Dateline Rice for June 13 , 2018

FEATURED ITEM

Taking a closer look with a lens-free fluorescent microscope
Rice research is featured in “Today’s Video” on the National Science Foundation’s homepage and in the June 13 issue of the NSF’s Science 360 newsletter. Jacob Robinson, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and of bioengineering, and graduate students Vivek Boominathan and Jesse Adams are featured in a Rice video discussing their device called FlatScope, a thin, lens-free fluorescent microscope whose abilities promise to surpass those of old-school devices.
National Science Foundation
http://bit.ly/2yarhKo

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Saudi Arabia’s ambitious economic overhaul hinges on reducing its oil ‘addiction’
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in an article about the Saudi Crown Prince’s ambitious plan to diversify Saudi Arabia’s oil-dependent economy due to a slump in oil prices and concerns about climate change.
NPR (This article appeared in more than 15 other media outlets.)
https://n.pr/2JzKmeo

3 newborn planets discovered around an infant star
An article about planet formation around young stars mentions research from Rice that studied rings and gaps that are present in the protoplanetary disk and concluded that the gaps were likely cleared by orbiting planets.
Popular Mechanics
http://bit.ly/2JLMMCV

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Texas Dems with little money banking on face-to-face turnout
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 in an article about varying campaign strategies between Republicans and Democrats ahead of the November mid-term election. He is also quoted in articles from The Blaze and Valley Morning Star about the effectiveness of the campaign strategy of U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, as he seeks to unseat incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Houston. President Donald Trump will likely need to accomplish more than brokering a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to win the Nobel Peace Prize, according to an interview with Jones for KTRH. Jones also authored an article for eCampusNews about his experiences preparing high school students for college-level research through mentorship.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared on the front page of the June 13 print edition with a different headline, “Cash-poor Dems reach out to voters,” as well as in the San Antonio Express-News.)
http://bit.ly/2JxLYFj
http://bit.ly/2MoBWV6
TX-Sen: Democrat Beto O’Rourke completes 254-county tour, but still lags 11 points behind Cruz
The Blaze
http://bit.ly/2MmFdEp
Beto O’Rourke has campaigned against Ted Cruz in all 254 Texas counties
Valley Morning Star
http://bit.ly/2JzXMHr
Has Trump bolstered his Nobel Peace Prize case?
KTRH.iheart.com
https://ihr.fm/2MogVK8
KTRH-AM (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2yaIaEY (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)
5 ways to connect high schoolers with higher ed
eCampusNews
http://bit.ly/2JEp2Ae

Many area homes at risk for storm surge
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, comments on potential storm surges.
Deer Park Broadcaster (This Dallas Morning News article ran in a previous edition of Dateline when it was posted online with a different headline, “Hurricane season is starting, and here’s how many Texas houses are at risk.” This article also appeared in the Pasadena Citizen, Bay Area Citizen, Friendswood Journal and Pearland Journal.)
http://bit.ly/2MlBWVD

Rice’s David Alexander earns UK honor
David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute and professor of physics and astronomy, has been named an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his efforts to link the United States and United Kingdom in the space industry and higher education.
Houston Style Magazine
http://bit.ly/2yagos6

How well do you know Bay Area history?
A photo caption mentions that land owned by Rice was leased to NASA.
Bay Area Citizen (This article appeared in a previous edition of Dateline when it was posted online by the Houston Chronicle.)
http://bit.ly/2y7hXqz

Starlight Movie Nights returning to Rice Stadium
Starlight Movie Nights are returning to Rice Stadium with a space theme in honor of NASA’s 60th birthday.
Village News (This article appeared on the front page.)
http://bit.ly/2ujJL49

RUSMP hosts Milby HS students at new STEM Institute on the Rice campus
Richard Parr, executive director of the Rice University School Mathematics Project (RUSMP), authored an article about a walking mathematics tour of Rice for high school STEM students. Anne Papakonstantinou, RUSMP director, and Patricia McMorris, a Rice University National Science Foundation Noyce Master Teaching Fellow, are quoted and research intern Alejandro Vazquez is mentioned.
Village News (Scroll to Page 2.)
http://bit.ly/2ujJL49

Feature film on organic farming
The Rice Media Center will present a movie about organic farming June 20.
Village News (Scroll to Page 4.)
http://bit.ly/2ujJL49

BROADCAST

Using new data techniques to estimate the number of Syrian war dead
Anshumali Shrivastava, assistant professor of computer science, is interviewed in an episode of “Houston Matters” about his research, which used a data-indexing method called “hashing with statistical estimation” to efficiently estimate the number of identified victims killed in the Syrian civil war.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2y3sLpZ

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

This AI can write its own code and help programmers
Computer scientists at Rice have created a deep-learning, software-coding application called Bayou that can help human programmers navigate the growing multitude of often-undocumented application programming interfaces, or APIs. Swarat Chaudhuri, an associate professor of computer science, is quoted.
Technotification
http://bit.ly/2JHKTHj

ResTORbio announces appointment of Kerry Russell, MD, Ph.D., as vice president of clinical development
An article featuring Kerry Russell mentions that she attended Rice.
GuruFocus.com (This article appeared in more than 50 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2yaioAE

Inside a solar-cell startup’s success
An article mentions that the national finals of the Department of Defense’s clean technology pitching competition will be held at Rice June 27.
UDaily 
http://bit.ly/2y7DcZH

