Dateline Rice for Nov. 30, 2018

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

A wistful bipartisan summit in Houston 
Several articles mention the 25th anniversary celebration of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, which featured a discussion between former President Barack Obama and James Baker III, honorary chair of the Baker Institute and former U.S. secretary of state.
The New York Times (Subscription is required.) 
https://nyti.ms/2zyuK3H
Fox News host Laura Ingraham rips Barack Obama for being ‘obsessed’ with Donald Trump 
Salon 
http://bit.ly/2zxfNyW
Obama takes jab at Trump over Mueller investigation: ‘Nobody in my administration got indicted’ 
People 
http://bit.ly/2zxy7YT
Obama’s alternate energy reality: Opinion 
Fox Business (Similar article also appeared in The Daily Caller, Washington Times and the Real News Network.) 
https://fxn.ws/2zsv3gz
Baker Institute’s 25th anniversary gala with Obama raises $5.4 million 
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.) 
http://bit.ly/2zwaos4
http://bit.ly/2PdxLLM
John Hofmeister sets the record straight after Obama takes credit for oil boom
Oil & Gas 360 (Similar articles also appeared in BizPac Review, American Thinker, Conservative Daily News, The Daily Caller and LifeZette.) 
http://bit.ly/2zB6jTh
Shutdown, ego and revolution has flyover folk upset 
Liberty Nation 
http://bit.ly/2zwdX1q
America’s noble history of rejecting identity politics 
National Review (Similar articles also appeared in 15 other media outlets.) 
http://bit.ly/2PbBx8C
Political center is a means, not an end; the end must be a humane society 
Las Cruces Sun News 
http://bit.ly/2PfzXCM
KPAM-AM (Portland, Ore.)
http://bit.ly/2zI3lN5
‘Pat Gray Unleashed’ 
The Blaze 
http://bit.ly/2zA1lX4
‘The Mark Levin Show’
WABC-AM (New York.) 
http://bit.ly/2zzkdVT
Boston Public Radio 
89.7 WGBH (Boston) 
http://bit.ly/2zxz837
‘Red Eye Radio’ 
WABC-AM (New York; this segment aired on 125 affiliate radio stations across the U.S.) 
http://bit.ly/2zxS41J
KTSA-AM (San Antonio)
http://bit.ly/2zxOdBQ
Watch: Smug Obama stirs the pot calling proponents of border security ‘intolerant of non-Americans’ 
The Blaze 
http://bit.ly/2PaLanS
Obama: ‘Nobody in my administration got indicted’ 
Ebony 
http://bit.ly/2PayYDO

‘There is another Mexico now’: Country’s new president reflects on challenges ahead 
Tony Payan, the Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and director of the institute’s Mexico Center, is quoted in two articles about the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
ABC News 
https://abcn.ws/2Pc9Lsr
As Trump readies to sign new NAFTA, opposition rises in Washington 
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.) 
http://bit.ly/2P9l5ph

‘Polar wander’ may be behind Earth’s most recent ice age
Earth’s most recent ice age may have been caused by entire Earth moving relative to its spin axis, according to graduate student Daniel Woodworth and Richard Gordon, the W.M. Keck Professor of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Science.
Futurity 
http://bit.ly/2zxql17

The Chinese gene-editing experiment was an outrage. The scientific community shares blame. 
Several articles about gene editing in humans mention Michael Deem, the John W. Cox Professor of Biochemical and Genetic Engineering and a professor of physics and astronomy, and that He Jiankui, the Chinese scientist who claimed this week that he had produced the first genetically engineered twins, attended Rice.
The Washington Post (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 30 other media outlets.) 
https://wapo.st/2KK7C6W
As China seeks scientific greatness, some say ethics are an afterthought 
The New York Times 
https://nyti.ms/2P8ZHjX
Shock greets claim of CRISPR-edited babies 
Science 
http://bit.ly/2zA9DOJ
Chinese scientists let eugenics out of the bottle 
The Weekend Australian 
http://bit.ly/2zwjIMA
Why we are not ready for genetically designed babies 
Qruis 
http://bit.ly/2zu1Lhu
Gene-editing babies a violation of Chinese law, says official 
The Telegraph 
http://bit.ly/2zsvGXt
NIH director says there’s work to do on regulating genome editing globally 
Stat 
http://bit.ly/2PavFw5

Chinese universities perform well in global rankings for computer science, engineering technology 
An article about the Times Higher Education global rankings of computer science and engineering programs mentions that Rice is No. 57.
Xinhua (This article also appeared in China.org.cn and CGTN.) 
http://bit.ly/2zyN7Wd

HOUSTON/TEXAS

He’s been called one of Texas’ worst lawmakers. Now he says it’s time for ‘more honey’ 
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 articles about Texas politics.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram 
http://bit.ly/2Pamv2Y
KLBJ-AM (Austin; this segment also aired on KRLD-AM in Dallas.)
http://bit.ly/2PaHXEQ
Still more about straight-ticket voting 
Off the Kuff 
http://bit.ly/2PbWBeY

Newsmakers for Dec. 2: Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Election Day loss, future 
An article mentions that alumnus Ed Emmett ’71 will teach at Rice.
KPRC Click2Houston 
http://bit.ly/2zyQxIx

