Dateline Rice for May 20, 2019 (Weekend Edition)

FEATURED ITEM

Moondust could cloud our lunar ambitions
Former Rice professor Brian O’Brien is featured.
Wired (This article also appeared in Long Room.)
http://bit.ly/2HqVTtU

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Saudi Oil infrastructure at risk as small attacks raise potential for big disruption
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
The New York Times (This article also appeared in the May 18 print edition.)
https://nyti.ms/30sKIIy
Oil brings wealth, while climate brings displacement to Middle East
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets, and it appeared in the May 20 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/2Ht9FMx

The White House is giving NASA another $1.6 billion to go to the moon. It won’t be enough.
George Abbey, senior fellow in space policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Popular Science (This article also appeared in MSN.)
http://bit.ly/30sL6Xw

A DIY approach to automating your lab
Caleb Bashor, assistant professor of biosciences and bioengineering, is featured.
Nature
https://go.nature.com/2YHbPOy

What science says Uber and Lyft are doing to San Francisco
An article mentions a Rice study that determined ride-sharing increased the number of car registrations and fatal accidents.
San Francisco Chronicle (This article also appeared in the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News.)
http://bit.ly/2YJ92UZ

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Blistering report details serious safety lapses at St. Luke’s
Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Health and Biosciences, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in the May 18 print edition, and it appeared in ProPublica.)
http://bit.ly/30uWvWS
Redeeming a bad cook, and Scottie Pippen’s thoughts on Houston fans: The good, the bad, and the ugly of the news
Houston Public Media (This “Houston Matters” segment aired twice on KUHF-AM in Houston, and the article also appeared in MochaManStyle.com.)
http://bit.ly/30tYbzP

Lawyers from both sides made campaign contributions to judge in Prop B case
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.
KPRC
http://bit.ly/2VDbdHu
Texas legislators poised to deliver resources for school safety – What’s Your Point?
Fox 26
http://bit.ly/2VAjhZu

Coastal barrier plan eyes debris in Ship Channel
An article mentions that experts from Rice presented their Galveston Bay Park Plan, which includes building 25-foot-high barriers across the middle of Galveston Bay to protect coastal communities from storm surge. Co-author 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.
Houston Chronicle (This article appeared in the May 19 print edtion and a previous edition of Dateline when it as first posted online.)
http://bit.ly/30uOykA

‘You’re not gay, are you?’ he asked
An excerpt from the May 11 commencement address at Rice delivered by former Houston Mayor Annise Parker ’78 is featured.
Houston Chronicle (This article appeared in the May 19 print edtion and a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.)
http://bit.ly/30EjAqe

Houston named the No. 2 city for STEM jobs
Rice’s plan to redevelop the historic Midtown Sears building into The Ion, the centerpiece of an innovation district built in collaboration with other Houston agencies and institutions, is featured.
InnovationMap
http://bit.ly/2HpnEDc
Regional spotlight: US West

Urban Land
http://bit.ly/30qP17j

How Weatherford went from fourth largest oilfield service company to Chapter 11
Vikas Mittal, the J. Hugh Liedtke Professor of Marketing at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in the May 19 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/30qQjzb

Rice students help homeless youth with creative initiatives in Houston
Wiess College senior Shaurey Vetsa and Duncan College senior Kaitlyn Xiong, co-presidents of the Rice Coalition on Hunger and Homelessness, are quoted in an article authored by David Medina, Rice’s director of multicultural community relations. The article mentions that the Rice Coalition was started in 2013 by Ahmed Haque.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/30qRL4B
http://bit.ly/30qR77b

Ex-Rackspace CEO talks about fast growth and fighting Amazon
Alumnus Lanham Napier ’93 is featured.
San Antonio Express-News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2HqP2QY

San Miguel comes to Houston for one colorful, arty night
Luz Garcini, a Rice Academy affiliate in the Department of Psychological Sciences and Rice Faculty Scholar at the Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Mexico Center, is mentioned.
Paper City
http://bit.ly/2YzfLAF

Saint Arnold at 25: Brewery paved way for more craft suds to flow
Alumnus Brock Wagner is featured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2VvFkAI

