Dateline Rice for Feb. 28, 2018

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Lone Star long shot: Science runs for Congress
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 Democrat Joseph Kopser, who is running for Congress. Jones also is quoted in articles on early voting turnout for Texas’ March 6 primary, Republican donors and third-term governors.
Scientific American
http://bit.ly/2t0f2h9
Texas primary: Democrats see rare surge of enthusiasm in early voting
The Guardian
http://bit.ly/2GQGyQ8
Democrats are outpacing Republicans in early voting, and the governor sounds worried
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
http://bit.ly/2BUWT7a
Billionaires invest in Texas legislative races
Denton Record-Chronicle
http://bit.ly/2BVXnKe
Cursed or blessed? A history of 3rd-term governors
Governing
http://bit.ly/2t2PSOS

Is the petro truly backed by oil reserves?
Francisco Monaldi, a fellow in Latin American energy policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored an op-ed on the petro, a virtual currency launched by Venezuela.
Caracas Chronicles
http://bit.ly/2BYirQ7

Billy Graham’s troubling, nasty Nixon moment
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 an article on the late Rev. Billy Graham’s recorded comments about Jews while speaking with President Richard Nixon in 1972.
U.S. News and World Report
http://bit.ly/2F2QN3f

Even Donald Trump couldn’t stop US power plants from moving to solar
Daniel Cohan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is quoted in an article on Americans using less electricity from power plants in 2017 than in 2016.
Quartz (This article also appeared at MSN.com.)
http://bit.ly/2F2yZW6

Sense of smell can predict how you will vote in politics
Rice research on emotional clues in body odor is mentioned.
Daily Mail (This article also appeared in Health Medicine Network and Express Digest.)
http://dailym.ai/2BW8VNy

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Army Corps predicted Addicks and Barker flood pool lawsuits, decided not to act
Jim Blackburn, a professor in the practice of environmental law and the co-director of Rice’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center, is quoted in an article on a 1995 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers analysis that showed the Corps was concerned about being sued by property owners in the reservoir pools of Houston’s Addicks and Barker dams.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared at MSN.com, and it appeared on the front page of the Feb. 28 print edition of the Chronicle with a different headline, “Corps predicted suits over dams.”)
http://bit.ly/2BXubCL

These Texas universities have promised students that protesting won’t affect their admission
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 in the Breitbart Texas article.
Austin American-Statesman
https://atxne.ws/2BXcRO7
Texas universities say anti-gun protests won’t hurt students’ admissions
Breitbart Texas
http://bit.ly/2F20cs1
Colleges will not penalize students for gun control protests
Her Campus
http://bit.ly/2BXI2ZN

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.
TMC News
http://bit.ly/2t5mgjX

14 battle to replace Republican Ted Poe in Congress
Alumnus Todd Litton ’01 is a candidate in the Democratic primary for U.S. representative in Texas’ 2nd Congressional District.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2t5ZhF8

We’ve heard a lot of bad apologies lately. What makes a good one?
Anastasiya Zavyalova, assistant professor of strategic management at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine, and it originally appeared on the Rice Business Wisdom website.)
http://bit.ly/2BW3WMY

Tilman Fertitta showcases Houston mattress company you’ve never heard of
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.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared at MSN.com.)
http://bit.ly/2t7i0QY

Photos: Tree planting competition in Tomball
Will Rice College sophomore Lea Godret-Miertschin is pictured, and Rice’s Green Dorm Initiative is mentioned in the cutline.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/2BVR89f

Rising talent and veterans: Next season at Chamber Music Houston
The Dover Quartet and Rolston String Quartet, both former quartets-in-residence at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, will perform during Chamber Music Houston’s 2018-19 season. Jon Kimura Parker, professor of piano at the Shepherd School, will perform with the Montrose Trio; Desmond Hoebig, professor of cello, will perform with the Pacifica Quartet; and Ivo-Jan van der Werff, professor of viola, and Timothy Pitts, professor of double bass, will perform with the Trio con Brio Copenhagen.
Arts and Culture Texas
http://bit.ly/2BYgTWF

Communications lecturer running for Texas Supreme Court
Harris County District Judge Steven Kirkland ’82, who is running to replace Don Willett on the Texas Supreme Court, is featured.
Daily Cougar
http://bit.ly/2BZVzzI

RUSMP Noyce Fellow hosts Louisiana Noyce Fellows
Adem Ekmekci, director of research and evaluation for the Rice University School Mathematics Project and clinical assistant professor of mathematics, is quoted. Anne Papakonstantinou, RUSMP director, authored the article.
Village News (The article, which is on page 2, also appeared in Southwest News.)
http://bit.ly/2ujJL49