Houston water project breaking ground — in more than one way 
An article about women in engineering quotes Yvette Pearson, associate dean for accreditation, assessment and strategic initiatives at Rice’s George R. Brown School of Engineering, and mentions that 37 percent of Rice’s engineering bachelor’s degrees in 2017 were awarded to women.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.) 
http://bit.ly/2PdFZDE
http://bit.ly/2P9K8sj

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Saudis face ‘a pretty awful set of bad choices’ at G20, OPEC meetings 
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in an article about Middle East politics.
Investor’s Business Daily 
http://bit.ly/2PcOMG2

Quickly capture tiny particles reacting 
An article about Rice researchers who discovered a fundamentally different form of light-matter interaction in their experiments with gold nanoparticles quotes Stephan Link, professor of chemistry and computer and electrical engineering, graduate student Lauren McCarthy and alumnus Kyle Smith. Peter Nordlander, the Wiess Chair in Physics and Astronomy, professor of electrical and computer engineering, professor of materials science and nanoengineering, is mentioned.
U.S. Department of Energy’s Newswise 
http://bit.ly/2PaLCT6
Light triggers gold nanoparticles in unexpected way 
Nanowerk 
http://bit.ly/2zBhBqD

Texas city plans to build desalination plants
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 about the challenges of using desalinated water from the Texas Gulf Coast for industrial purposes.
Water & Waste Digest 
http://bit.ly/2PdxfNQ

Sea anemone-inspired particles clean wastewater 
Qilin Li, professor of civil and environmental engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted in an article about a new strategy that could streamline wastewater treatment processes.
C&EN 
http://bit.ly/2zHSP8z

Topological Dirac magnons spotted for the first time at zero magnetic field 
A team of U.S. and Korean physicists has found the first evidence of a two-dimensional material that can become a magnetic topological insulator even when it is not placed in a magnetic field. Graduate student Lebing Chen is mentioned.
Physics World 
http://bit.ly/2PblFD8

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Cornered by blockade, Qatar adapts 
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in an article about Qatar’s economic resilience in the wake of a Saudi-led blockade.
Post Bulletin (This article also appeared in Herald-Mail Media, the Bristol Herald Courier and Bakersfield.com, and it appeared in a previous edition of Dateline.) 
http://bit.ly/2zx7qTQ

Music in Central Valley opens Dec. 2 with a program for clarinet and piano 
An article features and pictures alumna Laurel Larsen ’97.
The Warwick Advertiser 
http://bit.ly/2zzTRDs

SPORTS

Check out Texans’ players cleats for My Cause, My Cleats campaign 
Former Rice football player Christian Covington is featured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Nov. 30 print edition with a different headline, “It’s a reunion for old pals Watson, Mayfield.”) 
http://bit.ly/2zxol97

Texas State earns 1st NCAA tournament victory 
Several articles mention that Texas State University’s volleyball team defeated Rice 3-1 Nov. 29 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Players Nicole Lennon, Anota Adekunle and Grace Morgan are mentioned.
Austin American-Statesman 
https://atxne.ws/2PaySM9
No. 5-seeded Texas volleyball opens NCAA tournament play on Thursday 
SB Nation 
http://bit.ly/2P8fwHz
Historic win: Bobcats claim 1st-ever NCAA tournament win with victory over Rice 
San Marcos Daily Record 
http://bit.ly/2P8fwHz
Texas rolls past SFA in NCAA 1st round 
Horns Illustrated 
http://bit.ly/2PbaIl1

‘Top Ten’
A broadcast about Hurricane Harvey, which is isted as the No. 4 worst hurricane to hit the U.S. by the Weather Channel, features the Rice football team and interviews Paine Matiscik and former head football coach David Bailiff. Bailiff also is mentioned in Mean Green Nation.
The Weather Channel
http://bit.ly/2Pg3bBu 
Seth Littrell rumors 
Mean Green Nation 
http://bit.ly/2zvwieH

Pearson paces Bobcats past Rice 
An article mentions that the Rice men’s basketball team lost 74-60 to Texas State University Nov. 28.
San Marcos Daily Record 
http://bit.ly/2PbtqJ4

NEWS RELEASES

Rice expert available to discuss Senate vote to end support for Saudi-led war in Yemen 
The U.S. Senate has advanced a measure to withdraw American support for a Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen. If successful, it will be the first time since the War Powers Act was passed in 1973 that it has been used to end a foreign operation. Ric Stoll, the Albert Thomas Professor of Political Science at Rice, is available to discuss the act.
http://bit.ly/2zyH1oV

Tax reform has simplified the ‘kiddie tax,’ Baker Institute expert says 
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 has effectively simplified the so-called “kiddie tax,” according to an expert in the Center for Public Finance at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Joyce Beebe, a fellow in public finance, outlined her insights in a new report that reviews different types of income sources for children and young adults and the associated tax implications.
http://bit.ly/2zAMtYg

Light triggers gold in unexpected way 
Rice researchers have discovered a fundamentally different form of light-matter interaction in their experiments with gold nanoparticles, which may become useful in the development of next-generation, ultrasmall optical components for computers and antennas.
http://bit.ly/2zx5CKR