Dateline Rice for July 10, 2017 (Weekend Edition)

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

A crisis without end? Gulf states settle in for long haul
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Your Middle East (This also appeared in Newsweek Pakistan, the News International, Dhaka Tribune, the Peninsula, Daily Mai and RFI.)
http://bit.ly/2u9QJgi
Qatar crisis: Gulf states settle in for long haul
The Straits Times
http://bit.ly/2tzUeLt
Qatar seeks compensation for damages from boycott
Kuwait Times
http://bit.ly/2uJeTv5
No quick end in sight in the battle against Qatar
Arabian Business
http://bit.ly/2sX4izE

US can benefit from China’s Belt & Road Initiative: Think tank
An article mentions a conference that was held at Rice.
XinhuaNet (This also appeared in Sina.)
http://bit.ly/2u0pPHs

Message to states: Make OER a priority
An op-ed mentions Rice-based publisher OpenStax.
Inside Higher Ed
http://bit.ly/2ua9SyW

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Rice, UH get pieces of $50M pledge for teacher training
Rice’s Teacher Education program, part of the university’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, has been selected as a partner university in the Raise Your Hand Texas Foundation’s Raising Texas Teachers program. The program will provide $50 million over the next 10 years in scholarship funding for students committed to a career in teaching and technical support for premier Texas teacher preparation programs.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2sX1UZw
http://bit.ly/2u9YOSq
KHOU
http://bit.ly/2u5e026

Where should Houston’s innovation district be?
Edward Egan, fellow and director of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy’s McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is quoted about innovation in Houston.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2tG0xeY

Book events: July 9-15
Rice Cinema will show “Clueless” July 13.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2tzDW5t

This week in Houston food events: Tongue-Cut Sparrow goes tiki
The Rice Farmers Market will host a Summerfest event July 11.
Houston Press
http://bit.ly/2u52B2u

Greener molecular intermediates may aid drug design
Scientists at Rice have simplified their approach to synthesize a highly versatile family of precursors en route to biologically active compounds. Their method should make drug design and development cheaper and more environmentally friendly. László Kürti, associate professor of chemistry, and postdoctoral researchers Zhiwei Ma and Zhe Zhou are mentioned.
TMC Today
http://bit.ly/2tzOLVa

Officials fear state retaliation over ‘sanctuary cities’ lawsuits
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.
Abilene Reporter-News (This also appeared in San Angelo Standard-Times, El Paso Times and Corpus Christi Caller-Times.)
http://bit.ly/2tG3egu

Survey: Fewer international students choose to enroll at Texas colleges
An article mentions a student who wanted to apply to Rice.
My San Antonio
http://bit.ly/2t5DUi1

From an 11-year-old entrepreneur to more Cowboys disgust, everything that went wrong and right this week
Eleven U.S. colleges and universities that partnered last summer with Rice-based nonprofit publisher OpenStax to boost the use of freely available textbooks and learning materials on their campuses expect the program to save their students nearly $8.2 million — about $4 million more than projected — in the coming academic year.
Dallas Morning News
http://bit.ly/2sHZkm0

Waxahachie graduate vows to break Democratic fundraising record to unseat 17-term Barton
Alumna Jana Lynne Sanchez ’86 is featured.
Waxahachietx Daily Light
http://bit.ly/2u0mOqF

BROADCAST

With key staff missing in Washington, can science policy move ahead?
Neal Lane, the Malcolm Gillis University Professor Emeritus, senior fellow in science and technology policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and professor emeritus of physics and astronomy, is featured.
Science Friday (This aired on 374 radio stations.)
http://bit.ly/2tZzHBw

Expert: Amazon’s Houston expansion good for competition, consumers
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 about Amazon’s expansion into Houston.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2u0eNBI

