Dateline Rice for Feb. 6, 2018

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

A long-lost NASA spacecraft rises from the dead
Patricia Reiff, professor of physics and astronomy, is quoted in articles on IMAGE, a NASA spacecraft that monitored space weather before going silent in 2005. The satellite recently was detected by an amateur astronomer.
The Atlantic (This article also appeared in NextGov.)
http://theatln.tc/2nIhZO4

Still learning the lessons of the ’60s
Alexander J. Dessler, professor emeritus of space physics and astronomy, is quoted in an article on a university started by the government of Brazil in the early 1960s.
Chronicle of Higher Education
http://bit.ly/2C19a6f

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Damaged and defiant
A collaborative project on Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey’s impact on Houston mentions Lisa Spiro, executive director of digital scholarship services for Rice’s Fondren Library; Leah Binkovitz, staff writer for Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research; and Kyle Shelton, director of strategic partnerships for the Kinder Institute. Shelton also talks about a Greater Houston Flood Mitigation Consortium panel discussion on buyouts on “Houston Matters” and KRIV-TV, comments on a $1.5 trillion infrastructure proposal by President Donald Trump and discusses his book, “Power Moves: Transportation, Politics and Development in Houston,” which examines the history and impact of Houston’s transportation decisions, in a Texas Observer article.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2BYDYox
Workshop discusses making buyouts an increased aspect of flood mitigation
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2C1ntYA
How Houston could benefit from Trump’s infrastructure bill
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2BYn49t
KRIV-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2Bb5vpU (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
Let the concrete pour: ‘Power Moves’ tracks Houston’s bleak transportation history
Texas Observer
http://bit.ly/2BZi6Js

Report says Houston can learn from flood plain buyout programs in other cities
To best improve the way the Houston region addresses buyouts, there must be an examination of how authorities at different levels of government have navigated the process, according to a new report from Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2C0czCm

My dad’s cancer has made it clear: Our health care system is sick
Ken Janda, an adjunct professor of management at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, wrote an op-ed.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 6 print edition and the Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine.)
http://bit.ly/2C0SUCf

State of emergency: An examination of freestanding ERs in Texas
Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at the Baker Institute, is quoted.
Dallas Morning News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2C07DNV

Andrew White, Greg Abbott each raise $1.1M; White put in $1 million himself
Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Andrew White has raised more than $1.1 million during the past three weeks, including a $1 million loan from himself. 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. Jones also is quoted in an article on political action committees backing Republicans listed as “priorities” of Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, and Jones is quoted in radio stories on contributions to the re-election campaign for Texas land commissioner George P. Bush ’98.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 6 print edition with a different headline, “White, Abbott add $1M each to coffers,” and was included in a previous edition of Dateline when it was posted online.)
http://bit.ly/2E3UpFE
Andrew White lends campaign $1 million, seeks to reshape race
Austin American-Statesman
https://atxne.ws/2BXI8Nl
Austin lobby backs Straus’ ‘priority’ members
Texas Monitor
http://bit.ly/2BZRl7J
KRLD-AM (Dallas)
http://bit.ly/2nNPAWl (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast, which also aired on KLBJ-AM in Austin, Texas.)
WOAI-AM (San Antonio)
http://bit.ly/2E5GISG (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

Curated: Looking at a flower
Houston-based artist Joseph Cohen’s “Looking at a flower” runs through April 8 at the BioScience Research Collaborative. The article mentions that Cohen worked with graphene made on equipment created by James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry and a professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, and that Cohen studied under Bruce Weisman, professor of chemistry and of materials science and nanoengineering.
TMC News
http://bit.ly/2BZFO8g

Exploring the pathos of Pergolesi’s ‘Stabat Mater’
Alumnus Antoine Plante ’00 is the creative director of Mercury Houston, which will present “Handel & Pergolesi” Feb. 10 at Rice’s Stude Concert Hall.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared on the front of the Star Home section in the Feb. 6 print edition with a different headline, “Pergolesi classic continues to inspire.”)
http://bit.ly/2BXtK7z

How this investment banker became a Houston luxury fashion designer
Alumna Andrea Phillips ’13 is featured.
Houston Business Journal (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2C0j6x9

Houston’s black-tie doubleheader sets passions aflame
An article mentions Houston Grand Opera’s “Concert of Arias” was held at Stude Concert Hall.
PaperCity
http://bit.ly/2BXX7a3

BROADCAST

‘Great Day Houston’
Alumni Dustin Windham ’15 and Michael Powell ’06, co-founders of Grit Grocery, are featured.
KHOU-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2nE0bUr

Creative brains
Anthony Brandt, professor of composition and theory at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, and alumnus David Eagleman ’93, a neuroscientist at Stanford University, discuss human creativity on an episode of the SETI Institute’s “Big Picture Science” podcast.
Big Picture Science
http://bit.ly/2nFYbLq

‘Midmorning with Aundrea’ — Feb. 5, 2018
Lovett College senior Martin Rather, head girls basketball coach at Houston’s YES Prep East End, is featured. Rice men’s basketball coach Scott Pera, who invited Rather to observe the Owls’ practices and provided coaching tips, is mentioned.
One News Page
http://bit.ly/2BXSixt

