Dateline Rice for March 12, 2020

FEATURED ITEMS

C-USA spring sport competition suspended
Several articles mention that Conference USA has suspended all sports competitions until further notice to help curb the possible spread of the novel coronavirus. The announcement came as Rice’s women’s team, which was the No. 1 seeded team in the league, was set to play the first quarterfinal game of the C-USA basketball tournament May 12.
Conference USA
http://dateline.rice/march-12-cusa
Coronavirus and sports: Big 12, AAC among many to cancel tournaments
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
Conference USA cancels tournament
Bowling Green Daily News (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-bgdn
BREAKING: NCAA conferences cancel basketball tournaments
Herald-Dispatch (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hd

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Texas universities moving to online classes temporarily
Numerous articles mention that Rice has canceled in-person classes this week and canceled gatherings of 100 or more people through the end of April, including the Rice Business Plan Competition. These measures are in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for higher education institutions to control the possible spread of the novel coronavirus.
MSN (This article originally appeared in Houston Patch. Below is a sampling of articles that appeared in more than 100 other media outlets.)

http://dateline.rice/march-12-msn
KU moves classes online due to coronavirus, other Kansas colleges may follow
KCUR Online (This article also appeared on the NPR-affiliated sites KPR, KBIA, High Plains Public Radio and KMUW.) 
http://dateline.rice/march-12-kcur
Coronavirus college closures leave students unsure about housing
Curbed
http://dateline.rice/march-12-curbed
Virus concerns force Texas universities to extend spring break
Texas Standard (This segment aired on more than 20 stations across Texas.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-ts
UH cancels next week’s classes, plans shift to online courses
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the March 12 print edition of the Chronicle, and it appeared online in the San Antonio Express-News and more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
Texas colleges cancel classes, prepare for online education
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the March 12 print edition of the Chronicle, and it appeared online in the San Antonio Express-News.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
Colleges going online because of coronavirus puts students at risk for homelessness, poor learning outcomes [Opinion]
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the March 12 print edition of the Chronicle, and it appeared online in the San Antonio Express-News.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
Classes canceled next week at UH’s Sugar Land, Katy campuses, will resume online March 23
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
Houston-area event, school closures due to the coronavirus outbreak
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
What’s open, closed: Music venues respond to coronavirus
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Chronicle’s “Preview,” and it appeared in the San Antonio Express-News and in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
UH cancels next week’s classes, plans shift to online courses
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
Texas A&M suspends classes until March 18 over coronavirus concerns
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc

Coronavirus prompts Texas universities to extend spring break, move classes online
Texas Tribune
http://dateline.rice/march-12-textrib
Coronavirus updates in Texas: UT Austin closes sporting events to fans, Trump bans some inbound travel, and more
Texas Tribune (This article also appeared in Click2Houston.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-textrib
UT to extend spring break amid coronavirus concerns

Austin American-Statesman

http://dateline.rice/march-12-statesman
Coronavirus fears leads to school closings, event cancellations

KTRH.iheart.com (This article also appeared in KPRC Online, MyHighPlains.com and KERA Online.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-ktrh
Baylor extends spring break, moves to online courses to address coronavirus threat
Waco Tribune-Herald
http://dateline.rice/march-12-wacotrib

President Eighmy announces changes to UTSA instruction and operations
UTSA Today
http://dateline.rice/march-12-utsa

‘TWC News All Day’
Spectrum News Austin 
http://dateline.rice/march-12-twc (This and similar segments aired 20 times.)

Venezuela can’t withstand one-two punch of coronavirus, oil-price collapse | Opinion
An article quotes Francisco J. Monaldi, fellow in Latin American energy policy at the Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Energy Studies, Center for the United States and Mexico and Latin America Initiative and a lecturer in energy economics.
Miami Herald (This article also appeared in the March 12 print edition.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-monaldi

The new age of freeway revolts
Kyle Shelton, director of strategic partnerships at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted.
Bloomberg’s CityLab
http://dateline.rice/march-12-shelton

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Join us for a live interview with medical expert Peter Hotez on coronavirus in Texas and the search for a vaccine
Peter Hotez, adjunct professor of bioengineering and fellow in disease and poverty at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is featured.
Texas Tribune
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hotez

Coronavirus info event: Renowned expert to answer queries
Austin Patch
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hotez

Texas studio: Lina Dib
An article features Lina Dib, lecturer in Rice’s Program in Writing and Communication.
Arts and Culture Texas
http://dateline.rice/march-12-dib

