Dateline Rice for Sept. 7, 2016

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Earth’s collision with another planet probably started life
Research by Rice University Earth scientists suggests that virtually all of Earth’s life-giving carbon could have come from a collision about 4.4 billion years ago between Earth and an embryonic planet similar to Mercury. Rajdeep Dasgupta, professor of Earth science, and postdoctoral researcher Yuan Li are quoted. Rice research scientist Kyusei Tsuno is mentioned.
Gizmodo Australia (similar articles appeared in 64 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2csAyyF
Planetary collision brought Earth its life-giving carbon
Inverse
http://bit.ly/2chumxv
Earth’s carbon may have come from collision with Mercury-like protoplanet 4.4B years ago
International Business Times
http://bit.ly/2cahUNp
Rice University researchers: Life-giving carbon came to Earth in collision with Mercury-like planet
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2bT5dU8
http://bit.ly/2cBdqhP

Clinton declines invitation to meet Mexican president after controversial meeting with Trump
Tony Payan, the Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies and director of the institute’s Mexico Center, is quoted about Hillary Clinton’s decision to decline a meeting with the Mexican president.
Forbes
http://bit.ly/2cjZICx
KTRH
http://bit.ly/2bYcXru (Click on the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

IS’s new top recruiter on US most-wanted list
Graduate student Ethan Wilensky-Lanford is quoted in a story about the Islamic State group.
VOA (This also appeared in Big News Network, Solider of Fortune and Mexico Star.)
http://bit.ly/2csC43O

Opioid epidemic greatly exaggerated?
An extensive and easy-to-use collection of charts that present findings from decades of government survey data of drug use in the United States is now available on the website of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. William Martin, the Harry and Hazel Chavanne Senior Fellow in Religion and Public Policy at the  Baker Institute, and Katharine Neill, the Alfred C. Glassell III Postdoctoral Fellow in Drug Policy at the Baker Institute, are mentioned.
The Huffington Post (This also appeared in Health Medicine Network.)
http://huff.to/2cFYXFD

Rice University students named the happiest in the country
The happiest students in the country are at Rice University, according to the Princeton Review’s 2017 edition of “The Best 381 Colleges.” The new college guide ranks Rice No. 1 for happiest students and for lots of race/class interaction. Rice is No. 20 on a list of colleges where graduates earn the most 10 years after enrolling, No. 90 is on the 2016-17 QS World University Rankings, No. 31 on “Best Bang for the Buck” rankings in Washington Monthly’s 2016 College Guide, and No. 1 on the SmartAsset.com list of best value colleges in the state of Texas. A slideshow also mentions that Rice is ranked No. 4 nationally and the best college in Texas by Money magazine.
Town & Country (This article also ran in Yahoo! Sports.)
http://bit.ly/2cBKtFw
Here’s how much people earn 10 years after attending the 25 best colleges in America
Business Insider (This also appeared in Tech Insider, Business Insider Singapore and Business Insider Malaysia.)
http://read.bi/2c7oaDx
LETU ranked top in Texas in ‘best bang for the buck’
Longview News-Journal
http://bit.ly/2bTCsvJ
ITT Technical Institutes closes US campuses, including 3 in Houston
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This also appeared in Beaumont Enterprise, My San Antonio and SF Gate.)
http://bit.ly/2cBfeYn
http://bit.ly/2csOecU
Stanford leapfrogs the University of Cambridge and Harvard in rankings
eCampus News
http://bit.ly/2bTWlCz
Texas Tech ranks 6th for best value
Fox 34
http://bit.ly/2csWjhZ

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Despite poll, few believe Texas has become a toss-up state
Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, is quoted about the 2016 elections.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This article appeared on the front page of the Sept. 7 print edition with a different headline, “Could Texas really be in play?”)
http://bit.ly/2bXEoUX
Washington Post: Clinton 46, Trump 45
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/2bXT4DG
Is Texas really in play? New poll raises the question
San Antonio Express-News
http://bit.ly/2csC3wL

3-D graphene has promise for bone implants
Flakes of graphene welded together into solid materials may be suitable for bone implants, according to a study led by Rice scientists. Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Engineering and founding chair of the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, and postdoctoral research associate Chandra Sekhar Tiwary are quoted. Graduate students Sruthi Radhakrishnan and Sehmus Ozden and researcher Soumya Vinod are mentioned.
TMC News
http://bit.ly/2bTdIyF

Gentle vibe designed to give docs smoother moves
This could be the best and most realistic version of “Operation” ever, but a system under development at Rice University to help train doctors is no game. The National Science Foundation has awarded a $1 million, three-year National Robotics Initiative grant to Rice mechanical engineer Marcia O’Malley to create a haptic cueing system that will vibrate, rather than buzz, medical students to enhance their training as they learn to perform endovascular surgeries.
TMC News (This also appeared in Medical Product Outsourcing.)
http://bit.ly/2bY37sh

Poll: Clinton leading Trump in Texas
Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor of political science, fellow in political science at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and fellow at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted about the 2016 elections.
KIII
http://bit.ly/2c4tysg
Bucking oilfield tradition, Clinton bumps trump in oil, gas cash
Rig Zone (This also appeared in Oil News Center and Downstream Today.)
http://bit.ly/2ccXN1U
KUT
http://bit.ly/2coMTFd (Click on the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)
KVUE (This also appeared on KAVU.)
http://bit.ly/2bTbUpp

Rebecca Rabinow embraces new role as director of the Menil Collection
Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts is mentioned.
Arts + Culture
http://bit.ly/2c4PfID

BROADCAST

WSCL
A broadcast includes audio from a concert performed at Rice.
http://bit.ly/2bY0pmA (Click on the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

