmv

Low energy prices offer opening for subsidy cuts
Some countries are taking advantage of lower oil prices by cutting subsidies. Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
New York Times (This article also appeared in Iranian.com.)
http://nyti.ms/1zA3SJt
It’s time to tighten belts in the Gulf
Bloomberg Businessweek
http://bit.ly/16neEZu

Vanderbilt joins consortium of universities meeting full student financial need
Vanderbilt University is one of four colleges joining the Consortium on Financing Higher Education July 1, 2015. President David Leebron, chair of the COFHE board of directors, is quoted.
News.Vanderbilt.Edu
http://bit.ly/16nfDZu

Would you take a college course taught by Bun B? Here’s how
Religion and Hip-Hop Culture is a new free edX online course being offered by Rice University’s Center for Digital Learning and Scholarship. Anthony Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and professor of religious studies, and Bernard “Bun B” Freeman, the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning’s Distinguished Lecturer, will lead the course.
MTV News (Similar articles also appeared in Watch Loud and 15 other media outlets.)
http://on.mtv.com/1zJGdbc
Bun B is teaching Rice University’s free online course on religion and hip-hop
Hip-hopvibe.com
http://bit.ly/1DFdV0B
Bun B is teaching hip-hop and religion at Rice University
XXLMag.com
http://bit.ly/1DdJ0uc
Bun B to teach religion and hip-hop at Rice University (video)
The Urban Daily
http://bit.ly/1DFe8AR
Bun B, Rice University launches ‘Religion and Hip-Hop Culture’ online course
BallerStatus.com
http://bit.ly/1As8l3K
KHOU-TV
http://bit.ly/1CZ4tXq

Political Science and EECS join forces for ‘Elections and Voting Technology’ course
A joint course at Massachusetts Institute of Technology invited Dan Wallach, professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering, to speak about the design of the new voting system, StarVote, which will be used in Travis County, Texas.
MIT.edu
http://bit.ly/1LM3KNx

Top Republican contender Ted Cruz ‘foolishly experimented with marijuana,’ his campaign admits after Bush confesses to high-school pot use
Alumna Eleanor Darragh ’56, mother of Sen. Ted Cruz, is mentioned.
Daily Mail
http://dailym.ai/1KrqZsJ

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Prioritize schools
Steve Murdock, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and director of Rice’s Hobby Center for the Study of Texas, is quoted about the potential decline in education and income for Texans.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1C0CF3J

Missouri City hosting 1st monthlong Black History Month celebration
Missouri City hosted its first celebration for Black History Month. According to Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and the Hobby Center’s study of Texas, Missouri City is even more diverse than Houston.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/16n55ty

Op-ed: School of choice will do more for Texas education than spending more money
John Diamond, adjunct assistant professor of economics and lecturer of economics, authored an op-ed detailing how to achieve proper education reform.
Houston Business Journal
http://bit.ly/1uXp0oS

Health care experts consider preventative and integrated approaches to Latino health
Stephen Klineberg, professor of sociology and founding director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, will speak at the University of Houston College of Education’s daylong conference to discuss “The Changing Face of Houston: Tracking the Economic and Demographic Transformation.”
University of Houston
http://bit.ly/1BUBpfN

BROADCAST

Demanding higher wages, refinery workers strike shell oil
Kenneth Medlock III, the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics and lecturer of economics, comments on the inventory of crude products’ ability to withstand a short-term shutdown in production.
National Public Radio
http://n.pr/16zcVRA (This broadcast also appeared on KUT 90.5 and 41 other media outlets.)

Better batteries might hold enough to power your neighborhood
James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, is interviewed about the need for better batteries in electronics and vehicles.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/1zxZ2fM

Majority of African-Americans in Houston feel criminal justice system is biased
The latest survey from Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research revealed that a majority of the African-American community feel that there’s a bias against them in the criminal justice system. Stephen Klineberg, professor of sociology and founding director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, discusses the research.
Houston Public Media’s “Houston Matters”
http://bit.ly/1EGcN0j

Police chase ends at entry gate to Rice University
Houston police apprehended a man after a car chase that ended at Rice University. The article mentions that Rice’s gate entrance was closed, which allowed the police cars to surround the suspect.
KHOU.com
http://bit.ly/1C0Eu0s
Slow speed chase ends near Rice University
KPRC-TV
http://bit.ly/1AsmnCv
http://bit.ly/1CvhBEY
KTRK-TV
http://bit.ly/1Asn0fv
KZTV-TV (Corpus Christi, Texas)
http://bit.ly/1uXzzbo
KRIS-TV (Corpus Christi, Texas)
http://bit.ly/1z9L6VI

Houston reels from killing of priest, wife and young son
Alumnus Israel Ahimbisibwe ’09, his wife and one of their sons were found dead in their Memorial City apartment.
NBC News
http://nbcnews.to/1EFGi2x
Police continue to investigate case deaths of priest, wife and son
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1KcqfcE
Houston pastor, wife and boy ‘beaten’ to death
China Topix
http://bit.ly/1z9J5IZ
Beloved Texas pastor, wife and 5-year-old son found murdered; no signs of forced entry
Christian Post
http://bit.ly/1z8xMRz

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Shandong and Rice University celebrate opening of joint center for carbon nanomaterials
Scientists from Rice University and Shandong University, China, celebrated the opening of the Joint Center for Carbon Nanomaterials, a collaborative facility to study nanotechnology, on Feb. 1. Rice President David Leebron and Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Materials Science and NanoEngineering and of chemistry, are quoted. Jun Lou, an associate professor of materials science and nanoengineering, and alumnus Lijie Ci ’10 are mentioned.
AZoNano.com (This article also appeared in I-Connect007, PCBDesign 007 and SMT.)
http://bit.ly/1zJoctC

Sinuous grain boundaries could enhance strength of graphene
Far from being a defect, a winding thread of odd rings at the border of two sheets of graphene has qualities that may prove valuable to manufacturers, according to Rice scientists. Boris Yakobson, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering and professor of chemistry, and postdoctoral researcher Zhuhua Zhang are quoted.
AZo Materials
http://bit.ly/1u8ud1Z
Imperfect borders may improve graphene
Overclockers Club
http://bit.ly/16h2xwv
Winding borders may enhance graphene
Scicasts (This article also appeared in Innovations Report and Science Newsline.)
http://bit.ly/1BUxRdE

BP Macondo money being pumped into US Subsea Systems Institute
Rice will collaborate on the Subsea Systems Institute in Houston.
Energy Voice
http://bit.ly/1xgvr6r

A big deal for big data? Microsoft, R and you
Hadley Wickham, adjunct assistant professor of statistics, is quoted about R packages.
SQL Server
http://bit.ly/1z9IkzR

SPORTS

Andy Pettitte excited to see son play at Rice
Former Major League Baseball player Andy Pettitte is looking forward to watching his son, Josh Pettitte, play baseball for Rice this season. Head coach Wayne Graham is quoted.
KHOU.com
http://bit.ly/1zRAcL8

McSpadden, Giammalva to co-chair HTA fundraiser
Former head tennis coach Sammy Giammalva and Judge Mike Spadden will co-chair the Houston Tennis Association fundraiser gala.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1AsjlOQ

Apollos plot course for postseason
Former assistant coach Carlos Quintero is quoted about the Sharpstown High School women’s basketball team’s odds in upcoming games.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1zfnx2k