Dateline Rice for April 27, 2018

FEATURED ITEM

They’re called ‘copay accumulators,’ and they’re a way insurers make you pay more for meds
As many insurers introduce “copay accumulators” to their plans, pharmaceutical companies’ coupons will no longer will be counted toward patients’ deductibles. As a result, these coupon programs can hide the true impact of rising prescription drug costs and make costly meds unaffordable for many. Vivan Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at the Baker Institute’s Center for Health and Biosciences, is quoted.
Los Angeles Times
https://lat.ms/2I517KD

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Bag device could save babies with external intestines
A new system could help treat babies born with gastroschisis, a condition where the abdominal wall is not fully closed and some of the intestines are outside the body at birth. Alumna and postdoctoral researcher Meaghan Bond ’16 and Martel College sophomore Sajel Dutt are mentioned, and Martel College junior Sanika Rane and Lovett College Owais Fazal are quoted. A Rice video is included.
Futurity
http://bit.ly/2r28nj0

Prison linked to obesity among black men
Tony Brown, professor of sociology, is quoted in an article featuring his paper titled “How Incarceration Influences Native-Born Black Men’s Risk of Obesity,” which found that black men who have been incarcerated and have a close relative in jail or prison are three times more likely to be obese than are other black men.
Futurity (This article also appeared in Scribd and Medical Xpress.)
http://bit.ly/2Fm4Ujm

Special election to replace Blake Farenthold will be a summer twofer
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, authored an op-ed in The Hill on what to expect from a special election to replace U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, in the 27th Congressional District. Jones also is quoted in Dallas Morning News and Texas Tribune articles and a KUT-AM story on Texas politics.
The Hill
http://bit.ly/2I8IQfv
To prevent gerrymandering, voting rights groups want Texas citizens to draw the maps 
Dallas Morning News
http://bit.ly/2I15Tsh
Is the top vote-getter in a Texas primary election most likely to win their runoff? Usually, but not always.
Texas Tribune
http://bit.ly/2I3hyHf
KUT-AM (Austin)
http://bit.ly/2Fm1vBv (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

Hurricanes bring invasive species, and these maps preview where
Because hurricanes can cause plants and animals to be swept far beyond their native habitat, whether via floodwaters or winds, maps to track pests and monitor Gulf Coast ecosystems in the wake of Hurricane Harvey are being developed. Rice marine biologist Adrienne Correa, assistant professor of biosciences, is quoted.
MSN (This article also appeared in Earther.)
http://bit.ly/2I2t6KG

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Is the cost of ‘Hamilton’ worth it? 
Utpal Dholakia, the George R. Brown Professor of Marketing at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted in an article about identifying outrageous spending and provides a roadmap for making a sound investment.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine.)
http://bit.ly/2I4BHga

Why Houston energy companies should focus on customer satisfaction over tech
Graduate student Kyuhong Han and Vikas Mittal, the J. Hugh Liedtke Professor of Marketing at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, co-authored an article that suggests energy companies are largely focusing on new technology to deliver product innovation and lower prices instead of customer satisfaction. A Rice study titled “The Collaborative for Customer‐Based Execution and Strategy’s 2017 Energy Benchmark Study,” which provides analysis that can help companies predict sales growth, is mentioned.
Houston Business Journal (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2I4NxXk

Houston doesn’t have to be deadly for cyclists [opinion]
Following a recent fatal bicycle accident near Rice, graduate student Mary Natoli authored an op-ed calling for greater safety measures for bicyclists on Houston’s streets. Marjorie Corcoran, a professor of physics and astronomy at Rice who was killed Feb. 3, 2017 in a train-cyclist accident, is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the April 27 print edition with a different headline, “If we want, Houston can be bike-friendly.”)
http://bit.ly/2I4E56C

30 years ago: Michael Jackson on tour, the prank at Rice, Springsteen at the Summit
An article mentions April 12, 1988, the day when students turned the William Marsh Rice statue (known as “Willy”) 180 degrees to face Fondren Library for a few hours, as an important Houston anniversary. Pictures of crews re-orienting Willy can be seen in images 7 and 8 in the slideshow.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2FjUUaC

TMC biodesign candidates, community members bring creativity to health care hack
Paul Cherukuri ’08, executive director of the Rice Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, is mentioned as a judge at the TMC Biodesign Hackathon, a competition in which teams develop solutions to unmet health care needs.
TMC News
http://bit.ly/2I5qMCL

City says housing development in west Houston meets new flood plain standards
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 (SSPEED) Center, is quoted in an article on concerns about a 900-home development in a designated flood plain.
KPRC
http://bit.ly/2I3DCBq

Art Galleries: ‘Black Gold’ and a ‘SeaWolf’
A roundup of arts events features “Josiah McElheny: Island Universe,” “Leo Villareal: Particle Chamber” and “Pile the Wood High!” at Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts through June 2.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the April 27 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/2Fkj2d7
http://bit.ly/2FksI7m

BROADCAST

WFAA-TV (Dallas)
Timothy Morton, the Rita Shea Guffey Chair in English, is featured in an interview about a new film titled “Living in Future’s Past,” which is based partly on his writings.
http://bit.ly/2I2qA7a (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Study yields first clues about internal structure of Galicia margin
A 2013 Rice-led expedition to map the seafloor off the coast of Spain has revealed details about the evolution of the fault that separates the continental and oceanic plates. Rice graduate student Nur Schuba is pictured and quoted. Alumnus Ara Alexanian ’16, graduate research assistant Mari Tesi Sanjurjo and alumnus Brian Jordan ’14 are pictured in Rice’s Visualization Lab. Gary Gray, lecturer in the Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences, is mentioned.
Phys.org (This article also appeared in Science Daily, Science Codex, Science Magazine and Tech Explorist.)
http://bit.ly/2I56QQu

