Dateline Rice for Dec. 13, 2016

FEATURED ITEM

Make colleges diverse
Rice and 29 other prominent colleges and universities are part of a new initiative committed to making high-quality educational opportunities available to more students from lower-income families. Rice President David Leebron and McMurtry College freshman Briana Farias are quoted in the Houston Chronicle story.
The New York Times
http://nyti.ms/2gHsRsA
Rice, UT join effort to recruit more lower income students
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2hin9hC

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

What Rex Tillerson would bring to the state department
Ambassador Edward Djerejian, director of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, discusses President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks.
Bloomberg
http://bloom.bg/2hAPnVR

Method ‘programs’ cement particles into tiny shapes
Scientists at Rice have decoded the kinetic properties of cement and developed a way to “program” the microscopic, semicrystalline particles within. The process turns particles from disordered clumps into regimented cubes, spheres and other forms that combine to make the material less porous and more durable. Rouzbeh Shahsavari, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, is quoted.
Futurity (This also appeared in The Exception.)
http://bit.ly/2hthV0t
Decoding cement’s shape promises greener concrete
European Coatings
http://bit.ly/2gwAGhh

The harm of high drug prices
Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at the Baker Institute and professor of economics, and Hagop Kantarjian, nonresident fellow in health policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, co-authored an op-ed about high drug prices.
U.S. News & World Report
http://bit.ly/2hJicv0

A radical dialogue
Elaine Howard Ecklund, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair and Professor of Sociology and director of the Religion and Public Life Program, authored an article about the 2016 election.
Inside Higher Ed
http://bit.ly/2gwxPFk

Europe’s own satnav, Galileo, due to go live
Seventeen years and more than 10 billion euros later, Europe’s Galileo satnav system is set to go live on Thursday, promising to outperform US and Russian rivals while boosting regional self-reliance. George Abbey, the Baker Botts Senior Fellow in Space Policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Breitbart
http://bit.ly/2hoYRmq

Planets forming in the rings around a young star?
Rice University astronomers and their colleagues have for the first time mapped gases in three dark rings around a distant star. The rings mark spaces where planets are thought to have formed from dust and gas around the star. Andrea Isella, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, is quoted.
International Business Times
http://bit.ly/2gVUMmg

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Perry’s 3rd meeting with Trump raises White House job prospects
Joe Barnes, the Bonner Means Baker Fellow at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted about President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2hqVXL8
Trump reportedly picks Rick Perry for energy secretary
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2hinj8I
http://bit.ly/2htgnmV
Perry a top contender for energy secretary
San Antonio Express-News
http://bit.ly/2hp64Tz

El baúl de los recuerdos: ‘Mi foto en blanco y negro con Fidel’
A column quotes Luis Duno-Gottberg, department chair and associate professor of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, on the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Houston Chronicle’s “La Voz” (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/2hAOpc9

The key to saving may be in your head
Utpal Dholakia, the George R. Brown Professor of Marketing at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business and a marketing and consumer behavior expert, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (This also appeared in Nasdaq, Palm Beach Daily News, SF Gate and My San Antonio.)
http://bit.ly/2gDEEJP

Can Texas Muslims trump Islamophobia?
David Brockman, nonresident scholar at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Religion and Public Policy Program, authored an op-ed about Texas Muslims.
Texas Observer
http://bit.ly/2gHpyBx

2 Texans to be nominated to Trump cabinet
Bill Arnold, professor in the practice of management at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted about President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks.
KTSA
http://bit.ly/2gVXKan
http://bit.ly/2hto64o

What restaurants in Houston looked like almost a decade ago
Rice is mentioned in the slideshow.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2htgL5a
http://bit.ly/2hp4XU0

Houston-based Nice Wines’ malbec wins big at rodeo competition
Alumnus Ryan Levy ’97 is featured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2hp6M2X

Chinese buyers show serious interest in Houston market
Rice is mentioned.
Houston Agent Magazine
http://bit.ly/2hJlX3O

2nd provost candidate emphasizes transparency, communication during forum
Alumna Mary Beth Walker ’82 is featured.
The Shorthorn
http://bit.ly/2hit3iC

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Power/performance bits: Dec. 13
Bumpy surfaces with graphene between them would help dissipate heat in next-generation microelectronic devices, according to Rice scientists. Rouzbeh Shahsavari, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, is quoted.
Semiconductor Engineering
http://bit.ly/2hJhrlB

Conference to explore solutions for a growing, changing Texas
Stephen Klineberg, founding director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and a professor of sociology, is mentioned.
BioPortfolio
http://bit.ly/2gHyQhb

IBM Watson-enabled robot could help the elderly age in place
IBM Research and Rice University have collaborated to create the prototype IBM Multi-Purpose Eldercare Robot Assistant, a first-of-its-kind Watson-enabled application designed to aid the elderly and assist caregivers.
Qmed
http://bit.ly/2htfxXx

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Massengale: How education has shaped this town
Alumna Kate Massengale ’93 authored an article.
Los Alamos Daily Post
http://bit.ly/2gHvSsV

Mobile clinic helps cancer patients, others in South Texas
Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Malcolm Gillis University Professor, professor of bioengineering and of electrical and computer engineering and director of Rice 360° Institute for Global Health, is featured in an article that discusses her efforts to combat cervical cancer in the Rio Grande Valley. Graduate student Sonia Parra is also quoted.
Akron Legal News
http://bit.ly/2gDxl4U

SPORTS

A wealth of college football talent awaits in Canada, but few are looking
Rice football assistant coach Darrell Patterson discusses football talent in Canada.
Bleacher Report
http://ble.ac/2hteO8x

Towers’ take: RB Toneil Carter has remained 1 loyal Bulldog
Alumnus Todd Thompson ’92 is mentioned.
Dawg Nation
https://dawgs.us/2htgNty

The Flyers are more than just a team with an elite big man
Former Rice basketball player Kendall Rhine is mentioned.
Belleville News-Democrat
http://bit.ly/2gHxpz5

Oakland Catholic grad Kondis makes quick impact at Houston
Rice swimming is mentioned.
Trib Live
http://bit.ly/2hJj9Dv

NEWS RELEASES

Rice U. is founding member of new alliance to expand opportunities for 50,000 talented students from lower-income families
Rice University and 29 other prominent colleges and universities are part of a new initiative committed to making high-quality educational opportunities available to more students from lower-income families.
http://bit.ly/2gDQUKo

Baraniuk named National Academy of Inventors fellow
Richard Baraniuk, Rice University’s Victor E. Cameron Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors.  He is one of 175 academic inventors named this year, and is now among 757 fellows representing 229 research universities and governmental and nonprofit research institutes.
http://bit.ly/2gDWjRD

Evangelicals are more skeptical of evolution than of climate change
Evangelicals are more skeptical of evolution than of climate change, according to new research from Rice University. “Examining Links Between Religion, Evolution Views and Climate-Change Skepticism” appeared in a recent edition of the journal Environment and Behavior. The study examines the larger “anti-science” tendency that some see as related to membership in conservative religious groups such as evangelical Protestants.
http://bit.ly/2gHxB1s

Rice men’s basketball to host 4,100 grade-schoolers for ‘School House Mania’
Rice University’s Athletics Department will host more than 4,100 local elementary school children for its fourth annual “School House Mania” when the Owls men’s basketball team tips off against St. Edward’s University in a special weekday matinee game at 11:45 a.m. Dec. 15 at Tudor Fieldhouse.
http://bit.ly/2gwLUT4