Dateline Rice for April 12, 2018

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Former Ambassador Djerejian on how Trump should respond to Syria attack
Edward Djerejian, director of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is interviewed regarding the consequences of a U.S. military response to chemical attacks in Syria.
Bloomberg 
https://bloom.bg/2v72kxR

RT sheds light on Skripal saga inconsistencies as OPCW releases report
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 on the possibility that Russia was behind a chemical attack in Britain.
RT
http://bit.ly/2Hbh8kb

What Bahrain’s huge oil and gas discovery means for its post-oil agenda
Bahrain’s recent oil and gas discovery could be a costly distraction as it faces pressure to keep pace with its three Gulf neighbors moving to diversify their economies and attract outside investment. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, a fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
World Politics Review
http://bit.ly/2IQ9ZCG

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Rice, Texas A&M universities top UT Austin on Forbes’ list of ‘Best Value Colleges’
Rice is the highest-ranked “best value” school in Texas and is 25th in the nation according to Forbes.
Austin American-Statesman (A similar article appeared in KVUE.com.)
https://atxne.ws/2IOtZWA

Art listings: FotoFest on full display, as is Michelangelo
A roundup of arts events mentions “Josiah McElheny: Island Universe,” “Leo Villareal: Particle Chamber” and “Pile the Wood High!” at Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts. An Arts and Culture article features the Moody Center’s impact on Rice and Houston as well as the current installations. Alison Weaver, the Suzanne Deal Booth Executive Director of the Moody Center, is quoted. Christopher Johns-Krull, professor of physics and astronomy; Marcia O’Malley, professor of mechanical engineering and computer science; and David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute and professor of physics and astronomy, are mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2qoUDha
http://bit.ly/2qp0MKd
Conversations in art, science & technology: Moody Center for the Arts
Arts and Culture Texas
http://bit.ly/2Hjwcfx

Putting more troops along border draws fire from some
President Donald Trump’s decision to send National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border may be “symbolic politics,” according to 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.
Huntsville Item
http://bit.ly/2qp6GvE

Family Fun: Art Car Parade and Houston Japan Festival
A roundup of events mentions a performance by the Rice Brass Ensemble April 14 at the Children’s Museum of Houston.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Beaumont Enterprise.)
http://bit.ly/2qppx9e
http://bit.ly/2qov9jS

SMU to launch incubator for tech-based startups
Rice is mentioned.
D Magazine 
http://bit.ly/2JEgEBt

Senior university scholar studies sleep, discrimination
Rice is mentioned.
Baylor Lariat
http://bit.ly/2HdNgDA

BROADCAST

Midtown Innovation District
President David Leebron is mentioned in a broadcast about Houston’s proposed innovation district.
KTRK-TV (Houston) (Click the video button to watch the broadcast. Similar broadcasts aired on KRIV-TV, KHOU-TV and KTRH-AM in Houston.) 
http://bit.ly/2qpGocG

Monitoring how the White House responds to chemical attack in Syria
Ric Stoll, the Albert Thomas Professor of Political Science, is quoted.
KPRC.com 
http://bit.ly/2JD6WPF

Scientists in the Malvinas/Falklands Islands hope for deal to protect fish stocks
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 interviewed about the economy of the Falklands/Malvinas Islands.
CGTN America (Scroll to the bottom of the page to watch the video featuring Jones, which also appeared at Long Island Tech News.)
http://bit.ly/2HeG1v8

U.S. House of Representatives
U.S. Rep. Jim Bridenstein ’97 is mentioned.
C-SPAN (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
http://bit.ly/2IOlJG0

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

University students develop drone platform for sensing applications
Six Rice electrical and computer engineering students who developed the hardware and software necessary to coordinate sensor-carrying drones are featured. Sid Richardson College seniors Kevin Lin and Joshua Phipps, Baker College seniors R.J. Cunningham and Pharson Chalermkraivuth, McMurtry College senior Andrew Brooks and Lovett College senior Emilio Del Vecchio are pictured. Lin, Del Vecchio and Brooks are quoted. A Rice video is included.
Drone Below (Similar articles appeared in FierceWireless and Association for Computing Machinery.)
http://bit.ly/2qqKGRc

Rice researchers unveil augmented reality app to help with Parkinson’s patient safety
Engineering students at Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen developed an app to help patients with Parkinson’s disease overcome a symptom known as “freezing,” in which the legs temporarily refuse to follow the brain’s command to lift and move forward. Hanszen College seniors Gaby Perez, Keshav Rao and Jeremy David, Brown College seniors Theresa Sonka and Kristen Smith and Duncan College senior Dan Burke are quoted. A Rice video is included.
Healthcare IT News (This article also appeared in VR360, MobiHealthNews and  Medgadget.)
http://bit.ly/2HitaYY

In Q1 2018, Austin carries Texas in dollars raised and deals made
Rice is mentioned.
Crunchbase News 
http://bit.ly/2qp5Z5I

Nanomachine made from DNA nanorings
An article mentions a nanocar developed at Rice in 2005 by James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry and a professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering.
Next Big Future
http://bit.ly/2qodTLN

Epic International names new VP
An article mentions Mike Pelezo earned a certificate from Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business.
Gas Compression Magazine
http://bit.ly/2HfhbeG

Are architecture schools being ranked appropriately?
Rice is mentioned.
The Architect’s Newspaper
http://bit.ly/2JzrAjL

Researchers developed titanium nanoparticles to destroy water pollutants
An article mentions a mat, consisting of titanium dioxide nanoparticles embedded into polymer fibers, developed at Rice that has the ability to fish biologically harmful contaminants from water through a strategy known as “bait, hook and destroy.” Pedro Alvarez, director of Rice’s NEWT Center and the George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is quoted.
Coherent Chronicle 
http://bit.ly/2IR3aRI