Book review: ‘Down by Law’
Architecture graduate student Jack Murphy authored a book review and mentions Rice’s Fondren Library.
Texas Architect
http://dateline.rice/march-12-ta

What’s on Houston stages
An article mentions that Ars Lyrica will present “Bach on Harpsichord” March 14 at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music’s Duncan Hall.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
Rodeo is canceled. But these Houston events are still happening.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared the San Antonio Express-News.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc

What’s up in Houston galleries
An arts roundup mentions that Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts is exhibiting “Story Lines,” a large drawings group show, through May 17, and “Radical Revisionists: Contemporary African Artists Confronting Past and Present,” on view through May 16.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared online in the San Antonio Express-News and San Francisco Chronicle.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc

New Texas Sinfonia chamber orchestra to make debut March 21-22 in Tyler
McMurtry College sophomore Angela Ryu is featured.
Longview News-Journal
http://dateline.rice/march-12-lnj

Garcia pulls study proposal after constables, community push back
An article cites the 2018 study “Collaborations and Overlapping Services in Harris County Law Enforcement” by Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
The Leader
http://dateline.rice/march-12-leader

BROADCAST

‘KOLR 10 News at 11’
A television broadcast mentions that Patricia Reiff, professor of physics and astronomy and the associate director of the outreach program at the Rice Space Institute, will speak at the STEM Summit at Summit Preparatory School March 28 in Springfield, Missouri.
KOLR-TV (Springfield, Missouri)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-reiff

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

New nano strategy fights superbugs

An article features Rice research developing nanosheets that absorb and degrade antibiotic-resistant genes, which will prevent them from persisting in sewage system wastewater, where they can invade and infect other bacteria. Co-authors Pedro Alvarez, director of Rice’s Nanosystems Engineering Research Center for Nanotechnology-Enabled Water Treatment and the George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering; graduate students Danning Zhang, Ruonan Sun and Hassan Javed; and Pingfeng Yu, a postdoctoral researcher at Rice, are cited.
Nanowerk (This article also appeared in Mirage News and Phys.org.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-alvarez

Natural bayou better when floods threaten Houston
An article features Rice research into the evolution of Houston flood plains based on a collaboration between experts at Rice’s Brown School of Engineering and Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center. Research scientist Andrew Juan, alumna Avantika Gori and associate research scientist Antonia Sebastian are cited.
Phys.org
http://dateline.rice/march-12-juan-sebastian

Ideal glass would explain why glass exists at all
An article quotes Peter Wolynes, the D.R. Bullard-Welch Foundation Professor of Science, professor of chemistry, of biochemistry and cell biology, of physics and astronomy and of materials science and nanoengineering.
Quanta Magazine (This article also appeared in Elexonic.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-wolynes

Research produces most accurate 3D images of 2D materials

An article features collaborative Rice research into producing detailed three-dimensional maps of the atoms in a single layer of molybdenum disulfide. Co-author Pulickel Ajayan, chair of the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Engineering and a professor of chemistry, is mentioned.
Best Research Reports
http://dateline.rice/march-12-ajayan

Two big, new threats to NVDA stock that should worry investors
An article features Rice research that developed an algorithm that can speed up deep learning technology without the use of specialized acceleration hardware. Anshumali Shrivastava, assistant professor of computer science, is quoted.
InvestorPlace
http://dateline.rice/march-12-shrivastava

Groovy key to nanotubes in 2D
An article features Rice research into a method for making carbon nanotubes line up in thin films on a filter membrane. Co-authors Junichiro Kono, professor of electrical and computer engineering, of physics and astronomy and of materials science and nanoengineering, and graduate student Natsumi Komatsu are quoted.
ProSys Com
http://dateline.rice/march-12-kono

New catalyst creates useful chemicals from wastewater

An article features Rice research into a new rhodium catalyst that can convert nitrite pollutant waste into ammonia and hydrazine. Michael Wong, the William M. McCardell Professor in Chemical Engineering, and graduate student Chelsea Clark are quoted and pictured.
ChEnected
http://dateline.rice/march-12-wong

Steve Scott lays out HPE-Cray blended product roadmap
An article features Steve Scott’s presentation at Rice’s Oil & Gas High Performance Computing Conference March 3. A video is included.
HPCWire.com
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hpc

