Dateline Rice for May 1, 2018

FEATURED ITEMS

Rice University’s Baker Institute to bring in former President Obama
The 44th president of the United States, the Honorable Barack Obama, will take part in a moderated conversation at the 25th anniversary gala of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Nov. 27. Edward Djerejian, director of the Baker Institute, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. Similar versions of this article appeared in more than 20 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2HBx2Fb
http://bit.ly/2HEAdMz
KTRK-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2r8zYya (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KRIV-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2Ks0ueN (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KHOU-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2Kqhl1w (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KTRH-AM (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2KueMeW(Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

Sub-sea rift spills secrets to seismic probe
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.
NSF Science360 News (This article was the top story in the May 1 edition and also appeared in Technology.org.)
http://bit.ly/2rgXxoK

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

New method could make probing epileptic brains easier
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. Nitin Tandon, adjunct professor of electrical and computer engineering,
Lovett College’s Alex Gardner and alumna Wendy Knight ’18 are quoted. Jones College senior Evan Toler and alumnus Kiefer Forseth ’14 are mentioned. A Rice video is included.
Futurity (This article also appeared in 15minuteNews.com and Technology.org.)
http://bit.ly/2rcMsoE

Loss of spouse could make one more likely to ‘die of a broken heart’
Physiological responses to bereavement increases the mortality rate of widows or widowers by 41 percent, according to a new study from Rice researchers. Christopher Fagundes, assistant professor of psychology, is quoted.
Futurity (Similar versions of this article also appeared in Tech Explorist, Medical Xpress and Health News Digest.)
http://bit.ly/2HDXPAJ

History Professor Douglas Brinkley is quoted in an article about the prospect of President Donald Trump winning the Nobel Peace Prize for brokering peace between North and South Korea. Brinkley is also quoted by History about the turning point in the Cold War.
From ‘fire and fury’ to peace prize? Some talk of a Nobel award for Trump on North Korea
Washington Post (This article appeared in the Houston Chronicle, Virginian-Pilot and SFGate.)
https://wapo.st/2rbY4bn
The myth that Reagan ended the Cold War with a single speech
History
http://bit.ly/2HERgOG

James H. Cone, founder of black liberation theology, dies at 79
Anthony Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and professor of religion and fellow at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted.
Washington Post (This also appeared in SFGate, Standard-Examiner, the Providence Journal and the Laredo Morning Times.)
https://wapo.st/2rcDRlO

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Houston architect Jay Baker’s monograph captures the spirit of ‘Making Things’
Alumnus Jay Baker ’80 is featured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2HDWZnD

Successful drillers need more than technology [Opinion]
An article mentions that future Rice graduates can play an important role in the changing needs of the energy sector.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2HDVhTr

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Training machines in Earthly ways
Research from Maarten de Hoop, the Simons Chair in Computational and Applied Mathematics and Earth Science, professor of computational and applied mathematics and professor of Earth, environmental and planetary science, is cited in an article about using advanced computational techniques and decision-making algorithms in the geosciences.
Nature Geoscience 
https://go.nature.com/2HFOvN7

How reflecting on our possessions can curb impulse buying
Utpal Dholakia, the George R. Brown Professor of Marketing at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, authored an article about how reflecting on recently used possessions lowered a person’s willingness to pay for new items by about 14 percent compared with the control condition. Graduate students Jihye Jung and Nivriti Chowdhri are mentioned.
Psychology Today
http://bit.ly/2HCsZZA

Scientists make tunable light-matter couplings in nanotube films
Rice researchers corralled photons and excitons in solids to form condensed matter in a quantum well, which may give researchers the opportunity to explore novel quantum technologies like advanced information storage or one-dimensional lasers. Junichiro Kono, professor of electrical and computer engineering, of physics and astronomy and of materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted. Postdoctoral researcher Weilu Gao is mentioned.
Phys.org (This article also appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2HFOCYU