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Next-level biosensor delivers robust report on microbes’ health, activity
A gene “genie” developed by Rice scientists grants researchers valuable data about microbes through puffs of gas from the soil.
National Science Foundation (This was the top story in the National Science Foundation’s Science360 newsletter Feb. 5.)
http://bit.ly/2C03SYG
2-stage gas sensor reports on soil dynamics
Mentioned are Jonathan Silberg, associate professor of biochemistry and cell biology; Caroline Masiello, professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences; graduate student and lead author Hsiao-Ying (Shelly) Cheng; graduate student Ilenne Del Valle; research scientist Xiaodong Gao; and George Bennett, the E. Dell Butcher Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology.
Product Design and Development (A similar article appeared in Technology Networks.)
http://bit.ly/2BXrkG1

Global team wins $15 million to help end preventable newborn deaths in Africa
NEST360°, an international team of engineers, doctors and global health experts, won $15 million through the MacArthur Foundation’s inaugural 100&Change competition and will continue to raise money for its visionary effort to end preventable newborn deaths in Africa. NEST360° is a collaboration of Rice, the University of Malawi, Northwestern University, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and 3rd Stone Design of San Rafael, Calif.
Northwestern Now
http://bit.ly/2C0tDIv

The EPA’s pollution estimates stink. Everyone uses them anyway
Daniel Cohan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is quoted in an article on the Environmental Protection Agency.
Wired
http://bit.ly/2BYFYNr

Recipients of the 2018 medals and awards
Frank Tittel, Rice’s J.S. Abercrombie Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of bioengineering, has been named a co-recipient of the 2018 IEEE Medal for Environmental and Safety Technologies for his pioneering contributions to the quantum cascade laser and optical chemical sensors for environmental sensing.
The Institute
http://bit.ly/2C2MMK4

Texas and Louisiana’s 2018 Top Young Professionals
Kristi Grizzle, principal at Walter P Moore and Rice Design Alliance board president, is a winner of the 2018 Engineering News-Record Texas and Louisiana Top Young Professionals contest.
Engineering News-Record
http://bit.ly/2BZ6VR3

‘Behavioral Finance: Financial Market Anomalies and a Nobel Prize’
Tarik Umar, assistant professor of finance at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, spoke at an American Finance Association event Jan. 6.
ValueWalk
http://bit.ly/2BZrjRZ

Weak hydrogen bonds key to strong, tough infrastructure
The right mix of hydrogen bonds in polymer and cement composites is critical to making strong, tough and ductile infrastructure material, according to Rice scientists who want to mimic the mechanics of mother-of-pearl and similar natural composites with synthetic materials. Rouzbeh Shahsavari, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted. Graduate student Navid Sakhavand is mentioned.
Product Design and Development (This article also appeared in Energy-Daily.)
http://bit.ly/2BZgoYy

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Venezuelan violinist Rubén Rengel wins $50,000 Sphinx Competition
Graduate student Rubén Rengel, a violinist, won first place in the senior division of the Sphinx Competition in Detroit.
The Strad
http://bit.ly/2BZES3W
Sphinx Organization: Congratulations to the laureates of the 21st annual Sphinx competition!
Africlassical
http://bit.ly/2nKTMHd

SPORTS

Sam McGuffie clears all hurdles in transition from football to bobsled
Former Rice football and track and field athlete Sam McGuffie ’14 is featured. He was named to the U.S. men’s bobsled team that will compete in the Winter Olympics in South Korea. McGuffie also is mentioned in an article on Olympic teammate Justin Olsen having an emergency appendectomy.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared on the front of the Sports section in the Feb. 6 print edition with a different headline, “No task too tall.”)
http://bit.ly/2BZjWKr
Olympic bobsled pilot from San Antonio undergoes appendectomy
KXAN.com
http://bit.ly/2C074Uj

KTRK-TV (Houston)
Rice head baseball coach Wayne Graham is featured.
http://bit.ly/2C11npg (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

NCBWA announces 18th annual 2018 NCAA Division I preseason All-America teams
Rice baseball player Matt Canterino was named a third-team preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Sportswriters.net
http://bit.ly/2BZcz5P

Rice men and women await help from key transfers
Rice men’s basketball player Josh Parrish and women’s player Nancy Mulkey are featured. Men’s head coach Scott Pera, women’s head coach Tina Langley and women’s players Erica and Olivia Ogwumike are mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 6 print edition with a different headline, “Help on the horizon for men’s, women’s teams.”)
http://bit.ly/2C0r0pY

Rice women keep up historic start; men still struggling
The Rice basketball teams are featured.
Galveston County Daily News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2C0kCiu

Bucs’ Jameis Winston, longtime girlfriend expecting baby
Alumna Breion Allen ’15, a former Rice basketball player, is mentioned.
Tampa Bay Times
http://bit.ly/2C1cSNi

ESPNU
Former Rice basketball player Maurice Rivers, who now plays at Jackson State University, is mentioned.
http://bit.ly/2nGSYmD (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

Pro athletes, once upon a laborious offseason
Former Rice football player Frank Ryan is mentioned.
LimaOhio.com
http://bit.ly/2BXwNg1

NEWS RELEASE

‘Political Uncertainty and Mexico’s Energy Reform’ is topic at
Rice’s Baker Institute Feb. 15
Jesús Reyes-Heroles, former CEO of Pemex and Mexico’s former secretary of energy, will discuss the latest developments in Mexico’s energy sector at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Feb. 15. In light of the upcoming Mexican presidential elections in July, a panel of experts also will offer perspectives on the potential for changes to the reform and its implementation. Hosted by the Baker Institute’s Mexico Center and Center for Energy Studies, the event is free and open to the public but registration is required.
http://bit.ly/2BZKNG0