Mexico’s crime groups tapping fuel from pipelines
The extent of fuel theft from pipelines in Mexico is now so great that it is becoming a serious financial burden for state-owned petroleum company Pemex and, more broadly, may pose a challenge to the implementation of policies aimed at the liberalization of the country’s gasoline market, according to Adrian Duhalt, postdoctoral fellow in Mexico energy studies in Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Mexico Center and Center for Energy Studies.
KTRH
http://bit.ly/2sWZg64

‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Hidden Heroes’
Students from Rice’s Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance are featured on “Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Hidden Heroes.” Zahra Jamal, associate director for community engagement at the institute, and a number of students are featured.
WCBS (This aired on a number of other stations.)
http://bit.ly/2uIAa89

WNPR
A group of students from Rice’s Shepherd School of Music participate in a cello quartet. Norman Fischer, the Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Cello, is mentioned.
http://bit.ly/2u0lWC8

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Houston team 1 step closer to growing capillaries
In their work toward 3-D printing transplantable tissues and organs, bioengineers and scientists from Rice and Baylor College of Medicine have demonstrated a key step on the path to generate implantable tissues with functioning capillaries. Jordan Miller, assistant professor of bioengineering; Mary Dickinson, adjunct professor of bioengineering; graduate student Gisele Calderon; and Brown College senior Patricia Thai are mentioned.
Phys Org
http://bit.ly/2t5GapF

Nature-inspired material uses liquid reinforcement
Materials scientists at Rice found they could increase the stiffness, or “elastic modulus,” of a soft silicon-based polymer by infusing it with tiny pockets of liquid gallium. Graduate student Peter Owuor; research scientist Chandra Sekhar Tiwary; Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Engineering and professor of materials science and nanoengineering, of chemistry and of chemical and biomolecular engineering and department chair of materials science and nanoengineering; and Jun Lou, professor and associate department chair of materials science and nanoengineering, are mentioned.
Phys Org
http://bit.ly/2uaae8E

Would you rebrand your product if your customers lived on Mars?
Scott Solomon, professor in the practice of ecology and evolutionary biology, is mentioned.
Real Business
http://bit.ly/2sHi7hq

LNG a test case for Trump’s energy ‘dominance’
Christopher Smith, the Baker Institute Advisory Board Fellow in Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is mentioned.
E&E News’ “Energy Wire” (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2tAi0qR

Novel 3-D printing process can produce graphene foam
Nanotechnologists from Rice and China’s Tianjin University have used 3-D laser printing to fabricate centimeter-sized objects of atomically thin graphene. James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted.
Materials Today
http://bit.ly/2ua36sH

GGP: An abundance of riches? US natural gas, manufacturing and LNG exports
Michael Maher, senior program adviser for the Center for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, and Anna Mikulska, senior research analyst for energy studies at the Baker Institute, co-authored an op-ed about U.S. exports.
Natural Gas World
http://bit.ly/2u9SSIX

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Mark C. Hanson named executive director of the San Francisco Symphony
Rice is mentioned.
Broadway World
http://bit.ly/2sHwK4b

SPORTS

Rise of prospect Yordan Alvarez gives Astros options to consider
Former Rice baseball player Jon Duplantier is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This article appeared on the front of the Sports section in the July 10 print edition with a different headline, “Alvarez’s out-of-nowhere rise gives Astros options to ponder.”)
http://bit.ly/2v3fTtl
Astros’ Derek Fisher, Kyle Tucker contribute to US Team’s Futures Game win
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2sHi0CF
http://bit.ly/2u5dEZz
2017 Futures Game US roster preview
Minor League Ball
http://bit.ly/2u5rhHR

Former UH pitcher Seth Romero signs with Nationals
A slideshow includes a photo from a Rice baseball game.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2sWozFD

Local NFL player holds meet and greet
Former Rice football player Vance McDonald is featured.
Houston Chronicle (This also appeared in Beaumont Enterprise.)
http://bit.ly/2tGihH2

Former San Antonio HS standout, NBA star Andre Roberson responds to backlash over $14 tip
Former Rice football player Weldon Humble is mentioned in a slideshow.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/2tzQ2eK