‘Project Blitz’ seeks to do for Christian nationalism what Alec does for big business
An article exploring the Christian right’s maturity as a political movement quotes David Brockman, nonresident scholar in the Religion and Public Policy Program at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Religion Dispatches (This article also appeared in Raw Story.)
http://bit.ly/2HC8pbv

Toronto Symphony Orchestra appoints Matthew Loden as chief executive officer
Matthew Loden, former director of admissions at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music Matthew, is featured and pictured.
Broadway World
http://bit.ly/2HEDWJQ

A DIY take on the early universe may reveal cosmic secrets
A Bose-Einstein condensate was shaped into a tiny, rapidly expanding ring, re-creating some of the physics of inflation, a brief period just after the Big Bang during which the universe rapidly ballooned in size. Mustafa Amin, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, is quoted.
ScienceNews.org
http://bit.ly/2HDvTwT

A decade later, Texas finally sees its first Asian-American US district judge
Alumna Karen Gren Scholer ’79 is featured.
Texas Lawyer
http://bit.ly/2rd0nLc

ASCO to present special awards
Honored by the American Society of Clinical Oncology for leadership or mentorship by a scientist, John Mendelsohn, the L.E. and Virginia Simmons Fellow in health and technology policy, will receive the Distinguished Achievement Award.
Healio.com
http://bit.ly/2KrZnM9

Joydrive raises $1.05 million
Alumnus Hunter Gorham ’08, founder and CEO of online car retailer Joydrive, is featured.
CityBizList (This article also appeared on WRAL Tech Wire.)
http://bit.ly/2HD7PKJ

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

The prettiest college campuses in the United States
Rice is featured among a list of the prettiest college campuses in the U.S.
ThoughtCo.com
http://bit.ly/2rfAOcr

Check it out: Mashpee Public Library — April 27, 2018
Alumna Jane Scarborough ’64 is mentioned.
CapeNews.net
http://bit.ly/2HGllgs

Aramco’s new board reflects goals
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Axios
http://bit.ly/2re3Hpx

SPORTS

Houston’s DePelchin Children’s Center honors victims of abuse
The Rice football team helped DePelchin Children’s Center raise awareness during National Child Abuse Awareness Month by tying blue ribbons to their fence line. Rice head football coach Mike Bloomgren is quoted in an article and featured in a video.
CW39 
http://bit.ly/2rbw1Zq
KRIV-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2HCZnLo (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

Texans’ undrafted free agents: OT Anthony Coyle, DL Kingsley Opara, WR Vyncint Smith
Former Rice football players Peter Godber and Tyler Stehling are mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2rf9c78

SportzBuzz — May 2018
A high school sports roundup mentioned that Jasmine Smith will play basketball at Rice.
The Buzz Magazines
http://bit.ly/2rcZcvu

Former Buff named head coach at Northern Colorado
Former assistant women’s basketball coach Bianca Smith is mentioned.
KKTV 11 News
http://bit.ly/2rcO5mc

Why Longhorns AD Chris Del Conte is excited for the future of both Texas’ football and basketball programs
Former Rice Athletics Director Chris Del Conte is featured and pictured. Former football offensive coordinator Tom Herman is mentioned.
SportsDay 
http://bit.ly/2rhlpsm

NEWS RELEASES

Baker Institute paper: Tax reform could reduce corporate tax revenue by as much as 40 percent
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 could lead to a total corporate tax revenue decline of about 40 percent, but nearly 20 percent of that decline will be recaptured through increased personal income tax revenue, according to an analysis by an expert at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
http://bit.ly/2HDTP3b

Hispanics in Houston underrepresented at the ballot box and in local offices
Just more than half of Hispanic voting-age citizens in the Houston metropolitan area are registered to vote, according to a new report on civic health from the Center for Local Elections in American Politics at Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and the National Conference on Citizenship. This number is far below the percentage of voting-age white and African-American citizens in the region who are registered; both of these groups have a voter registration rate of nearly 70 percent.
http://bit.ly/2HDUdi9