BROADCAST

How technology can help — or hinder — election security in Texas
Dan Wallach, professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering and a Rice Faculty Scholar at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, discussed election security on the Feb. 27 episode of “Houston Matters.”
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2BWsKEl

Rice students win flood policy contest for multihome buyout idea
The team of Martel College freshman Connor Rothschild and Martel College senior Sapna Suresh won a recent flood policy contest.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2t2gM9n

‘Imus in the Morning”
Professor of History Douglas Brinkley is a guest.
http://bit.ly/2CqkPjZ (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast, which aired on more than 60 radio stations.)

Expedition lands in USA
Astronaut Paolo Nespoli, a member of Expedition 52/53 to the International Space Station, appeared at the Rice Media Center Feb. 23 for a screening of “Expedition,” a documentary about his training for and participation in the mission.
Agenzia Spaziale Italiana
http://bit.ly/2t2t0Pj

WSCL-FM (Salisbury, Md.)
A performance by William VerMeulen, professor of French horn, is featured.
http://bit.ly/2FD89F5 (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

States’ latest weapon in the struggle for revenue: Gross receipts taxes
Joyce Beebe, fellow in public finance at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Accounting Today
http://bit.ly/2t3Rury

Ken Kennedy Institute at Rice University offers insights into exascale computing for the oil and gas industry
The 11th annual Rice Oil and Gas High Performance Computing Conference, hosted by Rice’s Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology, is scheduled for March 12-13. Jan Odegard, executive director of the Kennedy Institute, is quoted.
HPCwire
http://bit.ly/2BUoWn4

Best free MOOCs in business in March
“Investment Strategies and Portfolio Analysis,” a massive open online course offered by Rice, is mentioned.
Poets and Quants
http://bit.ly/2BVXmpC

‘You know, we have a problem here.’
The Association for Computer Machinery Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference is featured. The conference is named for Richard Tapia, University Professor, the Maxfield-Oshman Professor in Engineering and a professor of computational and applied mathematics.
PCMA Convene
http://bit.ly/2BVweqJ

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

The slippery search for creativity
“The Runaway Species: How Human Creativity Remakes the World,” a book co-authored by Anthony Brandt, professor of composition and theory at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, and alumnus David Eagleman ’93, a neuroscientist at Stanford University, is reviewed.
Los Angeles Review of Books
http://bit.ly/2GQsENR

Houston Dynamo’s diversity mirrors the city it calls home
A 2010 study by Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research that found Houston was the most ethnically diverse major city in the United States is mentioned.
Pro Soccer USA
http://bit.ly/2EZUyX7

Adjaye-designed museum in doubt after backer accused of money laundering
A roundup of art news mentions “Josiah McElheny: Island Universe” is on view at Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts.
Frieze.com
http://bit.ly/2BWGEGC

ASG executive tickets face off before March election
OpenStax, a Rice-based publisher of open educational resources, is mentioned in an article on student elections at the University of Arkansas.
Arkansas Traveler
http://bit.ly/2F2rRZA

Former US AG Alberto Gonzalez to speak at Dickson Freed Hardeman
Alumnus Alberto Gonzalez ’79, former U.S. attorney general, will speak March 1 in Dickson, Tenn.
Tennessean
http://tnne.ws/2BZ5SV4

Sally Widener is named to lead School of Accountancy
Sally Widener, former assistant professor of management at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, has been named director of the School of Accountancy at Clemson University’s College of Business.
Clemson Newsstand
http://bit.ly/2BXQisL

Solving wicked problems
President John F. Kennedy’s “Moon Speech” given at Rice Sept. 12, 1962, is mentioned.
E.O. Wilson Foundation
http://bit.ly/2GQJvAc

Bis zum nächsten großen Knall
Alan Levander, the Carey Croneis Professor of Earth Science, is quoted in an article on Mount St. Helens.
Spektrum (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/2BWDgvl

SPORTS

MBB: Feb. 26 Players of the Week
Rice men’s basketball player Najja Hunter was named the Conference USA Freshman of the Week.
ConferenceUSA.com
http://bit.ly/2t3KKK7

Graduate transfer Keith Frazier leaves UTEP basketball team
Articles on University of Texas at El Paso basketball player Keith Frazier mention the Miners face Rice March 1 at Tudor Fieldhouse.
El Paso Times
http://bit.ly/2GR7nUa
UTEP Basketball: Keith Frazier will not return to the team
KVIA.com
http://bit.ly/2F2nygS
UTEP basketball: Keith Frazier, UTEP part ways
Miner Rush
http://bit.ly/2GR2yu4