The evolution of Florida State football
Rice football is mentioned.
iSportsWeb (This also appeared in Yard Barker.)
http://bit.ly/2u4R17q
Daily Longhorn football history: The 1960 season
Hook ’em
http://bit.ly/2sX3v1D
C-USA position previews: Richie James leads a talented group of wide receivers
The Comeback
http://bit.ly/2tA9uIw

College baseball: Harvard grad, MCC pitcher Peyton Schneider commits to Division I Texas Southern
Rice baseball is mentioned.
Northwest Herald
http://bit.ly/2u5rcUE
More freshman All-America honors for Watson and Walker
247 Sports
http://bit.ly/2t5DHeE
LSU baseball’s Walker and Watson earn Freshman All-American
MyArkLaMiss
http://bit.ly/2uJ4Nug
LSU baseball’s Walker tears ligament, out for 2018
MyArkLaMiss
http://bit.ly/2t5xVK8
Walker to miss next year
American Press
http://bit.ly/2tzYAlN

Keys Q&A with 3rd baseman Shane Hoelscher
Former Rice baseball player Shane Hoelscher is mentioned.
Frederick News-Post
http://bit.ly/2uIpOW7

Sacco Sez: Tobin Rote’s tale
Former Rice football player Tobin Rote is featured.
Denver Broncos
http://bit.ly/2uIr1N9

Nebraska safeties coach Bob Elliott has passed away
Rice football assistant coach Brian Stewart is mentioned.
Corn Nation
http://bit.ly/2tzWsKP

Cape League roundup: Y-D tops Wareham in 11th
Jones College sophomore Ford Proctor is mentioned.
Cape Cod Times
http://bit.ly/2sXh3dl
Cape League roundup: Langeliers’ grand slam drives Chatham past Y-D
Cape Cod Times
http://bit.ly/2v40EAp

Joe Girardi wouldn’t stand for treatment Greg Bird is getting
Will Rice College senior Josh Pettitte is mentioned.
New York Post
http://nyp.st/2tGi4nm

5 questions for District 9-6A: Week 4
A Rice commit is mentioned.
Coppell Gazette
http://bit.ly/2sHptla

Despite obstacles along the way, Charles Spencer finding happiness in Texas
Alumnus Charles Spencer ’72 is featured.
Pittsburgh Sports Now
http://bit.ly/2tGgDVT

57 days until kickoff: McKnight could be Texas’ X factor
An article mentions that Tom Herman and Yancy McKnight coached at Rice.
247 Sports
http://bit.ly/2tGa5Xt

The family of Officer Brent Thompson wishes to convey appreciation to…
Rice is mentioned.
Weatherford Democrat
http://bit.ly/2v42P74

NEWS RELEASES

Nature-inspired material uses liquid reinforcement
Materials scientists at Rice University are looking to nature — at the discs in human spines and the skin in ocean-diving fish, for example — for clues about designing materials with seemingly contradictory properties — flexibility and stiffness. In research appearing online in the journal Advanced Materials Interfaces, graduate student Peter Owuor, research scientist Chandra Sekhar Tiwary and colleagues from the laboratories of Rice Professor Pulickel Ajayan and Jun Lou found they could increase the stiffness, or “elastic modulus,” of a soft silicon-based polymer by infusing it with tiny pockets of liquid gallium.
http://bit.ly/2uJ7ige

Houston team one step closer to growing capillaries
In their work toward 3-D printing transplantable tissues and organs, bioengineers and scientists from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have demonstrated a key step on the path to generate implantable tissues with functioning capillaries.
http://bit.ly/2u10A7E

OpenStax launches personalized learning tool for college courses
Rice University-based nonprofit OpenStax, which is already changing the economics of higher education by providing free textbooks to more than 1 million college students per year, today launched a low-cost, personalized learning system called OpenStax Tutor Beta that studies how students learn to offer them individualized homework and tutoring.
http://bit.ly/2sHPK2G