Dateline Rice for May 8, 2017 (Weekend Edition)

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Biology will take some mistakes to maintain speed
Biology must be in a hurry. In balancing speed and accuracy to duplicate DNA, produce proteins and carry out other processes, evolution has apparently determined that speed is of higher priority, according to Rice researchers. Postdoctoral fellow Kinshuk Banerjee; Oleg Igoshin, associate professor of bioengineering; and Anatoly Kolomeisky, professor of chemistry and of chemical and biomolecular engineering, are mentioned.
Futurity
http://bit.ly/2pWwpMv

Chemists may have found a way to make pharmaceuticals cheaper and safer
In a discovery with broad implications for the specialty chemicals industries like pharmaceuticals, researchers at Rice and the California Institute of Technology have succeeded in a decadeslong quest to make left- and right-handed versions of a molecular sieve, one of the most-used industrial, solid materials. Michael Deem, the John W. Cox Professor of Biochemical and Genetic Engineering, professor of physics and astronomy, department chair of bioengineering and director of graduate program in systems, synthetic and physical biology, is mentioned.
Forbes
http://bit.ly/2qhOJRb

Free-standing emergency rooms offer costly convenience
The rapid growth of freestanding emergency departments in Texas has been accompanied by an equal increase in use at relatively high prices that lead to sizable out-of-pocket costs to patients, according to new research by experts at Rice, Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at the Baker Institute and professor of economics, is quoted. Ho is also quoted about the American Health Care Act.
Washington Post (This also appeared in the Houston Chronicle, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, My Palm Beach Post, the Bulletin, Santa Fe New Mexican, Reading Eagle, My San Antonio and Standard Examiner.)
http://wapo.st/2pramdX
The fight over Obamacare is hurting health care job growth
Vox
http://bit.ly/2qSUrWP
Swift: Urgent care, freestanding ERs are different animals
New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung
http://bit.ly/2pnyYU1
How you’ll be affected by the GOP health plan could depend on where you live
Yahoo News (This also appeared in Health Medicine Network.)
https://yhoo.it/2qSXY6y
What the GOP vote to replace the ACA means for you
Yahoo Finance
https://yhoo.it/2pWWHOP
More to the story: Annals of Emergency Medicine halts urgent care study publication over data in controversial decision
Health Data Buzz
http://bit.ly/2pX3BDt
Freestanding emergency centers increase healthcare costs, not access
D CEO Healthcare
http://bit.ly/2piC0JM

White House fires its chief usher — the 1st woman in that job
Douglas Brinkley, professor of history, is quoted in articles about President Donald Trump and the White House’s firing of its chief usher. Brinkley’s book “Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America” is featured on a list of new paperbacks.
Washington Post (This also appeared in the Houston Chronicle, the Philadelphia Inquirer, NZ Herald and SF Gate.)
http://wapo.st/2pnoNip
White House fires 1st female who held its chief usher position
Metro.us
http://bit.ly/2pWSnii
#StayWoke: The White House just fired the 1st black female chief usher
The Root
http://bit.ly/2qJWyiD
Donald Trump fires 1st female White House chief usher
The Wrap (This also appeared in the Houston Chronicle and SF Gate.)
http://bit.ly/2qSJBiD
Trump pledges to help his voters. In the meantime, he doesn’t mind punishing the opposition
Los Angeles Times (This also appeared in Hartford Courant, Daily Press and Baltimore Sun.)
http://lat.ms/2prwncx
Books: A spring crop of new paperbacks
Wicked Local Rochester (This also appeared in Wicked Local Carver and Wicked Local Marion.)
http://bit.ly/2pYhFuw

Despite sanctions, Russia’s oil industry powers on
William Arnold, professor in the practice of management at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted.
Wall Street Journal (Subscription required. This also appeared in Fox Business and Global Finance.)
http://on.wsj.com/2prRj2Y

Don’t give up on buybacks just yet
Gustavo Grullon, the Jesse H. Jones Professor of Finance at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted.
Wall Street Journal (Subscription required. This also appeared in Fox Business.)
http://on.wsj.com/2prnVtV