Ray Viator knows how Houston earned the name Space City
Rice’s role in the development of the American space program is mentioned.
Houston Press
http://bit.ly/2YIo2Cz

BROADCAST

‘Fox 26 News Hurricane Special’
A system developed by Rice students to monitor flooding is featured. Student Alexandra Du is quoted.
KRIV-TV (Houston; this broadcast also aired on KTBC-TV in Austin, Texas.)
http://bit.ly/2Ht7loT

KOGO-AM (San Diego)
A broadcast mentions that Rice researchers have developed micron-sized spheres created to catch and destroy bisphenol A, a synthetic chemical used to make plastics.
http://bit.ly/2Ht370o (This broadcast aired on more than 10 other radio stations.)

‘JFK: The Last Speech’
President John F. Kennedy’s “Moon Speech” given at Rice Sept. 12, 1962, is mentioned.
KUFM-TV (Missoula, Montana)
http://bit.ly/2Hq4aOy

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Analysis: Arizona State University’s engineering program ranks 44th best in the nation, study finds
An article on U.S. News and World Report’s list of the best graduate engineering schools in the U.S. mentions that Rice’s Brown School of Engineering was ranked No. 27.
Arizona Business Daily (Similar articles also appeared in Florida Business Daily, Palmetto Business Daily and Illinois Business Daily.)
http://bit.ly/30yvYIn

Need to Know: May 17, 2019
An article cites Rice research that found that 60 percent of all mayoral elections in the U.S. in 2016 featured just one candidate.
American Press Institute
http://bit.ly/30uNJbu

Nanoparticles developed at Rice reach clinical trials for prostate cancer
A gold nanoparticle prostate cancer treatment pioneered by Naomi Halas, the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of chemistry, bioengineering, physics and astronomy, and of materials science and nanoengineering and the director of Rice’s Smalley-Curl Institute, is featured.
Health News
http://bit.ly/2YEgX5H

Researchers are developing an energy-efficient method of converting methane into carbon nanotubes
An article features and pictures Matteo Pasquali, the A. J. Hartsook Professor of Chemistry and Materials Science and NanoEngineering, who won a $3.3 million federal grant to develop a method to convert natural gas into carbon nanotubes for materials that can replace metals.
Natural News
http://bit.ly/2YCmQjR

Mars colony: Here’s how the life on the red planet would be, according to scientists
Scott Solomon, associate teaching professor in biosciences at Rice, is quoted in an article about possible consequences of colonizing Mars.
Advocator
http://bit.ly/2YAwt2H
Near-sighted kids of Martian colonists could find sex with Earth-humans deadly
Inverse
http://bit.ly/30ttvib

Greg Eow named president of the Center for Research Libraries
An article featuring alumnus Greg Eow mentions that he formerly worked at Rice’s Fondren Library.
MIT Libraries
http://bit.ly/2HrU9QV

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

WHOI researchers say coral disease outbreak spreading to US Virgin Islands
An article mentions that Adrienne Correa, assistant professor of biosciences, is part of a collaborative effort funded by a National Science Foundation grant to combat Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease in the Virgin Islands.
CapeCod.com
http://bit.ly/30vpwSb

Documentary highlights ‘Accidental Diplomats’
Luis Duno-Gottberg, department chair and associate professor of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, is mentioned.
Women of China (This article also appeared in Efecto Cocuyo.)
http://bit.ly/30vqYE7

Has anything changed after Nusrat?
Zobaida Nasreen, academic visitor in the study of women, gender and sexuality at Rice, authored an op-ed.
The Daily Star (This article also appeared in Times of News.)
http://bit.ly/2HqNVkg

University of Michigan must submit to sworn depositions in sexual misconduct lawsuit, judge says
An article mentions alumnus Samuel Schultz ’09, who has accused David Daniels and Scott Walters of sexual assault.
MLive.com
http://bit.ly/2YAjxK4

Barbe student earns perfect score on ACT
An article mentions that Brendan Guillory plans to attend Rice.
Lake Charles American Press
http://bit.ly/30njAKW

Portraits from memory
Alumnus Jasper Rose is featured.
Register Pajaronian
http://bit.ly/30ua88y

