Dateline Rice for Oct. 2, 2017 (Weekend Edition)

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Trump attacks mayor of San Juan, ratcheting up tensions over crisis in Puerto Rico
Rice Professor of History Douglas Brinkley is quoted in a story about President Donald Trump’s Twitter criticism of San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz amid a crisis in Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria.
Washington Post (This article also appeared in more than 50 other media outlets.)
http://wapo.st/2g2Sq6q
Trump defies critics by conducting business as usual
Washington Post (This article also appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://wapo.st/2fJu2tE
Trump picks a fight over Puerto Rico
US News & World Report
http://bit.ly/2xarc3C

After Hurricane Harvey, Texas county rethinks flood-prevention efforts
A recent study by Rice and Texas A&M University at Galveston that found Houston flood plain maps failed to predict roughly 75 percent of flood damage from five floods between 1999 and 2009 is mentioned.
Wall Street Journal (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in Morningstar StockInverstor and ADVFN.)
http://on.wsj.com/2xN7QDv
How Houston can rebuild more fairly than New Orleans
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This op-ed, which originally was published on the Rice Design Alliance’s OffCite.org, appeared in the Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine.)
http://bit.ly/2yS9ALT
What the city of Houston will do, post-Harvey
Houstonia
http://bit.ly/2fLgZIt
After 30 years, Beaufort County finally has new flood maps. So how much will you pay for flood insurance?
Beaufort Gazette (This article also appeared in Insurance News Net.)
http://bit.ly/2x7KbRe

Asphalt helps lithium batteries charge faster
A touch of asphalt may be the secret to high-capacity lithium metal batteries that charge 10 to 20 times faster than commercial lithium-ion batteries, according to Rice University scientists. The lab of chemist James Tour developed anodes comprising porous carbon made from asphalt that showed exceptional stability after more than 500 charge-discharge cycles. The finding is reported in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano.
Futurity (This also appeared in Phys.org, Science Daily, Nanowerk and Laboratory Equipment.)
http://bit.ly/2ySdvII

In the ruins of cattle kingdom
The Texas Trilogy novels by alumnus Larry McMurtry ’60 are reviewed.
Wall Street Journal (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2xaGplq

The silent effects of natural disasters
Farhan Majid, fellow in health and technology policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored an op-ed on the impact of severe storms and hurricanes in Texas on birth outcomes.
Huffington Post
http://bit.ly/2khAVUG

1,400-year-old stone tablets show ancient Mayans playing a gruesome ball game in which the winning team’s captain is decapitated
A study co-authored by André Droxler, professor of Earth science, that found major droughts likely led to the decline of the Mayans is mentioned.
Daily Mail
http://dailym.ai/2xVrek1

QLC’s leaders hone skills at Harvard and Rice University
Leaders from the Qatar Leadership Center visited Harvard Business School and Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Qatar Tribune (This article also appeared in Gulf Times and The Penninsula Qatar.)
http://bit.ly/2xaWbMR

Indictment? What indictment? Criminal case has little impact on Texas AG
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 in a story on Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who faces charges of securities fraud.
Governing
http://bit.ly/2yhw789

The ‘New Urbanism’ movement might be dead
William Fulton, director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, wrote an op-ed on urbanism becoming a mainstream idea over the past 30 years.
Governing
http://bit.ly/2hFBsyT

Appointments, resignations, deaths
Debshila Basu Mallick, postdoctoral research associate at Rice’s OpenStax, is one of 27 named OER Research Fellows at the Open Education Group at Brigham Young University, where they will research the impact of open educational resources.
The Chronicle of Higher Education
http://bit.ly/2hJMiEc

The most important election?
A study by Rice’s Center for Local Elections in American Politics, part of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is mentioned in a story on municipal elections in Cuyahoga County, Ohio.
Heights Observer
http://bit.ly/2xIRRJ5

