Dateline Rice for Feb. 26, 2018 (Weekend Edition)

FEATURED ITEMS

Student activism on gun laws won’t ding your Rice University application, school says
Rice University announced that participation in peaceful protests will not have a negative effect on prospective students’ admission to Rice. President David Leebron is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2FxjwOK
http://bit.ly/2FyypjN
Colleges: Student protesters shouldn’t worry about admission
ABC13.com
http://abc13.co/2FwCchC
KHOU-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2Fxwegt (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KTRK-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2FC05Vf (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KXAS-TV (Dallas)
http://bit.ly/2EXIF3V (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

The 9 best new university buildings around the world
Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts is on a list of the nine best new university buildings around the world.
Architectural Digest
http://bit.ly/2FzkSbQ
University of Iowa building named to Architectural Digest list of top new university structures
Iowa City Press-Citizen
http://icp-c.com/2FxfKoy

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Mideast strife is cash positive for US natural gas — and Chinese coal
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored an op-ed on the emergence of a reverse U.S.-Mideast energy trade.
Forbes (This article also appeared in Peak Oil and Natural Gas Asia.)
http://bit.ly/2EXetG7

Scientists create a mega-giant atom stuffed with other atoms
An article mentions a research collaboration among Rice, TU Wien and Harvard University.
Forbes
http://bit.ly/2FxTgnw
Scientists discover atoms inside the orbiting electrons of a ‘giant atom’
United Press International
http://bit.ly/2FyX8o2
Exotic state of matter: An atom full of atoms
Scienmag (This article also appeared in Nanowerk and Innovations Report, and similar articles appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2FBIehb
Exotischer materiezustand: Wie ins atom noch mehr atome passen
TU Austria (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/2FyYC1M
Wie ins atom noch mehr atome passen
Europa Press (An English translation is not available. Similar articles appeared in APA Science, Der Standard, Studium, Chemie, Technische Universitat Wien and IDW Aktuell.)
http://bit.ly/2Fx5H2M

Texas Democratic candidate says she’s ‘disappointed’ in party after DCCC launches attack
Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science at Rice, is quoted in an article on Texas congressional candidate Laura Moser, who was the subject of a critical post on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s website.
ABC News (This article also appeared in more than 20 other media outlets.)
http://abcn.ws/2EWg6E0

The Venezuelan oil industry is on a cliff’s edge. Trump could tip it over.
Francisco Monaldi, a fellow in Latin American energy policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in an op-ed. He also is quoted in a roundup of political news.
Washington Post (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, MSN.com and Standard-Examiner.)
http://wapo.st/2EalFOL
The Drilldown: B.C. not backing down on Trans Mountain
iPolitics
http://bit.ly/2FxkJ8I

Commentary: Even in world’s oldest democracies, citizens may be losing control
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 mentioned.
Reuters
http://reut.rs/2Fw2nVD

Graham was pastor to the nation and the world
William Martin, the Harry and Hazel Chavanne Senior Fellow in Religion and Public Policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in stories on the death of the Rev. Billy Graham, who held an eight-day crusade at Rice Stadium in 1981.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (This article appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2EXNwm0
Billy Graham made sure his integrity was never in question
The Gazette (This Religion News Service article appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2EXsLqi
Billy Graham ‘achieved a great deal more than most people ever think about’
FaithZette
http://bit.ly/2Fxccma
Franklin Graham is not his late father
Bill’s ‘Faith Matters’ Blog
http://bit.ly/2Fz45Wj
The Saturday Monks Brunch: Feb. 24, 2018
Internet Monk
http://bit.ly/2EW4Rvx

HOUSTON/TEXAS

New Texas A&M financial aid grant proposal is latest to target middle-class students
Rice’s new strategic plan addresses the needs of students from middle-class families.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 24 print edition with a different headline, “A&M proposes grants to middle-class students,” and was included in a previous edition of Dateline when the article was posted online.)
http://bit.ly/2GCBS0g
http://bit.ly/2otGz4Q

Two women from Rice picked for inaugural class of Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford
Rice alumna Sonia Garcia and senior Brandi Ransom have been named Knight-Hennessy Scholars. They will join the pioneer cohort of 49 winning scholars at Stanford University, where the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program aims to develop a new generation of international leaders by providing full funding to pursue a graduate education at the California university.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the San Antonio Express-News and Laredo Morning Times.)
http://bit.ly/2EWlBTt
http://bit.ly/2EXm4EZ