A viagem ideológica de Bolsonaro
Sergio Fausto, contributing expert for the Latin America Initiative at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored an op-ed.
Brasil Soberano e Livre (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/2HwcZXr

Dernière ligne droite pour les finalistes du Reine Elisabeth
Rice is mentioned.
Le Soir (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/30uAMyj

Aceptan a estudiante mexicano en 9 de las mejores universidades de EEUU
Rice is mentioned.
Yahoo! Deportes (An English translation is not available. Similar articles also appeared in more than 30 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2VzJvvi

SPORTS

Sweep of Rice makes MU Senior Day special
The Rice baseball team was swept in a three-game series against Marshall University May 16-18 in Huntington, West Virginia. The Owls will face the University of Southern Mississippi May 22 in the first round of the Conference USA tournament.
Huntington Herald Dispatch
http://bit.ly/30vrCBx
Chuck Landon: MU pulls fairy tale sweep of Rice
Huntington Herald Dispatch
http://bit.ly/30vs2b5
Photos: Marshall baseball faces Rice University in final regular season game
Huntington Herald Dispatch
http://bit.ly/2VCkqzQ
College baseball roundup: Delta State wins regional, Ole Miss snaps snaps skid, MSU and USM stumble in finales
Oxford Eagle
http://bit.ly/2YDFk3s
Conference USA tournament pairings set
WLBT
http://bit.ly/2YIVpoN

Texas A&M’s Townsend to compete in NCAA singles championships
An article mentions Rice women’s tennis player Michaela Haet will compete in the NCAA singles tournament.
KBTX
http://bit.ly/2VBMljB

‘Sports Sunday’
Former Rice football player Robbie Beck is featured.
KPRC-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2HqHj5n

Texas Reads: Sports icon Dave Campbell curates decades of gridron stories
The Rice football team’s 1954 Cotton Bowl game against the University of Alabama is mentioned.
The Eagle
http://bit.ly/2VzZoli

Cairo native Hancock named semifinalist for Dick Howser Trophy
An article mentions that former Rice baseball player Anthony Rendon won the 2010
Dick Howser Trophy, which is presented to the top collegiate player in the country.
The Albany Herald
http://bit.ly/2VBGXwO

NEWS RELEASES

Rice recruits two faculty for cancer research
Rice will add two tenure-track faculty members this year with the help of grants from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). Structural biologist Yang Gao and bioengineer Kevin McHugh will both start on July 1, with offices and labs at the BioScience Research Collaborative. Rice won a pair of $2 million CPRIT grants to recruit them to the university.
http://bit.ly/2YJw6mB

Feds fund creation of headset for high-speed brain link
A Rice-led team of neuroengineers is embarking on an ambitious four-year project to develop headset technology that can directly link the human brain and machines without the need for surgery. As a proof of concept, the team plans to transmit visual images perceived by one individual into the minds of blind patients.
http://bit.ly/2w7YT7X

Hyperspectral camera captures wealth of data in an instant
Standard snapshots from space don’t quite show Earth in all its glory. To reveal details impossible to observe with the naked eye, Rice engineers are building a portable spectrometer that can be mounted on a small satellite, flown on an airplane or a drone or someday even held in the hand.
http://bit.ly/2w87nMi

Synthetic biologists hack bacterial sensors
Rice synthetic biologists have hacked bacterial sensing with a plug-and-play system that could be used to mix-and-match tens of thousands of sensory inputs and genetic outputs. The technology has wide-ranging implications for medical diagnostics, the study of deadly pathogens, environmental monitoring and more.
http://bit.ly/2wbAEpy

Free-standing emergency departments in Texas’ big cities are not reducing congestion at nearby hospitals, says Rice study
Free-standing emergency departments in Texas’ largest cities have not alleviated emergency room congestion or improved patient wait times in nearby hospitals, according to a new paper by experts at Rice.
http://bit.ly/2YHcwaC

Superconductor’s magnetic persona unmasked
In the pantheon of unconventional superconductors, iron selenide is a rock star. But new experiments by U.S., Chinese and European physicists have found the material’s magnetic persona to be unexpectedly mundane.
http://bit.ly/2w92kLB

About Matt Wilson

Matt Wilson is a senior editor in Rice University's Office of Public Affairs.