Dateline Rice for April 7, 2015

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Why biofuel algae should ‘eat’ wastewater
In one of the first studies to examine the potential for using municipal wastewater as a feedstock for algae-based biofuels, Rice University scientists found they could grow high-value strains of oil-rich algae while simultaneously removing more than 90 percent of nitrates and more than 50 percent of phosphorous from wastewater. Meenakshi Bhattacharjee, faculty fellow and executive director of applied algal research, and Evan Siemann, the Harry C. and Olga K. Wiess Professor of BioSciences, are quoted.
Futurity
http://bit.ly/1JkfSCW
Algae could both provide biofuel and clean up wastewater
Gizmag
http://bit.ly/1c3G1L4
Rice University: Algae from wastewater solves 2 problems
BioMass Magazine (This article also appeared in Water World.)
http://bit.ly/1NQLAbz
Algae biofuel production could soon be viable, Rice scientists suggest
The Green Optimistic
http://bit.ly/1H1lnHg
Black or yellow, there’s gold in that thar wastewater
Clean Technica
http://bit.ly/1aFOXpM

How do you feel? Video of your face may be able to tell you
Rice researchers are developing a touch-free system that monitors patients’ vital signs via video while compensating for skin tone, lighting and movement. Graduate student Mayank Kumar; Ashutosh Sabharwal, professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Ashok Veeraraghavan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, are mentioned.
Daily Mail (Similar articles appeared in Science Daily and 17 other media outlets.)
http://dailym.ai/1NQYTst
How do you feel? Video of your face may tell all
TMC News
http://bit.ly/1DETJjM
Video system captures vital signs from face
Epoch Times
http://bit.ly/1CuBLJI
Monitoring patients’ vital signs using a touch-free video system
Scope
http://stanford.io/1a1dvIy
Indian origin researchers creating camera to gauge health by analyzing face
Ani News (This article also appeared in Zee News.)
http://bit.ly/1FxJYS8
Kamera misst Lebenszeichen
Scinexx.de (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/1FhZUoZ

Indiana, Arkansas retreat on religion bills may spark wider trend
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 LGBT community’s effect on religious freedom bills and liberal propaganda aimed at Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign.
Reuters (This article also appeared in Business Insider and over 50 other media outlets.)
http://reut.rs/1aFwBVO
KTRH-AM
http://bit.ly/1NR8sYv

Tyler Cowen | It’s not the inequality, it’s the immobility
George Sher, the Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Philosophy, is cited for an argument about equality from his book “Equality for Inegalitarians” in an article about the need to increase economic mobility.
LiveMint.com
http://bit.ly/1y0XDB1

Pro-science group targets young evangelicals to spread its message
Rice’s 2015 Religious Understandings of Science survey was the topic of discussion at the AAAS conference.
World
http://bit.ly/1O2qPeU

Une piste pour Alger ? Un rapport, enterré en France, préconise une alternative à la fracturation hydraulique
The Algerian government is facing protest against the exploitation of shale gas from the use of hydraulic fracturing. Rice is cited for its study on the use of fluoropropane when fracking.
Huffington Post (An English translation is not available.)
http://huff.to/1yawfB1

Le discours de Netanyahou du 3 mars 2015: Quels enjeux pour l’accord nucléaire iranien?
Martel College junior Emily Flood reported on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress while she was in Paris for an internship with the Revue Défense Nationale.
Defnat.com (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/1N3qpYD

Unlike neighbors, Oman sees friend in Tehran
Tehran has reached out to Oman for its help to end the airstrikes in Yemen. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Business Standard (This article also appeared in the Daily Star, Aquila Style, Press Trust of India, Naharnet.com and Al-Monitor.)
http://bit.ly/1FbgX1c

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Cells exercise suboptimal strategy to survive
Analysis of suboptimal metabolic pathways gives a more realistic picture of why organisms are able to adapt to new environments, according to researchers at Rice studying systemic response to hypoxia and exercise. Graduate student André Schultz and Amina Qutub, assistant professor of bioengineering, are quoted.
TMC News (This article also appeared in HealthCanal, BioPortfolio, Phys.org, R&D Magazine, ScienceNewsline and e! Science News.)
http://bit.ly/1CRca1b

Michael Petry’s multiverse
Alumnus Michael Petry ’81, the Texas-born multimedia artist, author and director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, London, will headline Rice University’s Campbell Lecture Series April 7-9.
Houston Chronicle (This article appeared in the Houston Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1Dfnaa4

Husband and wife team up for Shakespeare in the Shade this spring
Alumni Haley Cooper ’08 and James Cooper ’02 are featured for their Shakespeare in the Shade event at Commissioner R. Jack Cagle’s Burroughs Park.
Cypress Creek Mirror (This article also appeared in Spring Observer and Paper Magazine.)
http://bit.ly/1GHztgB

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

What kind of thing is Moore’s Law?
Cyrus Mody, assistant professor of history, authored an op-ed about the multiple interpretations of Moore’s Law.
IEEE Spectrum
http://bit.ly/1CM5eT3

Water makes wires even more nano
Rice University researchers create sub-10-nanometer wires from a variety of materials by using water as a mask in a simple etching process. The process is promising for microelectronics manufacturers who seek to shrink the circuits in their devices. James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted. Graduate students Vera Abramova and Alexander Slesarev are mentioned.
R&D Mag (This article is featured in the R&D Daily AM newsletter.)
http://bit.ly/1GIazxs
Water makes wires even more nano: Rice University lab extends meniscus-mask process to make sub-10-nanometer paths
Phys.org (This article also appeared in Nanotechnology Now, EIN News, ScienceNewsline, Science Daily, e! Science News and Supercomputing Online.)
http://bit.ly/1Fbn0CR
New model can help predict how humans adapt to high- and low-altitude hypoxia
News-Medical
http://bit.ly/1Cu4oXF