How does a ‘local government corporation’ like Houston First work?
William Fulton, director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, wrote an op-ed on Houston’s “local government corporations,” which are used to create public-private partnerships.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine.)
http://bit.ly/2FyH3yW

China, officially atheist, could have more Christians than the US by 2030
A panel discussion titled “Public Religion from West to East” Feb. 21 at Rice’s Herring Hall is mentioned. Former Rice professor Michael Emerson is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared on the front of the Belief section in the Feb. 25 print edition with a different headline, “Christianity is booming in China,” and was included in a previous edition of Dateline when the article was posted online.)
http://bit.ly/2EKRePL

Can one of Texas’ last purple Republicans survive?
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 an article on Texas State Rep. Sarah Davis. Jones also is quoted in an article on the renewable fuel standard and in radio stories on Texas primary elections.
Texas Monthly
http://bit.ly/2EX7WLN
After years of rancor over ethanol, Cruz, Cornyn go head-to-head on reform
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared at MSN.com.)
http://bit.ly/2FyfgOX
KRLD-AM (Dallas)
http://bit.ly/2F4sPYS (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast, which also aired on KLBJ-AM in Austin.)
KTRH-AM (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2FyfpC8 (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)
KUT-FM (Austin)
http://bit.ly/2EVkMdm (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

Steps to increasing employee wellness
John P. Higgins, sports cardiologist for Rice Athletics, authored an article.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 26 print edition with a different headline, “10 easy steps to increasing employee wellness in the workplace.”)
http://bit.ly/2FyYZJw

Exclusive: ‘One-of-a-kind’ cricket complex to rise northwest of Houston
Research on the growth of Houston’s Asian population is mentioned.
Houston Business Journal (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2FxHKZ5

TX studio: Joseph Cohen
Houston-based artist Joseph Cohen’s “Looking at a flower” runs through April 8 at the BioScience Research Collaborative. Evan Garza, director of Rice Public Art, is mentioned.
Arts and Culture
http://bit.ly/2EVXFzg

Local grad pursues PhD, international research
Graduate student Brandee Carlson is featured.
Taylor Press
http://bit.ly/2FxJDoV

BROADCAST

A new era of edible electronics is coming
Rice scientists who introduced laser-induced graphene have enhanced their technique to produce what may become a new class of edible electronics. James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry and a professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted.
CapeIslands.org
http://bit.ly/2FxPytP (This National Public Radio broadcast aired on more than 700 stations.)

KRLD-AM (Dallas)
Jim Blackburn, a professor in the practice of environmental law and the co-director of the SSPEED Center, is quoted in a story on flood mitigation efforts in Houston. “Urban Flooding and Infrastructure: Moving Forward From Harvey,” a conference hosted by Rice’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center at the BioScience Research Collaborative, is featured in Houston Public Media and KUT-FM stories.
http://bit.ly/2orHjIO (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)
6 months after Harvey, plans for a more flood-resilient Houston have a long way to go
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2FyoOtq
KUT-FM (Austin, Texas)
http://bit.ly/2EXm47K (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

KRIV-TV (Houston)
The anniversary of the founding of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research is mentioned.
http://bit.ly/2Fvih2t (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

‘Latina Voices’
Alumna Annise Parker ’78, a fellow at Rice’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders and former mayor of Houston, is featured in a broadcast that originally aired when she was in office.
KHOU-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2FzDIPS (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Meet the new ‘renewable superpowers’: Nations that boss the materials used for wind and solar
Andrew Barron, the Charles W. Duncan Jr.-Welch Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science and nanoengineering, authored an article.
Energy Post
http://bit.ly/2Fy4KHF

James Cohan Gallery now represents Josiah McElheny
“Josiah McElheny: Island Universe” at the Moody Center for the Arts is mentioned.
Art News
http://bit.ly/2FBvlUg

Hopes of sickle cell cure with genome editing
Scientists have successfully used gene editing to repair 20 to 40 percent of stem and progenitor cells taken from the peripheral blood of patients with sickle cell disease, according to Gang Bao, the Foyt Family Professor of Bioengineering. Bao is quoted.
BioNews
http://bit.ly/2Fy9mxv

The shared space of faith and science
Elaine Howard Ecklund, founding director of the Religion and Public Life Program and the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, is mentioned. In addition, a Pennsylvania State University news article mentions she will present a seminar and a talk March 27.
Convivium
http://bit.ly/2EX8YHF
Dialogues to explore relationship between science and religion March 27
Penn State News
http://bit.ly/2Fxi6nx