New technique to simplify the placement of electrodes in the brains
Seniors at Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen devised a technique called BrainGuide to simplify the placement of electrodes in the brains of patients with epilepsy. Lovett College’s Alex Gardner is pictured and quoted. Jones College’s Evan Toler, alumna Wendy Knight ’18 and alumnus Kiefer Forseth ’14 are pictured. A Rice video is included.
Tech Explorist
http://bit.ly/2I1K7og

Gender balance: Moving from awareness to action
Mikki Hebl, the Martha and Henry Malcolm Lovett Chair of Psychology in Rice’s School of Social Sciences, spoke at the INSEAD Gender Initiative’s Women at Work conference. An interview with Hebl is also included.
INSEAD Knowledge
http://bit.ly/2I22UQs

A Tale of Two Cities: North Park University Provost Michael O. Emerson co-authors book exploring the difference in how Houston and Copenhagen treat their residents
Bill Fulton, director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted.
Broadway World (This article also appeared in Benzinga and Markets Insider.)
http://bit.ly/2FkWby8

Students make hippotherapy more accessible with robotic horse
Equine-assisted therapy, also known as hippotherapy, can help patients develop coordination, balance and posture. Seniors at Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen developed an open-sourced app that will be available to those without access to a real horse. Students Kelsi Wicker, James Phillips, Matthew O’Gorman, Wesley Yee, Sebastian Jia and Jijie Zhou are pictured. A Rice video is included.
Engadget (This article appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
https://engt.co/2FmOPKh

NASA might send this alpinist to Mars
Alumnua Ulyana Nadia Horodyskyj ’07 is featured and pictured.
Rock and Ice Magazine
http://bit.ly/2I2dirq

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Gay marriage and illegal immigration questions on 2020 census cause stir
Though the “72-Year Rule” prevents personally identifying information given on a census form from being made public for 72 years, there are concerns that new questions on the 2020 census about citizenship and same-sex marriage will prevent many people from participating. Steve Murdock, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and director of Rice’s Hobby Center for the Study of Texas and former U.S. Census Bureau director, is quoted.
ProCon.org
http://bit.ly/2I4jHCn

Music and the Brain Symposium 2018: Performance
Anthony Brandt, professor of composition and theory at Rice’s Shepherd School of
Music, will speak at the Brain Symposium at Stanford University May 11.
Stanford University 
https://stanford.io/2FkoKM8

Coming events            
Ken Cowan, associate professor of organ at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, will perform May 11 in Chestertown, Md.
Kent County News
http://bit.ly/2FopaAW

The 100 greatest college traditions
Rice’s Beer Bike race, which began in 1957 and is part of “Willy Days,” is ranked the 17th greatest college tradition by Campus Grotto.
Campus Grotto
http://bit.ly/2FlZNQv

SPORTS

HS BOYS GOLF: Trinity’s Escamilla signs with Rice, realizes dream
Austin Escamilla, who will play golf at Rice, is featured and pictured. Owls head coach Justin Emil is mentioned. Escamilla is also featured in a television broadcast.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Midland Reporter-Telegram and YourBasin.com)
http://bit.ly/2Fm9sGO
KPEJ-TV (Odessa, Texas)
http://bit.ly/2I3uE7p (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

Jack Williams de-commits from Montana basketball team
Former University of the Pacific basketball player Jack Williams will transfer to Rice.
NBC Montana
http://bit.ly/2I3uMnp
KECI-TV (Missoula, Mont.)
http://bit.ly/2I452XU (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

KPRC-TV (Houston)
Bella Kilgore, who will play soccer at Rice, is featured as the “Star Athlete of the Week.”
http://bit.ly/2I3Z0ql (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

Anxious Davenport sets high expectations for himself
Rice football player and Martel College sophomore Sam Glaesmann is mentioned in a photo caption.
San Antonio Express-News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2I60ZKw

‘A good four years’ for College Football Playoff; and no, it won’t expand to eight teams
Former Rice football head coach Ken Hatfield is mentioned.
USA Today
https://usat.ly/2I1u6yJ

Silent auction to be held to benefit the National Mounted Warrior Museum Project
Former Rice head football coach David Bailiff will speak at a fundraiser April 28 in Oakalla, Texas.
KXXV.com
http://bit.ly/2I6dHsI

NEWS RELEASES

Baker Institute and Carnegie Endowment for International Peace launch joint project on prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace
Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace have launched a joint effort to create a report addressing current options for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. The project will be headed by Baker Institute Director Edward Djerejian and Carnegie Endowment Vice President Marwan Muasher.
http://bit.ly/2r22ZfS

6-legged ‘horse’ rides to the rescue
Rice students are working toward a long-standing goal of making the benefits of hippotherapy – equine-assisted therapy – available to those without access to a real horse. The students’ robotic device adds levels of sophistication to the project started several years ago.
http://bit.ly/2r4lNuL

Formerly incarcerated black men with family in jail or prison are more likely to be obese
Black men who have been incarcerated and have a close relative in jail or prison are three times more likely to be obese than other black men, according to new research from a sociologist at Rice. “How Incarceration Influences Native-Born Black Men’s Risk of Obesity” will appear in an upcoming issue of the journal Ethnicity & Disease.
http://bit.ly/2r3CxSP

The plot quickens for neurosurgeons
A team of Rice computational and applied mathematics students have developed a technique to simplify the placement of electrodes in the brains of patients with epilepsy. Information gathered by the probes can help design future procedures in which the portion of the brain causing the seizures can then be removed, destroyed using lasers or modulated using electrical stimulation.
http://bit.ly/2r4ZzZI