Diversity fly-in programs make campus visits accessible
An article mentions the “SOAR” fly-in program at Rice.
U.S. News & World Report
http://bit.ly/2pixYkM

May 2017: Resources to support STEM
A Rice site is featured on a list of sites that includes resources to support STEM education.
Discovery Education
http://bit.ly/2qJNF5t

JFK’s grandson gives rare live interview
President John F. Kennedy’s famous “Moon Speech” delivered at Rice Sept. 12, 1962, is discussed.
CNN Politics
http://cnn.it/2qhKd5h
Meet your new, handsome young Kennedy
Vanity Fair
http://bit.ly/2qSR9me
JFK’s grandson, Jack Schlossberg, steps into the spotlight
Vogue
http://bit.ly/2qTjARd
Meet John F. Kennedy’s eligible grandson
Vogue Australia
http://bit.ly/2pWFODF
JFK’s only grandson Jack Schlossberg makes 1st live TV appearance with mom Caroline Kennedy
ET (This also appeared in KARE.)
http://et.tv/2prHMJl
Litterbugs in outer space
Psychology Today
http://bit.ly/2qi0oQc
How JFK’s only grandson stepped into the spotlight this week — and honored his family’s legacy
People Politics
http://bit.ly/2pYQ0d2
‘Hardball with Chris Matthews’
MSNBC
http://bit.ly/2qKfNZn
http://bit.ly/2pYT9te
Golden boy: Le monde etait-il prêt à rencontrer l’unique petit-fils de John F. Kennedy?
Vanity Fair France (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/2prUuHU

In Texas, almost all non-voters have a photo ID — but few understand the voter identification rules
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, co-authored an op-ed about Texas voter ID laws. Jones is also quoted about the Texas legislature, HISD’s Proposition 1, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner’s data center plan and Texas HB 3451.
Washington Post
http://wapo.st/2qSRbtK
HISD voters flip on subsidy
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This article appeared on the front page of the May 7 print edition. This also appeared in Education Views, LMT Online and My San Antonio.)
http://bit.ly/2pWqkQ3
http://bit.ly/2pYkLP7
The May 6th election poses big decisions for Greater Houston and surrounding areas
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2qSCo26
Pet proposals in Texas — saving dogs, cats left in hot cars, banning bestiality and more
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
http://bit.ly/2qi1QSG
Houston mayor backs building data science institute
Center for Digital Education
http://bit.ly/2pYM4ZO
Turner, Fertitta endorse data center plan, call for collaboration
LMT Online
http://bit.ly/2ps0i4a
KUT
http://bit.ly/2qTaRyp (Click on the audio button to listen to the broadcast.) 

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Klineberg, Holeywell: Will lawmakers invest in the Texas future?
Stephen Klineberg, founding director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and a professor of sociology, and Ryan Holeywell, senior editor at the institute, authored an op-ed. They mention the Kinder Houston Area Survey.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This article appeared on the front of the Outlook section in the May 7 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/2pYo4Wz

An idea beckons
In his State of the City address, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced that he wants the University of Houston, Rice University and Texas A&M to work with the University of Texas on a task force’s recommendations for how to use the UT System’s 300-plus acres near the Texas Medical Center.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2pn8Bh6
That data center is a good start. But let’s think bigger.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This appeared in the Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine.)
http://bit.ly/2qJKnSX

Final Rice Gallery show, others depict intriguing meaning in black boxes
An article discusses the Rice Gallery’s last installation, Sol LeWitt’s “Glossy and Flat Black Squares.” Kimberly Davenport, director of the gallery, is mentioned. The installation will be available until May 14.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This also appeared in San Antonio Express-News.)
http://bit.ly/2pYlzUl

Book events: May 7-13
Matthew Desmond will discuss his book “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” at an event hosted by Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research May 10.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2qSUGkB

Health care experts weigh in on the future of health policy
Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy hosted a panel discussion, “Delivering Health Care When Future Health Policy is Unpredictable,” May 5. Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at the Baker Institute and professor of economics, moderated the event.
TMC News (This article appeared in the May 8 issue of TMC Today.) 
http://bit.ly/2prSUWB

Plano-area students receive 2017 Excellence in AP Arts and Music Theory Scholarship Awards
An article mentions a student who hopes to attend Rice.
Plano BubbleLife
http://bit.ly/2qi2DCM

