Dateline Rice for Aug. 28, 2015

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

How a pair of female fighters broke into the big time
Capt. Kristen Griest and 1st Lt. Shaye Haver became the first female graduates of the Army’s elite Ranger School. Retired Brig. Gen. Tom Kolditz, executive director of Rice’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders, is quoted.
New York Times
http://nyti.ms/1LGEJWb

Bush visits New Orleans, 10 years later
Former President George W. Bush returned to New Orleans on the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Douglas Brinkley, professor of history, comments on the hurricane’s impact on Bush’s presidency.
U.S. News & World Report (This article also appeared in Yahoo! News, ABC 13, Economic Times and the Republic.)
http://bit.ly/1IoFaNc
Bush returns to New Orleans for 10th anniversary of Katrina
Taiwan News (This Associated Press article appeared in Breaking News and 13 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/1JBds0x

US government to do nothing to help oil companies amid price drop – former official
Charles McConnell, executive director of Rice’s Energy and Environment Initiative, is featured for his comments on the U.S. administration’s lack of response to the suffering oil industry.
Sputnik News
http://bit.ly/1JAkWAV

India needs a big jobs miracle
Russell Green, the Will Clayton Fellow in International Economics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and an adjunct assistant professor of economics, co-authored an op-ed explaining India’s need for a shift in its job industry.
Live Mint
http://bit.ly/1Kc8VIF

The key to water security could be lurking in a New Mexico sewage farm
Researchers at New Mexico State University are building an energy-positive wastewater treatment to help preserve rivers, lakes and estuaries. Meenakshi Bhattacharjee, faculty fellow and executive director of the Center for Applied Algal Research, is quoted.
The Guardian
http://bit.ly/1NLEJ6C

Back-to-school money tips for college students
Hanszen College senior Miles Kruppa shares financial advice for college students.
Kiplinger
http://bit.ly/1Em6YXm

The 50 best colleges where students earn high starting salaries
Rice is No. 13 on PayScale’s ranking of the top U.S. colleges whose graduates earn the highest starting salaries and is tied for No. 18 for the best schools to earn a bachelor’s degree.
Business Insider Singapore (This article also appeared in Business Insider Indonesia and Malaysia and Yahoo! News UK.)
http://bit.ly/1F2OzK4
PayScale releases its ranking of the best schools to earn a bachelor’s degree
Connecticut Post (This article also appeared in the Advocate, Greenwich Time and News-Times.)
http://bit.ly/1KeAYah

Arctic draws international competition for oil
Bill Arnold, professor in the practice of management at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is interviewed about the opening of the Arctic for test drilling projects under U.S. control.
Chosun Media
http://bit.ly/1JocUvM

USS Frank Cable holds change of command
Alumnus Capt. Andrew St. John ’91 relieved Capt. Mark Benjamin as USS Frank Cable’s commanding officer during a change-of-command ceremony.
Navy.mil (This article also appeared in Before It’s News and Military News.)
http://1.usa.gov/1MRC0rA

Reinigungsverfahren aus Texas rettet ölverseuchte Böden
Rice University scientists are cleaning soil contaminated by oil spills in a way that saves energy and reclaims the soil’s fertility. Pedro Alvarez, the George R. Brown Professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is quoted and graduate student Julia Vidonish is mentioned.
Ingenieur.de (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/1Em8SqW

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Near Northside affordable community step closer to completion
Avenue Terraces, an affordable living community in Houston’s Near Northside, is almost completed. The article cites an op-ed by Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research about affordable housing near downtown Houston.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1NLG3GO

50 fittest US colleges in 2015 unveiled
Rice is No. 7 on the Active Times’ 2015 list of the 50 fittest colleges in America -– the highest ranking among the four Texas schools that made the list.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1Jo4BjB
http://bit.ly/1Ep5fB2
KEYE-TV (Austin, Texas)
http://bit.ly/1Jo5s3U (This broadcast also appeared on KBTV-TV, KABB-TV, KAUZ-TV, KYTX-TV and KJTV-TV.)