‘Imus in the Morning’
Radio host Don Imus mentions that his son is a freshman at Rice.
WABC (This also aired on 74 other stations.)
http://bit.ly/2cdfpKW (Click on the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

The top architecture schools in the country
Rice is No. 4 — up one spot from No. 5 last year — on architectural-research organization DesignIntelligence’s list of top 10 architecture undergraduate programs. Rice is also No. 9 on the top 10 architecture graduate programs.
Architectural Digest
http://bit.ly/2chEnKW

Warmer, wetter climate would impair California grasslands
Results from one of the longest-running and most extensive experiments to examine how climate change will affect agricultural productivity show that California grasslands will become less productive if the temperature or precipitation increases substantially above average conditions from the past 40 years. Kai Zhu, the Huxley Research Instructor, is quoted.
Science Daily
http://bit.ly/2csB0gl

Rice University-led team morphs nanotubes into tougher carbon for spacecraft, satellites
Superman can famously make a diamond by crushing a chunk of coal in his hand, but Rice scientists are employing a different tactic. Rice materials scientists are making nanodiamonds and other forms of carbon by smashing nanotubes against a target at high speeds. Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Engineering and founding chair of the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, and graduate student Sehmus Ozden are quoted in some of the articles.
Science Codex (This also appeared in Controlled Environments, Science Daily, Next Big Future, and Silicon Republic.)
http://bit.ly/2caczWw

Culex mosquitoes and Zika virus infection? Nah.
Peter Hotez, a fellow in disease and poverty at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, co-authored an op-ed about Zika.
PLOS
http://bit.ly/2c7YF4I

2016 ‘A Peer Apart’ honorees announced
An article mentions that Faruk Alpak, adjunct associate professor of computational and applied mathematics, is an ‘A Peer Apart’ honoree.
SPE
http://bit.ly/2coOLhg

Response to Mitnick re: What consumers want
A Rice study is mentioned.
Public Utilities Fortnightly
http://bit.ly/2aiHcFH

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Can belief in science and miracles coexist? Scholars respond
Elaine Howard Ecklund, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair and Professor of Sociology and director of the Religion and Public Life Program, is quoted in an article about science and religion.
Hillsdale Daily News (Similar articles appeared in 24 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2coP7nU

TBY talks to Dr. Thomas J. Hochstettler, president of the Petroleum Institute, on technological areas of research, collaboration among institutions and finding alternative energy solutions.
An article mentions that Thomas Hochstettler was previously Rice’s associate provost.
Business Year
http://bit.ly/2bTVtOn

Rolston String Quartet wins Banff Competition
An article mentions that the Rolston String Quartet is the ensemble in residence at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music.
Strings
http://bit.ly/2ckjC0b

The way of St. James has led him to St. James
Alumnus Landon Roussel ’08 is featured.
Clarion Herald
http://bit.ly/2cBVEy3

Residential colleges get new energy, new crests and a new competitive spirit
An article mentions that the University of Southern California studied Rice’s residential college system to improve their system.
USC News
http://bit.ly/2bSYPwi

Flutist Christina Jennings presents recital on Penn State Flute Day
An article mentions that flutist Christina Jennings has presented master classes at Rice.
Penn State News
http://bit.ly/2cBCvw2

Peek into the digital future
Moshe Vardi, director of Rice’s Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology, the Karen Ostrum George Distinguished Service Professor of Computational Engineering and professor of computer science, expects that within 30 years machines will be capable of doing almost any job that a human can.
Live Mint
http://bit.ly/2cB4n0z

9/11 widow wants justice, and she’s lobbying Congress to get it
An unnamed Rice alumnus is mentioned.
Tri-City Herald (Similar articles appeared in 22 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2cae72A

Djibouti: Regional security news brief
Dan Wallach, professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering, is quoted in an article about election security.
Geeska Afrika Online
http://bit.ly/2chFpqw

When is a FERC decision not a decision?
Daniel Cohan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, authored an op-ed about the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Bloomberg Government
http://bit.ly/2cks5QJ

SPORTS

For No. 6 UH, takeover expands beyond H-Town
Rice football is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This article appeared on the front of the Sports section in the Sept. 7 print edition with a different headline, “Cougars’ takeover expands beyond H-Town.”)
http://bit.ly/2c6YDKU
College football schedule
Houston Chronicle (Similar articles appeared in 30 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2cBdDl5
http://bit.ly/2csKIzo

Texans list Will Fuller, Christian Covington as starters
Former Rice football player Christian Covington is featured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2bTLdG8
http://bit.ly/2chBlX1

Chronicle, KPRC team up to produce weekly sports show
An article mentions that a new Houston sports television show, “Texas Sports Nation,” will cover Rice sports.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/2cd6x8p

Inside college football: Big 12 will have to explain if it doesn’t add BYU, Houston
Articles mention that Rice is one of the schools being considered for the Big 12 expansion.
CBS Sports
http://cbsprt.co/2coMmD9
Big 12: Post week 1
Sports Blog
http://bit.ly/2c7jg9S

Yao’s pivot from China to US was center’s big post move
Steven Lewis, the C.V. Starr Transnational China Fellow at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and professor in the practice and associate director of Rice’s Chao Center for Asian Studies, is quoted in an article about Yao Ming.
NBA Global
http://on.nba.com/2coKryo

Ohio State football — Jack looks back: Before becoming a Buckeye, coach John Cooper was a Golden Hurricane
An article mentions that the Oil Bowl was played in Rice Stadium.
The Columbus Dispatch
http://bit.ly/2bTQhKz

No. 10 Cougars on the road for Idaho State Invitational
Rice volleyball is mentioned.
BYU Athletics
http://bit.ly/2c7ZmuD

Plan your weekend: Sept. 15-18
Rice football will play Baylor University Sept. 16.
365 Things To Do in Houston
http://bit.ly/2c890gO