BROADCAST

Gabriela Lena Frank and Nilo Cruz on the world premiere of ‘Conquest Requiem’ and more
Alumna Gabriela Lena Frank ’94 is featured.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2pYF6nt

Texas companies bid to build $20M border wall prototype
Urtzi Grau, the Cullinan Visiting Professor at Rice’s School of Architecture, is mentioned.
KTRK (This also appeared in KGO and KFSN.)
http://abc13.co/2pTVoQh

After 21 years, RI Philharmonic conductor Larry Rachleff says farewell
Larry Rachleff, the Walter Kris Hubert Professor of Orchestra Conducting at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, is featured.
Rhode Island Public Radio
http://bit.ly/2pYtD7j

KTRH
Richard Stoll, the Albert Thomas Chair in Political Science and scholar at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is interviewed about the possibility of World War III.
http://bit.ly/2pnFXMD (Click on the audio button to listen to the broadcast.) 

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Scientists find nanogaps in plasmonic gold wires enhance voltage when excited 
If they’re quick about it, “hot” electrons excited in a plasmonic metal can tunnel their way across a nanoscale gap to a neighboring metal. Rice scientists said the cool part is what happens in the gap, discovering that those electrons can create a photovoltage about a thousand times larger than what is seen if there is no gap. Douglas Natelson, professor of physics and astronomy, of electrical and computer engineering, and of materials science and nanoengineering and department chair of physics and astronomy, and graduate student Charlotte Evans are mentioned.
Phys Org
http://bit.ly/2pYm00O
Nanogaps in plamonic gold wires enhance voltage when excited
Nanowerk
http://bit.ly/2qKk2Ed

A dual-channel biological function generator
Rice bioengineers who specialize in creating tools for synthetic biology have unveiled the latest version of their “biofunction generator and bioscilloscope,” an optogenetic platform that uses light to activate and study two biological circuits at a time. Jeffrey Tabor, assistant professor of bioengineering, and alumnus Evan Olson ’14 are mentioned.
Nanowerk
http://bit.ly/2pTY3cP

Astral tracker puts us in our place
Call it retro-innovation. The astral tracker designed by Rice’s Team Solar Lunar 2.0 suggests not cutting-edge breakthroughs but archaic technologies: the astrolabe, the orrery, even the sundial. John Mulligan, lecturer in public humanities, and undergraduate students Caz Smith, Logan Baldridge, Liz Kacpura and Noah Kenner are mentioned.
Technology.org
http://bit.ly/2qJYZS7

Protein ‘spy’ gains new abilities
Rice scientists have learned to spy on cells with a divide-and-conquer strategy to label proteins. Graduate students Emily Thomas and Sarah Knudsen; Jonathan Silberg, associate professor of biochemistry and cell biology; alumnus Naresh Pandey ’14; and Zachary Ball, associate professor of chemistry and associate department chair of chemistry for undergraduate studies, are mentioned.
Innovations Report (This also appeared in Science Newsline.)
http://bit.ly/2qMmyWT

Ultracold atom waves may shed light on rogue ocean killers
By precisely controlling the quantum behavior of an ultracold atomic gas, Rice physicists have created a model system for studying the wave phenomenon that may bring about rogue waves in Earth’s oceans. Randy Hulet, the Fayez Sarofim Professor of Physics and Astronomy; research scientist Jason Nguyen and graduate student De “Henry” Luo are mentioned.
Scienmag (This also appeared in Health Medicine Network, Science Newsline and Terra Daily.)
http://bit.ly/2pOTnoD

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Houston 1 of the world’s best art destinations
James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace on the Suzanne Deal Booth Centennial Pavilion on the Rice campus is featured on a list of Houston’s top 10 art features.
Escape
http://bit.ly/2qT75UV

Universal basic income — disease or cure?
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, is quoted.
Before It’s News
http://bit.ly/2pX82hL

Falls students recognized for Kohl, National Merit honors
An article mentions a student who was accepted to Rice.
Express News
http://bit.ly/2p50iLA