Podcast: Applying deep learning to extreme weather
Rice engineers have created a deep learning computer system that taught itself to accurately predict extreme weather events, like heat waves, up to five days in advance using minimal information about current weather conditions.
InsideHPC
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hpc

 

$22M grant awarded to build ‘smart’ device for healing large muscle wounds
An article mentions that Rice is a part of a multi-institution initiative that won a $22 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a device that combines artificial intelligence, bioelectronics and regenerative medicine to regrow muscle tissue.
Orthopedic Design & Technology
http://dateline.rice/march-12-darpa

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Tibshirani receives Department of Defense MURI Award
An article mentions that Rice is part of a multi-institutional team working on a project titled “Theoretical Foundations of Deep Learning,” which received a $1.5 million Department of Defense Office of Naval Research Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative grant to develop a principled theory of deep learning.
Carnegie Mellon University
http://dateline.rice/march-12-deep

SPORTS

Jacob, Daye, Osaghae power FIU past Rice 85-76 in C-USA
An article mentions that Rice’s men’s basketball team was defeated by Florida International University 85-76 March 11 in the first round of the Conference USA tournament. Owls Drew Peterson, Ako Adams and Trey Murphy III are highlighted.
The Associated Press (This article also appeared in more than 50 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-mbb
Rice season ends with loss to FIU in C-USA tournament
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the March 12 print edition.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
FIU 85, Rice 76
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc
MBB: First-round coverage
Conference USA
http://dateline.rice/march-12-cusa
Rice vs. Florida International Highlights — C-USA men’s basketball tournament round 1 (2020)
WatchStadium.com
http://dateline.rice/march-12-ws
March Madness not limited to ACC: North Carolina’s other tourney teams
North State Journal 
http://dateline.rice/march-12-nsj
Here is the latest Florida sports news from The Associated Press
WWSB Online
http://dateline.rice/march-12-wwsb

Erica Ogwumike’s legacy at Rice goes beyond court
Rice women’s basketball player Erica Ogwumike is featured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the March 12 print edition, and it appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-ogumike

Texas A&M’s Talbert named to US Collegiate National Team — Anaheim roster
An article mentions that Rice volleyball player Anota Adekunle was named to the U.S. Women’s Collegiate National Team-Anaheim.
KAGS (This article also appeared in 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-kags

UH’s Elmo Wright, SMU’s Eric Dickerson get college hall recognition
A caption mentions a 1981 football game between Rice and Southern Methodist University.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-hc

ODU’s McCray named C-USA Coach of the Year
An article mentions that Rice’s women’s basketball team was defeated by Old Dominion University Feb. 18.
13 News Now (This article also appeared in WTKR Online and Daily Press.)
http://dateline.rice/march-12-13newsnow

Three-run eighth inning boosts A&M over Rice
An article mentions that Rice’s baseball team was defeated by Texas A&M University 6-2 March 10 at Reckling Park.
The Battalion
http://dateline.rice/march-12-batt

Texas LB Arkansas high on Arkansas
Rice is mentioned.
WholeHogSports.com
http://dateline.rice/march-12-wholehog

Report: Ex-Broncos WR Jordan Taylor will work out for Texans
Former Rice football player Jordan Taylor is featured.
BroncosWire
http://dateline.rice/march-12-bw

How is COVID-19 affecting Texas college athletics?
Rice is mentioned.
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football 
http://dateline.rice/march-12-dctf

NEWS RELEASES

Crowdfunding rife with unintended consequences, says Baker Institute expert
Successful entrepreneurial fundraising through crowdfunding can bring surprising tax consequences and failed projects can generate other unpleasant legal concerns, according to a new issue brief from Joyce Beebe, a fellow in the Center for Public Finance at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
http://dateline.rice/march-12-news-release-beebe

New nano strategy fights superbugs
The team led by Rice environmental engineer Pedro Alvarez is using molecular-imprinted graphitic carbon nitride nanosheets to absorb and degrade these genetic remnants in sewage system wastewater before they have the chance to invade and infect other bacteria.
http://dateline.rice/march-12-news-release-alvarez

‘Smart’ wound-healing patch: DARPA awards $22 million grant
Rice neuroengineers and bioengineers are part of a national team that’s developing “smart” technology that combines artificial intelligence, bioelectronics and regenerative medicine to regrow muscle tissue for wounded soldiers.
http://dateline.rice/march-12-news-release-darpa

About Stefan De La Garza

Stefan De La Garza is a news analyst in Rice University's Office of Public Affairs.