Dateline Rice for July 21, 2015

FEATURED ITEM

‘Open Journal’
Mike Wolf and Matt Taylor are interviewed about the Rice Emerging Scholars Program, which they co-direct. The program helps prepare a select group of incoming freshmen for the challenging pace, depth and rigor of math, science and engineering courses at Rice. Wolf is a professor of mathematics and Taylor is associate vice provost and associate dean of undergraduates.
KPFT.org’s “Open Journal”
http://bit.ly/1fjAj9d

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Getting real about the Iran deal
Joe Barnes, the Bonner Means Baker Fellow at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored an op-ed about the debate and criticism stemming from the nuclear agreement between Iran and the West.
The Hill
http://bit.ly/1g1xkmN

How slavery built Charleston
Graduate student Edwin Breeden is helping to change the discussion of the history of Charleston, S.C., and put an emphasis on the significance of the city’s economy and architecture and its ties to slavery.
The Atlantic City Lab
http://bit.ly/1Gz0nmx

Kanzius cancer machine gets its first human trial
John Kanzius, a leukemia patient and retired radio engineer who died while undergoing chemotherapy, developed a noninvasive radio wave cancer machine that will have its first human trial in the fall. Rice researchers helped test the technology.
Newsweek
http://bit.ly/1OjQjnp

Festival Internacional de Literatura de Houston, una iniciativa ecuatoriana
The International Literature Festival Houston will be held Oct. 30 and 31. David Medina ’83, director of multicultural community relations, is mentioned as a supporter of the initiative.
La Hora (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/1VpCwB3

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Abbott’s response to Trump on Mexico is muted
Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor of political science and fellow in political science at Rice’s Baker Institute, comments on Gov. Greg Abbott’s response to presidential candidate Donald Trump’s remarks about Mexican immigrants; Jones also comments on his own ranking of the members of the Texas Senate, which may predict a trend for the presidential campaign and the challenges between Cuba and the U.S.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1MmEwa8
No middle ground in Texas politics anymore
Sunny 99.1
http://bit.ly/1SzNfVi
Cuba y EEUU necesitan tiempo y confianza para restablecer plenamente relaciones
Sputnik News (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/1RN3jYS

UT lands $13M grant to help design earthquake-resistant structures
Rice is mentioned as a partner of the University of Texas team leading research on a software platform that will help engineers construct buildings, levees, bridges, highways and other structures impervious to earthquakes and other natural hazards.
Dallas Morning News
http://bit.ly/1JuKwYn

Providers: State needs to extend Medicaid waivers
More than 50 stakeholders gathered for a Texas Health and Human Services Commission meeting to make public comments about extending the Medicaid 115 Transformation waiver. The article cites Rice’s Code Red Task Force on Access to Health Care in Texas.
Tyler Morning Telegraph
http://bit.ly/1TO1Sqv

Site-specific installations uses 10,000 sticks and 30,000 wooden matchsticks
Memphis-based artist Ben Butler’s complex sculpture called “Unbounded” is on display at the Rice Gallery until Aug. 28.
Houston Press
http://bit.ly/1MipjpR

9 Texas schools named best in the world
Rice University is No. 120 in the 2015 Center for World University Rankings and No. 61 among universities in the United States.
Houston Business Journal
http://bit.ly/1KiA0pY

Spring student heads to nation’s capitol to attend Boys Nation
Providence Classical School senior Michael McDowell plans to attend Rice.
Cypress Creek Mirror
http://bit.ly/1IgyNjI

BROADCAST

Mexico official: 7 people arrested in jailbreak of drug lord Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman
Gary Hale, a nonresident fellow in drug policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, appeared on Eyewitness News to discuss the escape of Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman.
KTRK-TV
http://abc13.co/1JuWamb

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Job hunting: One time it actually hurts to be a handsome man
A study conducted by University of Maryland found that attractive men could be seen as a threat to a hiring manager or committee. Rick Wilson, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair of Political Science and professor of statistics and psychology, is quoted.
Cheat Sheet
http://bit.ly/1JeqBBp

Puffin’s classical Sundays presents concert pianist Jessica Xylina Osborne
Alumna Jessica Osborne ’04 will perform a solo concert at the Puffin Cultural Forum in New Jersey.
Patch.com
http://bit.ly/1gMgCI9

SPORTS

Notes from the Sally: The Augusta Greenjackets of the San Francisco Giants system
Rice baseball player Skyler Ewing is profiled.
Minor League Baseball
http://bit.ly/1DsmcUV

NFL urban legends: Ray Guy and the helium punt
The 1977 incident in which former Houston Oiler coach Bum Phillips alleged a football had been inflated with helium and sent it to a lab at Rice to be examined is included in a series on NFL urban legends.
Bleacher Report
http://ble.ac/1RMykMn