SAVI camera uses a synthetic aperture to capture telephoto shots without a telephoto lens
A unique camera that can capture a detailed micron-resolution image from a distance uses a laser and techniques that borrow from holography, microscopy and “Matrix”-style bullet time. A prototype built and tested by engineers at Rice and Northwestern University is featured. Ashok Veeraraghavan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, graduate student Yicheng Wu and alumnus Jason Holloway ’13 are mentioned.
Photoxels
http://bit.ly/2p5pO37

SPORTS

College baseball: UH beats Connecticut; Rice blanks Charlotte
Rice baseball won all three games against the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2qT6W4I
College baseball: UH beats Connecticut in walk-off fashion
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2pWGsB9
Baseball rallies with 2 in 9th to beat Florida Atlantic 6-5 Saturday
WTOK
http://bit.ly/2pWvVGj
USM captures series against FAU with walk-off win
WDAM
http://bit.ly/2qK1zrs
The ouch list, May 8th
D1 Baseball
http://bit.ly/2qSJG5S

As sports networks falter, is Twitter the future of televised football?
Rice football is mentioned.
Houston Press
http://bit.ly/2pYHHy1
College football rankings: Rice Owls
Orlando Sentinel
http://bit.ly/2pcXNqi
Bevo makes pit stop in Danbury
The Facts
http://bit.ly/2pTGZTZ
C-USA mailbag: Rankings edition
Underdog Dynasty
http://bit.ly/2pTNnKY
What’s next for Army after its best season in 20 years?
SB Nation
http://bit.ly/2qhFH6H

AAC baseball: A look at top 5 teams
Rice baseball will play the University of Houston May 9.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2pYipQl
http://bit.ly/2qSqs0c

SportzBuzz — May 2017
A Rice commit is mentioned.
The Buzz Magazines
http://bit.ly/2pPh7sW
Mavs fall victim to Mustangs’ big 7th inning
Houston Chronicle (This also appeared in My San Antonio.)
http://bit.ly/2pTJOV9
Warren baseball senior night/Lady Warriors fall to Rice 11-4
Tyler County Booster
http://bit.ly/2qT3tTC
FBISD recognizes 130 student athletes during spring national signing day
Defender Network
http://bit.ly/2pUcTQn

Fantasy baseball injury report: Noah Syndergaard, Ryan Braun, Felix Hernandez
Former Rice baseball player Anthony Rendon is mentioned.
Fantasy Pros
http://bit.ly/2p5kblL

247Sports take: Sterns to Texas
Former Rice coach Jason Washington is mentioned.
247 Sports
http://bit.ly/2qTggWq

Coach Mike Rhoades considers VCU home, has no plans to leave
Former Rice coach Mike Rhoades is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (This also appeared in the Fresno Bee.)
http://bit.ly/2pd0DM5

Hurt dismissed as Olive Branch football coach
Former Rice coach Pete Hurt is mentioned.
DeSoto Times-Tribune
http://bit.ly/2qJXmnt

Tonight, Matt Bush finally makes it to Petco Park
Former Rice baseball player Jeff Niemann is mentioned.
San Diego Union-Tribune
http://bit.ly/2pYuFjT

NEWS RELEASES

‘Hot’ electrons don’t mind the gap
If they’re quick about it, “hot” electrons excited in a plasmonic metal can tunnel their way across a nanoscale gap to a neighboring metal. Rice University scientists said the cool part is what happens in the gap. A Rice team discovered those electrons can create a photovoltage about a thousand times larger than what is seen if there is no gap.
http://bit.ly/2qic6tU

Rice U. unveils dual-channel biological function generator
Rice University bioengineers who specialize in creating tools for synthetic biology have unveiled the latest version of their “biofunction generator and bioscilloscope,” an optogenetic platform that uses light to activate and study two biological circuits at a time.
http://bit.ly/2qKfL3u

Rice researcher: College students’ writing skills should be evaluated over 4 years
A test to measure students’ writing skills during four years of college should be used by all colleges and universities, according to a researcher at Rice University. The researcher found that Rice undergraduates’ writing skills improved 7 percent over their college years, and college-ranking websites could help prospective students narrow their college search by providing information on how students improve skills such as writing during their education at various schools.
http://bit.ly/2qKuI5B