Views of God make Republicans more liberal and Democrats more conservative
Postdoctoral research fellow Robert Thomson is quoted.
Baptist Standard
http://bit.ly/2EWds1h

Rebecca Richards-Kortum to speak on preventing newborn deaths in Africa
Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Malcolm Gillis University Professor, professor of bioengineering and of electrical and computer engineering and director of the Rice 360° Institute for Global Health, will speak Feb. 27 at Yale University.
Yale News
http://bit.ly/2FxiySL

Amid turbulent times in Mexico, is Pemex IPO a bridge too far?
A recent conference on Mexico’s energy sector at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy is mentioned.
Natural Gas Intel
http://bit.ly/2EXaWrx

Your quest for survey data may be hurting your company
Vikas Mittal, the J. Hugh Liedtke Professor of Marketing, is quoted.
Customer Think
http://bit.ly/2EXmnzD

Black swimming history month: ‘Undercurrents of Power’
James Sidbury, the Andrew W. Mellon Distinguished Professor of Humanities and professor of history, is quoted.
Swimming World
http://bit.ly/2FxpP51

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

10 N.C. colleges among best-value schools in US
Rice is No. 8 on Kiplinger’s combined list of public and private best-value colleges and universities for 2018. Rice is No. 5 among private universities.
Patch (Similar articles appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2EW7LQX

A look ahead: UGA and Athens events you shouldn’t miss
Volker Rudolf, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, will speak Feb. 27 at the University of Georgia.
The Red and Black
http://bit.ly/2Fyzic2

Nampa student named Idaho Youth of the Year
An article on Columbia High School senior Ivan Lomeli mentions he has been accepted to Rice.
Idaho Press-Tribune (This article also appeared at KPVI.com.)
http://bit.ly/2EUyqgJ

Hispanic Lifestyle’s 2018 Latinas of Influence
Alumna Karen Lozano ’96 made Hispanic Lifestle’s 2018 Latinas of Influence list.
Hispanic Lifestyle
http://bit.ly/2FxsBa9

Barry Fitzgerald: How superheroes are shaping our superhuman future
Titanium-3 gold, developed by Rice researchers, is mentioned.
A New Domain
http://bit.ly/2FznAOk

Steel-toed star lady won’t quit
Alumna Donna Pierce ’56 is featured.
Park Cities People
http://bit.ly/2Fzvzv9

Material ultrarresistente é obtido a partir de ideia do século 19
Rice engineers are using 3-D printers to turn structures that have until now existed primarily in theory into strong, light and durable materials with complex, repeating patterns. Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Engineering and chair of the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, postdoctoral researcher Chandra Sekhar Tiwary and graduate student Peter Owuor are mentioned, and a Rice video is featured.
Agencia (An English translation is not available. This article also appeared in Revista Amazonia.)
http://bit.ly/2Fz2pw2

SPORTS

Hussein puts Florida International over Rice 67-64
The Rice men’s basketball team lost to Florida International University 67-64 Feb. 24 in Miami. Player Malik Osborne is mentioned.
San Francisco Chronicle (This Associated Press article appeared in more than 50 media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2FziXUG
KRIV-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2Fz8tEO (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KIAH-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2Fx5cFY (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
Area men: Texas A&M takes down Vanderbilt
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 25 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/2FBxCPi

Women’s college basketball: Anriel Howard smashes 2 Texas A&M rebounding records in win
A college basketball roundup mentions the Rice women’s basketball team lost to the University of Texas at San Antonio 62-58 Feb. 25 in San Antonio. Player Gabrielle Stanton is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 26 print edition with a different headline, “Howard snags rebound record in A&M victory.”)
Roadrunners upset Owls, 62-58
GoUTSA.com
http://bit.ly/2FxKJRf
Texas-San Antonio wins 62-58 against Rice
Hero Sports
http://bit.ly/2Fz9oF4

Rice women, men both win 1 and lose 1
The Rice men’s and women’s basketball teams are featured.
Galveston County Daily News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2FxnU0j

Around sports: Kevin Harvick adds Cup win to big weekend in Atlanta
A roundup of sports news mentions the Rice baseball team was swept by Stanford University in a four-game series Feb. 22-25 in Stanford, Calif.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 26 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/2Fx0gks
College baseball: UH topples No. 13 Cal State Fullerton
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 25 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/2FzptL8
Head of USA Swimming says no tolerance for sexual misconduct
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/2FxgN7U
Stanford: A 5-tool team
D1Baseball.com (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2FxGBAL