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Rice University to host 8th Eubank Conference on Real World Markets
The 8th Eubank Conference on Real World Markets, titled “Intelligent Investment Advising in the Fintech Era,” will be held at Rice April 23-24.
Digital Journal (This article appeared in more than 50 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2JFG4yi

Person Chapel holds 52nd Annual Men’s Day
Baker College senior Zoe Parker is mentioned.
Union Springs Herald
http://bit.ly/2JAU3Wa
                       
Secular Social Justice 2018: Rehumanize, decolonialize, get free
An article mentions the 2016 Secular Social Justice conference that was held at Rice.
The Humanist
http://bit.ly/2JFaOzx

Biophysicist is first professor recruited through ‘Game Changer’ initiative
Herbert Levine, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Bioengineering, co-director of the Center for Theoretical Biological Physics and professor of physics and astronomy, will join the faculty at Northeastern University.
News@Northeastern 
http://bit.ly/2HiKe0J

SPORTS

Luke Armstrong, son of Lance Armstrong, to play football at Rice
Luke Armstrong, who has signed to play football at Rice, is featured and pictured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. Similar articles appeared in the Austin American-Statesman and Yahoo!)
http://bit.ly/2qridcW
http://bit.ly/2qp1tTL
KTRK-TV (Houston) (Click the video button to watch the broadcast. A similar broadcast aired on KHOU-TV in Houston.)
http://bit.ly/2qp9TeG

Greater Houston athletic activities listings: April 11
The Rice women’s tennis team will compete against Louisiana Tech University April 14, and the men’s tennis team will face Southern Methodist University April 15. The men’s team is mentioned in an article on Tulane University’s team.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the San Antonio Express-News.)
http://bit.ly/2qndxVq
http://bit.ly/2qpEuYL
Men’s tennis takes down Rice, USF
Tulane Hullabaloo
http://bit.ly/2HeNASF

HS sports: Houston area’s spring signees
Rice track and field signee Alyssa Balandran is mentioned and pictured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in MSN.com.) 
http://bit.ly/2qrn0fl

High school coaching carousel picks up speed in reclassification year
Rice football running backs coach Drew Svoboda is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2qqbOPZ

Texans DL Christian Covington fully cleared after torn biceps
Former Rice football player Christian Covington, who now plays for the Houston Texans, is featured and pictured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2qtg150
http://bit.ly/2qp1irD

Cardinal fans hope LU’s link to Astros continues to grow
Rice is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2qm2k7I

Long journey has fitting conclusion for local athletes on national signing day
Rice volleyball signee Tia Grippo is mentioned.
Los Angeles Times
https://lat.ms/2qpfLoe

Armstrong sets course record at Ryman Hospitality Intercollegiate
The Rice men’s golf team won the Ryman Hospitality Intercollegiate in Nashville, Tenn. Rice golfer Mitchell Meissner won the individual title.
Lumination Network
http://bit.ly/2qr6Kee

Stanford football prepares for annual Cardinal and White Game
Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren is mentioned.
The Stanford Daily
http://bit.ly/2HfVU4p

Competitive league sets stage for provincials
An article mentions Rice soccer signee Ziyana Samanani.
Tri-City News
http://bit.ly/2JEGiGi

McIntyre the flyer hits PR on WKU Senior Day
The upcoming Conference USA track and field championships at Rice are mentioned.
The Independent
http://bit.ly/2JD5U6d

Otto settles into new RiverDogs role
Former Rice baseball player Glenn Otto is featured and pictured. He is also featured in a Live 5 News article that details his recent six shutout innings pitched in a game for the Charleston (S.C.) RiverDogs, part of the New York Yankees organization.
Minor League Baseball
https://atmilb.com/2JEUhvE
Otto’s 6 shutout leads RiverDogs to series win in Rome
Live 5 News (This article also appeared in Minor League Baseball OurSports Central and WCSC-TV Online.) 
http://bit.ly/2JDksmp

Wildcats sign touted transfer Jazz Taylor on Wednesday
Former Rice women’s basketball player Jazz Taylor is featured and pictured.
KTXS
http://bit.ly/2qstqL6

TAMUC – Sports
Rice is mentioned.
East Texas Radio
http://bit.ly/2qr41S5

Wildwood’s Zupan ends swimming career at Missouri State as conference’s Swimmer of the Year
Rice is mentioned.
West News Magazine
http://bit.ly/2HefrT3

NEWS RELEASES

Historic Midtown Sears building to anchor Houston innovation district
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Rice announced plans for a new Midtown innovation district that will transform a 9.4-acre site, anchored by the former Sears building, into a hub designed to bring together the area’s entrepreneurial, corporate and academic communities into collaborative spaces and programs.
http://bit.ly/2HlSZaJ

A lot of needles may help restart a heart
The skin presents a formidable barrier to life-saving defibrillators, but a team of students from Rice believes it has found a way around that problem. Or, more to the point, through. The Zfib team of Rice senior bioengineering students created an add-on for automated external defibrillators – aka AEDs – that literally punches through the skin to help deliver a jolt to a person in cardiac arrest.
http://bit.ly/2Hep0Bp

NAFTA renegotiations in focus at Rice’s Baker Institute April 17 
Karen Antebi, economic counselor for the Trade and North American Free Trade Agreement Office at the Embassy of Mexico in Washington, D.C., will speak at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy April 17 on the latest developments in the ongoing NAFTA renegotiations, including potential new provisions for the energy sector.
http://bit.ly/2qrT0QH