Knee injury shelves UTSA freshman standout for remainder of season
An article on University of Texas at San Antonio basketball player Jhivvan Jackson mentions the Roadrunners face Rice March 3 at Tudor Fieldhouse.
San Antonio Express-News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2EZRydr
UTSA closes regular season with Texas road trip
GoUTSA.com
http://bit.ly/2GNe4GM

College Baseball Daily week 3 power rankings
The Rice baseball team is mentioned.
College Baseball Daily
http://bit.ly/2ta02NR

Who got faster? Improvement at D1 women’s conference meets
The Rice swimming team is mentioned.
Swim Swam
http://bit.ly/2FEFEXo

Draft notes: In-person scouting and scuttlebutt galore
Rice baseball player Matt Canterino is mentioned.
FanGraphs
http://bit.ly/2BWhE28

UTSA moves up 2 spots on final day at Louisiana Classics
An article on the University of Texas at San Antonio men’s golf team mentions Rice tied for 11th place at the Louisiana Classics in Lafayette, La.
GoUTSA.com
http://bit.ly/2F1QExb

Northwestern State-Texas A&M game moved to Aug. 30
The Rice football team’s Aug. 25 game against Prairie View A&M is mentioned.
FBSchedules.com
http://bit.ly/2GT9h6H

KPRC-TV (Houston)
Former Rice football and track and field athlete Sam McGuffie ’14, a member of the U.S. men’s bobsled team that competed in the Winter Olympics in South Korea, returned to Houston.
http://bit.ly/2FDI5JX (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KRIV-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2FDpeyC (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

Getting to know new Rays prospects Solak, Banda, Gray and Palacios
Former Rice baseball player Tristan Gray ’18 is mentioned.
Prospects 1500
http://bit.ly/2GTUclv

NEWS RELEASES

Dressing atoms in an ultracold soup
Using lasers, U.S. and Austrian physicists have coaxed ultracold strontium atoms into complex structures unlike any previously seen in nature. Rice physicist Tom Killian is the lead scientist on a new paper in Physical Review Letters that summarized the group’s experimental findings. Killian teamed with experimental physicists from Rice’s Center for Quantum Materials and theoretical physicists from Harvard University and Vienna University of Technology on the two-year project to create “Rydberg polarons” out of strontium atoms that were at least 1 million times colder than deep space.
http://bit.ly/2F3J9FM

Rice Business Plan Competition to announce 2018 teams via Facebook Live March 1
The 42 teams that have been invited to participate in the 18th annual Rice Business Plan Competition at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business April 5-7 will be announced via Facebook Live at noon March 1. The teams selected to compete for more than $1.5 million in cash and prizes were chosen from nearly 300 applicants of graduate-student teams with a business plan for a new startup company.
http://bit.ly/2BWsRzR

Rice expert available to discuss decentralization of HISD
The decentralization of Houston Independent School District (HISD) in the 1990s was well-implemented, but components of the plan should be revisited to get more equitable distribution of funding and improvement of student achievement, according to a new research brief from Rice’s Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC). Jodi Saxton Moon, a postdoctoral research fellow for HERC, is available to discuss the brief, which is the first in a four-part series examining the implementation and impact of decentralization.
http://bit.ly/2C06Qjw

Baker Institute expert: Investing in oil field water management a major savings opportunity
Increasingly sophisticated water management helps U.S.-focused oil and gas operators drive their economic break-even oil price below the social break-even price — the minimum price needed by many producers abroad to pay bills and fulfill obligations to citizens, according to an expert in the Center for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Gabriel Collins, the Baker Botts Fellow in Energy and Environmental Regulatory Affairs, recently shared his insights in a keynote address at a Produced Water Society seminar and is available to discuss oil field water-management issues with the news media.
http://bit.ly/2F1ebxX

Baker Institute expert: Mexico must address decline in its natural gas production
Since 2010, Mexico’s demand for natural gas has been accompanied by a decline in domestic production, which had made imports of this resource increasingly vital, according to an expert at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Private and state-owned companies — from producers to pipeline operators — and a solid governmental regulatory apparatus must now help guarantee the consistent supply of natural gas, said Adrian Duhalt, postdoctoral fellow in Mexico energy studies in the institute’s Mexico Center and Center for Energy Studies, in a new issue brief, “Mexico Shifts Focus to Natural Gas.”
http://bit.ly/2BV0WAo