Dateline Rice for June 18, 2015

Correction: In the June 17 edition of Dateline Rice, we referred to Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research by the wrong name in the description of a Houston Business Journal article. We apologize for the error.

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Education gaps pose looming crisis for US economy
African-American and Hispanic workers are continuing to fall behind in education, which is making it difficult for companies to find skilled workers. Ruth López Turley, associate professor of sociology and director of the Houston Education Research Consortium, urges that these education gaps be addressed.
National Journal
http://bit.ly/1HuyW3U

Lifting crude oil export ban would help domestic producers, but would we pay more for gasoline?
Business owners testified before the House Small-Business Committee in support of lifting the 40-year-old ban on exporting crude oil. Kenneth Medlock III, the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics and lecturer of economics, explains that lifting the ban wouldn’t increase gas prices.
The Business Journals (This article also appeared in the Houston Business Journal and over 30 other affiliates.)
http://bit.ly/1J5PqQJ
Ending oil export ban could help little guys, too, small businesses tell House committee
Fuel Fix (This article also appeared in San Antonio Express-News.)
http://bit.ly/1Bq1OIl

1 in every 3 Mumbai street food sellers can kill you with their food
Deadly bacteria were found in food offered by vendors in Mumbai. The article includes Rice’s photo of E. Coli bacteria.
India Times
http://bit.ly/1Gjlqd9

Atlanta TV: Matthew Broussard on MTV2’s ‘Not Exactly News,’ Ovation’s ‘Southern Uncovered with the Lee Bros’
Alumnus Matthew Broussard ’10 will star in MTV2’s new show “Not the News.”
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
http://on-ajc.com/1SrgpYs

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Congrats on new MBA; now go back to work
Students graduating with an MBA are frustrated by the lack of recognition of their new skills. Alumna Jean Oudin ’15 explains her successful transition to the job market after receiving her MBA at Rice.
Houston Chronicle (This appeared on the front of the Business section. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1Srpdxu

How soon will Houston pass Chicago?
Andrew Keatts, content editor for Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, authored an op-ed about the likelihood that Houston will become the third-largest city in the country by 2030. Stephen Klineberg, professor of sociology and founding director of the Kinder Institute, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This article appeared in the Houston Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine.)
http://bit.ly/1Lhg1KY

Lucky break
An editorial expresses Houston’s need for a comprehensive messaging system, like the flood warning system developed by Phil Bedient, the Herman Brown Professor of Engineering.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1LhljGk

FreshDark Fest: Something new and different on Houston’s festival scene
Kazembe Gray, who won the College DJ Battle at Rice over three years ago, created the festival “freshDark Fest,” which will debut this Saturday at Last Concert Café.
HoustonPress
http://bit.ly/1dMlVWk

Brown looks toward neuroscience career
Cedar Ridge High School salutatorian Laney Brown plans to attend Rice.
Austin American-Statesman
http://atxne.ws/1MOf2iZ

BROADCAST

The agenda with Steve Paikin: Kyle Shelton: Death of the urban expressway?
Kyle Shelton, postdoctoral research fellow at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, appeared on TVO’s “The Agenda with Steve Paikin” to discuss the fate of urban expressways.
TVO.org
http://bit.ly/1N6bgC9

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

How ‘science popularizers’ influence public opinion on religion
Two prominent scientists with drastically different views on the relationship of science and religion – Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins – have an equally different influence on these views among people who are unfamiliar with their work, according to new research from Rice University and West Virginia University. 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 quoted.
Phys.org (This article also appeared in FNews.com, Science Newsline and e! Science News.)
http://bit.ly/1QFnKq6
Do ‘science popularizers’ care too much about religion?
Science 2.0
http://bit.ly/1L2p55m

Researchers grind nanotubes to get nanoribbons
Researchers on three continents discover that functionalized carbon nanotubes, when ground together, react and unzip into nanoribbons. The all solid-state process suggests that nanostructures may serve as templates for controlled chemical reactions. Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Materials Science and NanoEngineering and of chemistry, and graduate student Mohamad Kabbani are quoted.
Space Daily
http://bit.ly/1eqBiVv

Researchers discover massive genome switch in 1 generation
A team of biologists from Rice, the University of Notre Dame and three other schools has discovered that populations of an agricultural pest that began plaguing U.S. apple growers in the 1850s likely did so after undergoing extensive genome-wide changes in a single generation. Scott Egan, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, is quoted.
HealthCanal (This article also appeared in Notre Dame News.)
http://bit.ly/1JWEIfF

Smarter diagnosis – Light matters
In a clinical study of patients in the United States and China, researchers found that a portable, low-cost, battery-powered microendoscope developed by Rice bioengineers could eventually eliminate the need for costly biopsies for many patients undergoing standard endoscopic screening for esophageal cancer. Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Bioengineering, professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering and of Rice 360°: Institute for Global Health Technologies, is quoted.
Photonics.com
http://bit.ly/1SrNXFP

Concerns over code reuse and quality
Programmers are transitioning from writing their own code to using embedded software code. Rice is mentioning for its development of a data-mining engine that generates code after a few typed lines.
Embedded.com
http://ubm.io/1Gjm3Dn

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Innovators share strategies to ignite spirit of ingenuity on college campuses
The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship was honored for its exemplary practice in technology commercialization at the Deshpande Symposium for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Higher Education.
India New England
http://bit.ly/1d40teS

Community calendar
Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in history at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, will discuss his new book, “The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the Crusade for America,” at the Kennebunk River Club Casino in Maine.
Seacoast Online
http://bit.ly/1JWUZkH

Pro-marijuana advocates plant seeds for next session
Texas citizens do not have access to referendums that advocate for relaxed drug laws, which is a major setback for marijuana legalization. Katharine Neill, the Alfred C. Glassell III Postdoctoral Fellow in Drug Policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Mineral Wells Index
http://bit.ly/1eqDAno

New installation by Memphis-based artist Ben Butler on view at Rice University Art Gallery
Memphis-based artist Ben Butler’s complex sculpture called “Unbounded” is on display at the Rice Gallery.
ArtDaily.com (This article also appeared in TheArtKey.com.)
http://bit.ly/1G7a2lB

Senior standouts – Westlake
Westlake High School graduate Adrish Anand plans to attend Rice.
Thousand Oaks Acorn
http://bit.ly/1G72Upk

SPORTS

UT to sell beer at football games in the fall
The University of Texas at Austin announced that it will begin selling beer at football games this fall. The team’s first game will be against Rice Sept. 12.
Houston Chronicle (This appeared on the front of the City & State section. Similar articles appeared in 211 other media outlets. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1CfmMF0
http://bit.ly/1L2p8OH

Brock Holt’s cycle should turn heads
Alumnus Brock Holt ’12 is featured for his recent impressive performance in baseball.
Outside Pitch
http://bit.ly/1JWUNBW
MLB: O’s hit team-record 8 homers, crush Phils 19-3
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1RcAAHe