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Gov. Abbott finally comes through with $50M relief money
A column by Lisa Falkenberg on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott allocating $50 million to help Houston’s recovery efforts following Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey quotes John Diamond, the Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and an adjunct professor of economics.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2xNmo6f
Tapping the rainy day fund to pay for Harvey: The good, bad and ugly of the week’s news
Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and professor of economics, was part of a panel discussion.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2x8E6nK

What Houston’s refugees can teach Harvey survivors
Claudia Kolker, associate director of intellectual capital, marketing and communications at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, authored an article about Houston’s 70,000-plus refugees from 78 countries and their experiences.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This appeared in the Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine.)
http://bit.ly/2x7gHD7

Rice University provides estimated damage, rainfall from Hurricane Harvey
An interactive story map that presents the estimated damages caused by Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey created by researchers at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research is featured. Jie Wu, director of research management for the Kinder Institute, is quoted.
KPRC.com
http://bit.ly/2yBJPyG
KPRC-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2xaUmo4 (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KTRK-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2yDBPx1 (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)
Visualize Harvey, startup funding, TMC medtech firm updates and more
Xconomy
http://bit.ly/2xSEW6S

Harvey’s effects on erosion of Texas coast minimal
John B. Anderson, the W. Maurice Ewing Chair in Oceanography and professor of Earth science, is quoted.
Galveston County Daily News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2yPvCz7

A modern homage to beloved bungalow
The Houston home of Christopher Hight, an associate professor at the Rice School of Architecture, is featured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2xQX9BI

Why are fewer people riding the bus?
Leah Binkovitz, staff writer for Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, authored an op-ed about the decline in bus riders.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This article, which ran in the Oct. 2 print edition, originally ran online Aug. 24.)
http://bit.ly/2xz9zLk

Rev. Hannah Terry: In it for the long haul
A story on Westbury United Methodist Church pastor the Rev. Hannah Terry mentions volunteer efforts by groups from Rice.
Houstonia
http://bit.ly/2xXtnvH

Two decades of work by a Houston artist, now on display at the Rice University Gallery
Trenton Doyle Hancock’s “Texas: 1997-2017” opened Sept. 29 at the former Rice University Gallery.
Houstonia
http://bit.ly/2hJBNQX

BROADCAST

‘The Axe Files’
David Axelrod interviewed former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III, honorary chair of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, on Rice’s campus.
CNN
http://bit.ly/2g4zQeo (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)

‘Forged in Fire’
The first motor-driven, submersible nanomachine created by researchers at Rice and North Carolina State University is featured.
History
http://bit.ly/2fFdr6Y (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)

National Public Radio
Kyle Shelton, director of strategic partnerships at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted in a story about a study on near-misses with cars experienced by pedestrians and cyclists. (This story aired on more than 10 radio stations.)
http://bit.ly/2xT7gGl (Click on the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

‘Xploration Nature Knows Best’
Rice research on squids is featured. Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is quoted.
KTBY-TV (Anchorage, Alaska)
http://bit.ly/2xSCGfO (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)

‘Latina Voices’
Alumna and former Houston Mayor Annise Parker ’78 is featured.
KHOU-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2xVqHOZ

‘Houston Newsmakers’
Rice’s Shepherd School of Music is mentioned in a story on the Houston arts scene.
KPRC-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2keKnIg (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL
Tunable direct band gap process could usher in a new generation of light-emitting devices
Rice scientists discovered a two-dimensional, four-component alloy with an optical bandgap that can be tuned by the temperature used to grow it via chemical vapor deposition.
Innovation Toronto
http://bit.ly/2x8u0OY

Facts about carbon
Research by Professor Emeritus Robert Curl and the late Richard Smalley, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with British chemist Sir Harold Kroto for the discovery of buckminsterfullerenes, or “buckyballs,” a new form of carbon, is mentioned.
Live Science
http://bit.ly/2xQXLHG