Louisiana Classics on tap for Aggie golfers
An article on Texas A&M University golf mentions the Rice men’s team is playing in the Louisiana Classics Feb. 26-27.
KBTX.com
http://bit.ly/2Fz0GqB

Florida International brings total to 10 wins in 14 events in C-USA
The Rice women’s swimming team is mentioned in an article on the Conference USA Championships. Owls Kaitlyn Swinney and Marie-Claire Schillinger are mentioned. An article focused on Marshall University’s team mentions Rice’s Jaecey Parham.
SwimSwam
http://bit.ly/2FA2hMA
MU roundup: Bendziewicz defends 200 IM C-USA title
Herald-Dispatch
http://bit.ly/2EVtSHg
Swimming and diving place 4th at C-USA Championships
North Texas Daily
http://bit.ly/2FC2jUB

Tech Roundup: Baseball earns 3rd-straight shutout
A roundup of Texas Tech University news mentions the Red Raiders men’s and women’s tennis teams will face Rice in upcoming matches.
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
http://bit.ly/2FyinGR
Another 4-0 sweep for Lady Raider tennis
KCBD.com
http://bit.ly/2FxjEhh
Red Raiders to travel to New Orleans, face Tulane
Daily Toreador
http://bit.ly/2FysOKe

USA Bobsled looks to future as Pyeongchang Olympics end
Former Rice football and track and field athlete Sam McGuffie ’14 was a member of the U.S. men’s bobsled team that competed in the Winter Olympics in South Korea. McGuffie and his teammates finished ninth in the four-man event.
Chicago Tribune (This Associated Press article appeared in more than 90 media outlets.)
http://trib.in/2FxtorK
Germany completes sweep in bobsled
Register-Guard (This Associated Press article appeared in more than 100 media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2FxWxmx
Germany in position for another sliding gold, this in 4-man
Charlotte Observer (This Associated Press article appeared in more than 70 media outlets, and it appeared in the Feb. 24 print edition of the Houston Chronicle with a different headline, “Germans eye triple.”)
http://bit.ly/2FzCUdZ
KPRC-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2ESnHDB (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

Once-touted reliever J.T. Chargois claimed off waivers by Dodgers
Former Rice baseball player J.T. Chargois ’13 was claimed off waivers by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
St. Paul Pioneer Press (This article also appeared in the Duluth News-Tribune, Brainerd Dispatch, Jamestown Sun, Grand Forks Herald, West Central Tribune, Dodger Blue and Inforum.)
http://bit.ly/2EUeSJC
Familiar sight: Matt Kemp homers in spring return as Dodger
Orange County Register (This article also appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2ETtj0t

NEWS RELEASES

Rice sleuths find metal in ‘metal-free’ catalysts
Detective work by Rice chemists has defined a deception in graphene catalysts that, until now, has defied description. James Tour and his crew have discovered that trace quantities of manganese contamination from graphite precursors or reactants hide in the graphene lattice, and under the right conditions, those metal bits activate the oxygen reduction reaction essential to turn chemical energy into electrical energy.
http://bit.ly/2Fz2cZF

Big data to show how mixed toxins affect children
Rice researchers have won a prestigious National Institutes of Health grant to build data analysis tools and analyze how exposure to mixed toxins in the environment affects a population, especially children. The four-year $1.7 million R01 grant will allow a team led by Marie Lynn Miranda, Rice’s Howard R. Hughes Provost and a professor of statistics, to analyze the massive set of data she and her colleagues gathered for the entire state of North Carolina over more than 20 years.
http://bit.ly/2FxqNOw

Rice Shepherd School to present spring opera, ‘La finta giardiniera,’ March 5, 7 and 9
The Shepherd School of Music’s Opera Department and Chamber Orchestra will present Mozart’s “La finta giardiniera” (“The Disguised Gardener”) at 7:30 p.m. March 5, 7 and 9 at Wortham Opera Theatre in Alice Pratt Brown Hall. Composed when Mozart was only 18 years old, this comic opera revels in the romantic escapades of several couples looking for love.
http://bit.ly/2Fyx9gz

Nobel laureate to discuss Americans’ retirement savings at March 8 Rice U. lecture
In the United States, people are living longer, birthrates have fallen and are not likely to increase and retirees make up an increasing proportion of the population. Nobel laureate William Sharpe will discuss whether Americans are saving enough for retirement in a March 8 lecture presented by the Rice Initiative for the Study of Economics and the Office of the President.
http://bit.ly/2FxkMkZ