Getting ready for the gala: Society writer Amber Elliott shares her favorite salon ritual
Rice is mentioned several times in a slideshow of “the movers and shakers in Houston’s society scene.” The slide of Rice President David Leebron and University Representative Y. Ping Sun notes that they have been honored as International Executives of the Year by the Greater Houston Partnership. The item about Bob and Janice McNair notes that their foundation has supported Rice, where Bob received his MBA. The write-up about Bobby and Phoebe Tudor mentions that they support Rice’s Shepherd School of Music. The note about Jo and Jim Furr mentions that Jim has worked with the Rice Design Alliance.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1Jo3Xma

Energy companies not shirking campus recruiting
Houston’s largest oil companies are recruiting college graduates to have access to qualified talent once the economy improves. Rice University expects that its career fair in mid-September will draw almost 150 energy companies. Nicole Van Den Heuvel, director of Rice’s Center for Career Development, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (This appeared on the front of the Business section of today’s print edition; the online version appeared in the Aug. 27 issue of Dateline. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1Jyu5dc

Students at these schools have the best luck on Tinder
The dating app Tinder released its list of the college campuses with the “Most Swiped Right” students, which indicates approval. Rice is No. 13 on the list of the top 25 of campuses with the most swiped-right males.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1NEgyb5
http://bit.ly/1Eo3R1v
Tinder rates Texas coeds amongst hottest in the nation
CultureMap Dallas
http://bit.ly/1PBD6qv
WFAA-TX (Dallas, Texas)
http://bit.ly/1MZYtV7

Sid Miller’s lack of apology says it all
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 for Public Policy, advises against Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller apologizing for a controversial Facebook post made by his staff, explaining that it could be more damaging than the offense. Jones also comments on Ted Cruz’s national campaign to defund Planned Parenthood.
San Antonio Express-News
http://bit.ly/1hJ5OeQ
Cruz campaigns to defund Planned Parenthood group
Jacksonville Progress
http://bit.ly/1JBdwBM

Rice professor receives high honors
Moshe Vardi, director of the Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology and Rice’s Karen Ostrum George Distinguished Service Professor of Computational Engineering and professor of computer science, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.
Jewish Herald-Voice
http://bit.ly/1i7m1dJ

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Modified bacteria become a multicellular circuit
Rice scientists made a living circuit from multiple types of bacteria that prompt cooperation to change protein expression. Matthew Bennett, assistant professor of biochemistry and cell biology, is quoted. Graduate students Ye Chen and Andrew Hirning are lead and co-authors of the study, respectively.
Science Daily
http://bit.ly/1MZT2p2

3-D maps illustrate formation of the Hangai Dome in central Mongolia
Researchers at Rice, the University of Toronto and Princeton University used seismic data to generate 3-D maps of the earth under the Hangai Dome in central Mongolia.
AGU.org
http://bit.ly/1LA2cFv

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Companies can boost employee creativity by encouraging
Companies can promote creativity in employees by encouraging them to network beyond their immediate business networks, according to a new study by management experts at Rice University, Australian National University, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Monash University in Clayton, Australia, and the University of Los Andes in Bogota, Colombia. Jing Zhou, the Houston Endowment Professor of Organizational Behavior and professor of psychology, is quoted.
IBC World News (This article also appeared in Asian News International and 13 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/1KpXKuj

College radio watch: Alum calls for return of KTRU’s old FM license to Rice, WRAS update + more news
Alumnus Joey Yang ’12 is featured for his op-ed suggesting that Rice consider buying KTRU’s former frequency and transmission tower back from the University of Houston, which is moving KUHA 91.7-FM to an HD radio and digital format.
Radio Survivor (This article also appeared in Beaumont Enterprise.)
http://bit.ly/1PCN7ny

SPORTS

Rice University football is using virtual reality to help train players
Rice signed a contract with STRIVR Labs to provide virtual reality technology for the football program. Player Driphus Jackson is quoted.
NewsFix
http://bit.ly/1JBGP7t
KTRK-TV
http://bit.ly/1EpoHgR

NEWS RELEASE

Modified bacteria become a multicellular circuit
Rice University scientists create a biological circuit by programming bacteria to alter gene expression in an entire population.
http://bit.ly/1In0UsM