Dateline Rice for Feb. 25, 2015

FEATURED ITEM

Rice men’s tennis team supports 4-year-old cancer patient
Head coach Efe Ustundag and the Rice men’s tennis players welcomed 4-year-old cancer patient Bennett Nester as part of their team.
Houston Chronicle (This was featured on the front of the Sports section. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/18lapzc

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Obama’s AUMF is largely meaningless, but a good idea anyway
Joe Barnes, the Bonner Means Baker Fellow at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored an op-ed about the Obama administration’s authorization for use of military force to Congress.
The Hill
http://bit.ly/1FXJNSr

Sex, lies and espionage: Did a professor spy for the FBI?
Rice President David Leebron is quoted as a member of the National Security Higher Education Advisory Board in an article that references concerns between intelligence agencies and academic leaders. He also is referenced in an article about a Chronicle of Higher Education report comparing the 2012 salaries of presidents of Houston-area private universities. The article quotes from a column that Leebron wrote last year for The Hill about the competitive nature of higher education.
Bloomberg Business
http://bloom.bg/1LGao6O
What’s the cost: Houston’s highest-paid college and university executives’ compensation
Houston Business Journal
http://bit.ly/17XmTfd

The archival delights of public service broadcasting
John F. Kennedy’s speech given at Rice in 1962 is mentioned.
The New Yorker
http://nyr.kr/1LDEwhi

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Bun B on faith, sin, integrity and hip-hop as religion
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. Bun B mentions that he respects his students’ serious efforts to learn in the Texas Monthly article.
Texas Monthly
http://bit.ly/1vzedXv

Time to fast-forward Texas election laws?
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 proposed bill for the electronic completion of an application for a ballot for voting by mail and the delay of President Barack Obama’s immigration reform order.
Star-Telegram
http://bit.ly/1BcrvdE
Corte de Apelaciones de Nueva Orleans será clave para el futuro de la acción diferida
La Voz de Houston (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/1LDu2Pd

Oscar winner Simmons remembered for HGO role
Richard Bado, director of Rice’s Opera Studies Program, conducted Oscar winner J.K. Simmons in the Houston Grand Opera’s 1990 revival of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic “Carousel.”
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1BUq70j

Guest violist at String Fling
Alumnus Jacob Sustaita ’08 will perform at Fort Bend Independent School District’s Spring Fling Concert Feb. 26.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1LHFoDz

‘Top Model’ contestant killed in triple homicide
Alumnus Denzel Wells ’12, who was a finalist on “America’s Next Top Model,” is pictured in a slide show that accompanies a story about the death of a former contestant.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1DV822Q

Turner House Salon series brings in writer, comedian Jon Gnarr
Famous Icelandic comedian, pundit and former mayor of Reykjavík Jón Gnarr will give a lecture and sign books for the spring Salon series at Turner House in Dallas. Gnarr will begin his residence this spring as the first writer-in-residence at Rice’s Center for Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sciences.
The Dallas Morning News
http://bit.ly/1JLZsap

BROADCAST

As the race for Houston mayor starts, what happens when they leave office?
Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, discusses past Houston mayoral candidates.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/18lGXZJ

Spirituals, folk songs and hip-hop
Music performed by Rice’s Shepherd School of Music is played on Houston Public Media’s “Music in the Making.”
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/1akeapf

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Simulating superconducting materials with ultracold atoms
Rice University physicist Randy Hulet and his collaborators have used ultracold lithium atoms to create a state of matter that may help solve some of the mysteries of high-temperature superconductivity. Their results are described this week in the journal Nature. Hulet is the Fayez Sarofim Professor of Physics and Astronomy.
ChemEurope.com
http://bit.ly/1LDHgLI
Rice University researchers simulate superconducting materials and observe antiferromagnetic order
AZo Materials (This article also appeared in Chemie.de. eWallstreeter and Space Daily.)
http://bit.ly/1zeRStF
Ultracold atoms simulate superconducting materials
Controlled Environments
http://bit.ly/1BtbtxB

Location, location, location: Atomic locales are critical for strong concrete
The forces that bind atoms and molecules can impact the strength of particulate materials like concrete. Rice researchers carried out simulations to determine how the atomic placement of elements in concrete can be tuned to maximize its mechanical properties. Rouzbeh Shahsavari, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, is quoted. Former graduate student Saroosh Jalilvand is mentioned.
Ceramics.org
http://bit.ly/17yTacx

Asphaltene analysis takes a giant step
Rice University researchers have developed an easy and accurate technique to detect and quantify the amount of asphaltene precipitated from crude oils, which bedevils the oil industry by clogging wells and flow lines. Francisco Vargas, assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is quoted.
ECN Mag (This article also appeared in Domain-B and Science Newsline.)
http://bit.ly/1Btkln1
Crude oil production: Asphaltene analysis takes a giant step
Science Daily
http://bit.ly/1JMjPEl

Motor proteins prefer slow, steady movement: Rice University researchers
A new theoretical approach clarifies interactions between motor proteins and yields the discovery that both weak and strong forces influence how they keep a cell’s transport system robust. Anatoly Kolomeisky, professor of chemistry and of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is quoted.
Customs Today
http://bit.ly/1EQj1rF

US, Mexico transboundary hydrocarbons agreement for GoM takes shape
Robert Sebastian, special assistant to the chief for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Office of Strategic Resources, spoke at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy about the U.S. and Mexico’s agreement concerning oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
E&P Mag
http://bit.ly/1w91iGK

Natural gas heavy duty trucking fleet could benefit US economy, but not climate
According to a report by Rice University and the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis, switching from diesel fuel to natural gas may have advantages for the nation’s heavy-duty trucking fleet.
The Energy Collective
http://bit.ly/1EsxImz

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Islam: At war with the world?
David Cook, associate professor of religion, discusses the true apologists defending the reputation of jihadists.
Niagara Falls Reporter
http://bit.ly/1LHwdTE

WFU wins NAFSA Award for Excellence in International Education
Rice is receiving a 2015 Sen. Paul Simon Spotlight Award for one of its international education initiatives.
Wake Forest University
http://bit.ly/1wojm5C

Duo Alves to perform free show Thursday at OUS campus
Alumna Kristen Alves ’97 will perform at the Ohio University Southern Community Concert Series.
The Herald-Dispatch
http://bit.ly/1ajEKPo

SPORTS

SFA snaps 6-game skid
Rice baseball will play against Stephen F. Austin University today at Reckling Park.
The Pine Log
http://bit.ly/17XYyGd

NEWS RELEASE

BP to present ‘Energy Outlook 2035’ at Rice’s Baker Institute Feb. 27
BP will present its “Energy Outlook 2035” at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Feb. 27. The event will be hosted by the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies.
http://bit.ly/1EQH89y