Inaugural Baker Botts, Baker Institute Global Energy Summit draws significant turnout with industry insiders
The first Global Energy Transitions Summit was held Sept. 28 at Rice and co-hosted by the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies and Baker Botts LLP.
LNG Industry (Similar articles also appeared in World News Network, Oil and Gas Online and World Pipelines.)
http://bit.ly/2xayW5W
Tellurian set to start selling LNG this year
Houston Business Journal
http://bit.ly/2xSCSeY

Global gas perspectives
Rice’s Baker Institute Center for Energy Studies is among a group of academic institutions profiled, and Kenneth Medlock III, the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics and lecturer of economics, is mentioned.
Natural Gas World
http://bit.ly/2yQwJyy

PetroCard appoints Laura Yellig president and chief executive officer
Alumna Laura Yellig ’99 is profiled.
IT Business Net (This also appeared in EconoTimes and Markets Insider.)
http://bit.ly/2yElIPE

McCulley named chair of UK Plant & Soil Sciences
Alumna Rebecca McCulley ’95 will take over as chairwoman of the University of Kentucky Department of Plant and Soil Sciences Jan. 1.
Morning AgClips
http://bit.ly/2wtlVF3

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

What are the implications of an increase in Saudi crude oil production capacity?
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, wrote an op-ed.
Arabian Business
http://bit.ly/2xLXt5G
Saudi Arabia’s escalating foreign policy: the Qatar crisis is just the beginning
Global Risk Insights
http://bit.ly/2hGb9IW

Automation: Taiwan tests its 1st self-driving bus
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.
Vdare.com
http://bit.ly/2xMDIZ2

The world’s 1st molecular robot has just been created by UK scientists
A nanocar built by James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, and his team is mentioned.
Big Think
http://bit.ly/2xSdcPA

Art movements
The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston’s donation of its extensive archive to Rice and Fondren Library’s Woodson Research Center is mentioned.
Hyperallergic
http://bit.ly/2yhVXsp

Unabashedly audacious
President John F. Kennedy’s “Moon Speech,” given at Rice Sept. 12, 1962, is referenced in a story on Cody Keenan, a former speechwriter for President Barack Obama.
Isthmus
http://bit.ly/2fKqyqP

Business briefs
Alumnus Darrell Fox ’86 is mentioned.
The Day
http://bit.ly/2x94VTN

Armen Orujyan: FAST is not a painkiller, we’re more of an antibiotic
Armen Orujyan, a member of the board of advisors at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, writes about the Foundation for Armenian Science and Technology.
Media Max
http://bit.ly/2xaJ4eI

SPORTS

Max Browne’s 4 touchdowns spark Pittsburgh’s rout of Rice
Rice’s football team lost 42-10 to the University of Pittsburgh Sept. 30 at Heinz Field.
Houston Chronicle (This Associated Press article and other similar stories appeared in more than 50 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2fIYILR
Sept. 30: Pittsburgh 42, Rice 10
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/2x7jOuN
KRIV-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2yDEgQb (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KHOU-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2xWM4j6 (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KTRK-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2ySA685 (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KIAH-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2x9wWzL (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KTRH-AM (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2xSyT1W (Click on the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)
Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic
http://bit.ly/2yUb3Bk (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)
WESA-FM (Pittsburgh)
http://bit.ly/2hICVVf

KTXX-FM (Austin, Texas)
Rice football coach David Bailiff is mentioned.
http://bit.ly/2ySK6hy (Click on the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

Army can pass, too; Black Knights 35-21 over UTEP
Rice’s football team faces Army Oct. 7 at Rice Stadium.
Houston Chronicle (This Associated Press article appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2x997Ik

Best in Texas (Oct. 2): TCU, Texas Tech hold steady as top 2 teams; Baylor keeps falling
Dallas Morning News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2xbz3Ow
Conference USA power rankings Week 5
Underdog Dynasty
http://bit.ly/2xV1N20

‘Sports Extra’
Rice wide receiver Aaron Cephus is profiled.
KHOU-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2g4fXEb (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)