Newsmaker: Medlock says low prices obstacle to lifting export ban
Lifting the 40-year-old export ban on U.S. crude oil would have far-reaching effects on pricing, energy security and energy sector investment, according to new research from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Kenneth Medlock III, the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics and lecturer of economics, discusses the study.
Energy Guardian (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1DH3azi

Iran oil return may be slow amid jostling for foreign investors
Iran is returning to the world oil market with strong competition for foreign investment dollars. William Arnold, professor in the practice of management at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted.
Hellenic Shipping News
http://bit.ly/1yS5ITM

OPEC role seems to be undergoing ‘real transition’
The Middle East’s oil consumption has surpassed China, despite having less than half the population, which is unsustainable. Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted. He is also cited for the Baker Institute study “A Refined Approach: Saudi Arabia Moves Beyond Crude.”
Hellenic Shipping News
http://bit.ly/1DfFhwM

12 communities experimenting with mesh networks
TFA Wireless, which is in a partnership with Rice, is included in a list of mesh networks that connect to the Internet without the use of a traditional provider.
Technical.ly
http://bit.ly/1CRbAkc

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Bun B and Anthony Pinn talk about teaching at Rice University
Bernard “Bun B” Freeman, the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning’s Distinguished Lecturer, and Anthony Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and professor of religion, discuss their new Religion and Hip-Hop Culture course.
AllHipHop.com
http://bit.ly/1JkrbLb

Could a ride-share service help with parking in Albany?
Ride-share company Lyft met with city hall officials in San Francisco to bring the business to the city. Bill Fulton, director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, explains the benefit of ride-share services in cities struggling with available parking space.
Capitol Confidential
http://bit.ly/1InR0MZ

Music Academy announces 2015 Summer Festival
Larry Rachleff, the Walter Kris Hubert Professor of Orchestra Conducting, will conduct two orchestra concerts at the Granada Theatre in Dallas.
Broadway World (This article also appeared in Noozhawk.com.)
http://bit.ly/1CRcUmY

Pittsburgh Symphony announces OTPAAM Fellow
Graduate student Torrell Moss was named the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s next fellow in the EQT Orchestra Training Program for African-American Musicians.
Post-Gazette.com
http://bit.ly/1FbeDr4

Rutgers-Camden students laud open source textbook recommendation
Rutgers University-Camden will promote the use of open source textbooks with a competitive grant program that awards faculty members for converting their assigned readings. Rice is mentioned.
NJ.com
http://bit.ly/1FhPhSW

The future of humanity on moons
John F. Kennedy’s speech given at Rice in 1962 is mentioned.
Social Underground
http://bit.ly/1c4iRo5

SPORTS

KTSA-AM (San Antonio, Texas)
Rice baseball is ranked No. 13 on USA Today’s coaches’ poll of the best college baseball teams in the country.
http://bit.ly/1FbBMcS

No. 14 Rice beats Middle Tennessee
The Rice baseball team beat Middle Tennessee 7-2 at Reckling Park..The Owls’ Kevin McCanna and Hunter Kopycinski are mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (This brief appears near the end of the article. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1c4eyca

It’s opening day, so longtime fan’s heart is light
Former Rice baseball player Lance Berkman is mentioned in a feature on baseball fan Richard Brinlee.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1c42eZI

Top-ranked Aggies host No. 13 Rice on Tuesday
Rice baseball will play against Texas A&M University today at College Station.
12thman.com (This article also appeared in KBTX.com.)
http://bit.ly/1ySu8wA
All hands on deck
TheBatt.com
http://bit.ly/1InK2aL
Inexperienced but ready
TheBatt.com
http://bit.ly/1CQTIWu
No. 1 A&M baseball to play No. 13 Rice tonight
WTAW.com
http://bit.ly/1GkGoxt

Lee leads men’s golf on Jim West Intercollegiate opening day
Rice men’s golf finished strong on the opening day of the Jim West Intercollegiate at Wolfdancer Golf Club. Players James Lee, Kevin Reilly, Mitchell Meissner and Tommy Economou are mentioned.
Conference USA
http://bit.ly/1DfMWuZ

Dixie State’s Dylan File tops roundup with 8 Ks
Rice women’s tennis beat Brigham Young University 5-2 in Utah.
The Spectrum
http://bit.ly/1DZdUaR

NEWS RELEASES

Kraft, Rhodes and Tarpley join Rice University board
Patti Kraft, David Rhodes and Gloria Meckel Tarpley have been elected to the Rice University Board of Trustees.
http://bit.ly/1JkuXUU

Rice, Malawi Polytechnic partner to create innovative technologies
Faculty from Rice University’s Department of Bioengineering and the Rice 360°: Institute for Global Health Technologies are partnering with the University of Malawi to replicate the success of Rice’s award-winning, engineering education programs for global health.
http://bit.ly/1Fbu3vx

Three Rice University students named Goldwater Scholars
Rice undergraduate students Peter Cabeceiras, Kenny Groszman and Eric Sung have been named Goldwater Scholars.
http://tinyurl.com/mjvoc5t