‘Inside the Game’
Former Rice football player Christian Covington, who now plays for the Houston Texans, is featured.
KIDY-TV (San Angelo, Texas. This story also aired on KXVA-TV in Abilene, Texas.)
http://bit.ly/2kgleNE

KVIA-TV (El Paso, Texas)
Rice’s Sept. 9 victory over the University of Texas at El Paso is mentioned in a story on Miners football coach Sean Kugler’s firing.
http://bit.ly/2ykDlZ1

Sports an example for a divided society
David A. Grenardo, a former Rice football player, wrote a column on protests in the NFL and what lessons can be learned from debate over them.
Houston Chronicle (This also appeared in the San Antonio Express-News)
http://bit.ly/2hGIiE4

Rockets’ P.J. Tucker practices for 1st time after injury
A slideshow includes photos of Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Houston Rockets players James Harden, Chris Paul and Clint Capela from an Aug. 20 charity basketball game at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Beaumont Enterprise and Laredo Morning Times.)
http://bit.ly/2yDU2KO
http://bit.ly/2xaCogE

Before they were postseason bound: Twins
Former Rice pitcher Tyler Duffey, who plays for the Minnesota Twins, is mentioned.
MLB.com
http://atmlb.com/2xQH6Us

Pleskoff scouting report | Jon Duplantier
Former Rice pitcher Jon Duplantier, now a minor leaguer in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization, is profiled.
Fanrag
http://bit.ly/2xaz45f

Final MLB draft order set: The Tigers are on the clock and here’s what to know
The Detroit Tigers will have the first pick in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft. The last time they had the No. 1 choice, in 1997, they selected former Rice pitcher Matt Anderson.
CBSSports.com
http://cbsprt.co/2wsOouz

Blue Raiders drop match to Rice, 3-0
The Rice volleyball team defeated Middle Tennessee State University Sept. 29.
GoBlueRaiders.com
http://bit.ly/2g5LJ3L

Bears switch quarterbacks in fourth quarter in loss to North Dakota State
Missouri State University quarterback J.T. Granato, a transfer from Rice, played in a 38-11 loss to North Dakota State University Sept. 30.
Springfield News-Leader
http://sgfnow.co/2kffzHt

Toro, Orbit, Shasta and more compete in Mascot Bowl
Rice’s Sammy the Owl was part of the Mascot Bowl during the Houston Texans’ Oct. 1 game against the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium.
KTRK.com
http://abc13.co/2yjlMse
KTRK-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2xMUl9m (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)

Behind the scenes work making an impact for women’s soccer
Former Rice assistant strength and conditioning coach Rhian Davis, who now works at Pennsylvania State University, is profiled.
GoPSUSports.com
http://bit.ly/2yiN7Lc

KPRC-TV (Houston)
A report on cancer patient Ziggy Stovall mentions that he is an honorary member of the Rice football team.
http://bit.ly/2g5vpQF (Click on the video button to watch the broadcast.)

NEWS RELEASES

Asphalt helps lithium batteries charge faster
A touch of asphalt may be the secret to high-capacity lithium metal batteries that charge 10 to 20 times faster than commercial lithium-ion batteries, according to Rice University scientists. The lab of chemist James Tour developed anodes comprising porous carbon made from asphalt that showed exceptional stability after more than 500 charge-discharge cycles. The finding is reported in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Nano.
http://bit.ly/2xLHaFO

Kinesins ignore weak forces as they carry heavy loads
If you’re the motor protein up front, be prepared to do the heavy pulling. That’s one conclusion from a Rice University-led study of the mechanisms that drive kinesins, motor proteins that carry cargo inside cells. The study shows it takes a lot of counterforce to slow down a determined kinesin. Nor does the protein get much help from colleagues that bring up the rear. The theoretical study detailed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and led by Rice postdoctoral researcher Qian Wang was a collaborative effort by the labs of three professors at Rice and one at the University of Houston, all working under the umbrella of Rice’s Center for Theoretical Biological Physics (CTBP).
http://bit.ly/2xSZ0Ws