Scientists go deep to quantify perovskite properties
Rice researchers were able to create a scale by which labs can determine the binding energy of excitons, and thus the band gap structures, in perovskite quantum wells of any thickness. This could in turn aid in the fundamental design of next-generation semiconductor materials. Aditya Mohite, who will join Rice faculty, is quoted.
Printed Electronics World
http://bit.ly/2y9Kls9

With 25 LNG export projects in queue, DOE looking for more input on impact to markets, economy
An article mentions a 2015 joint study by the Center for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute and Oxford Economics to determine the effects of liquefied natural gas exports on the domestic economy and energy markets.
Natural Gas Intelligence
http://bit.ly/2JI4Ptu

Research: Neurons ripple while brains rest to lock in memories
Caleb Kemere, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is quoted in an article about his research, which demonstrated that even minimal data harvested from the brain during periods of rest can be used to explore big ideas about how memories are formed and retained. Co-author and graduate student Etienne Ackermann is also quoted.
Technology.org
http://bit.ly/2yhszUf

‘A system purely for developing high-performance, big data codes’
Computer scientists from Rice’s DARPA-funded Pliny Project developed PlinyCompute for high-performance, big data codes. Jia Zou, research scientist in computer science, and Chris Jermaine, an associate professor of computer science, are quoted.
STRN (This article also appeared in SD Times Online, Outlook Series and the Eponymous Pickle.)
http://bit.ly/2yeiY0q

DIY brings high throughput to continuous cell culturing
An article features eVolver, a high-throughput, automated cell-culturing system that can run continuously for months and grow dozens of cultures simultaneously. The system was developed by Caleb Bashor, assistant professor of biosciences and bioengineering.
Technology.org (This article also appeared in Lab Manager Magazine and Medical Design Technology.)
http://bit.ly/2JM8w16

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Bill Tinsley: Whom can you trust?
Michael Bloomberg’s commencement speech at Rice is mentioned.
The Gadsen Times (This article appeared in 40 other media outlets.) 
http://bit.ly/2yfj7Rh

Welcome to the G-6 plus TrumpAn article mentions that Rice hosted the Group of Seven summit in 1990.
The Marshall News Messenger
http://bit.ly/2y8nihD

Surreal paintings by Matthew Grabelsky take the New York City subway for a wild ride
The artwork of alumnus Matthew Grabelsky ’02 is featured.
Colossal (This article also appeared in Mixed Sign.)
http://bit.ly/2JM3VfK

7 things that shocked Midwesterners who left ‘flyover country’ for other parts of the US
An article mentions Rice research that determined how people from Michigan and other Midwest states pronounce certain words.
Business Insider (This article appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
https://read.bi/2y5BPe1

Houston’s counting on new green spaces to ease future flooding
An article about new housing design initiatives to prevent future residential flooding in Houston quotes Albert Pope, the Gus Sessions Wortham Professor of Architecture, and Ron Witte and Will Cannady, both professors of architecture. Raj Mankad, editor of the Rice Design Alliance’s Cite Magazine, is mentioned in a photo caption. A photo slide caption displays Rice’s plan for a staged withdrawal from the Meyerland neighborhood.
Public Works Magazine
http://bit.ly/2JIYFcL

Risky and unwise to depend on university rankings
An article about the varying metrics from university world rankings organizations mentions that Rice is ranked 40th, 74th, 87th and 129th in the world.
Malaysiakini
http://bit.ly/2JIFobl

Why Nigerian-Americans strive so hard at school
An article mentions research by Stephen Klineberg, professor of sociology and founding director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, which determined that it was the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 that made it easier for Africans to enter and stay in the U.S. as students and not family sponsorships.
OZY
http://bit.ly/2MleibP

James A. Michener Museum names new executive director
An article mentions that Kathleen Jameson attended Rice.
Bucks County Courier Times (This article also appeared in the Intelligencer.)
http://bit.ly/2JxGPgw

Gun control advocates hold ‘die-in’ at NC General Assembly
An article mentions that Joshua Verne plans to attend Rice.
CBS17.com
http://bit.ly/2JDAYGQ

Timothy Steeves wins Lieutenant Governor Emerging Artist Award
Graduate student Timothy Steeves is featured.
Strathmore Standard
http://bit.ly/2JBbDNo

SPORTS

Texas Tech to 3rd CWS in 5 years after 6-2 win over Duke
An article mentions Rice baseball’s 1999 feat as one of two teams to ever win six elimination games ahead of the College World Series.
Washington Post (This Associated Press article appeared in more than 60 other media outlets.)  
https://wapo.st/2t0VqpC

Rice gets commitment from Florida grad transfer Andrew Mike
An article mentions that Andrew Mike will join the Rice football team. Rice Stadium is pictured.
NBC Sports
http://bit.ly/2ybeebO

USA U20s face Canada in key North American qualifier series
The USA Under 20s rugby team will face Canada’s Under 20s team at Rice June 16 for a chance to compete for the World Rugby Trophy.
FloRugby
http://bit.ly/2yexJAm

Dave Van Horn no stranger to Omaha
Rice head baseball coach Wayne Graham is mentioned.
WholeHogSports.com
http://bit.ly/2y9ody5

Improved O-line could be biggest key to Texas winning more games
Former Rice football player Calvin Anderson is mentioned.
247Sports.com
http://bit.ly/2y7lzsS
Texas offensive line outlook for 2018: Who will replace Connor Williams?
The Dallas Morning News
http://bit.ly/2JFWzdj

WT 3rd in Texas Region Rankings
Rice’s women’s tennis team is ranked No. 5 in Texas by Oracle/ITA Division I Texas Region Rankings.
KCENTV.com
http://bit.ly/2JJAoDh

Texans host Santa Fe HS football team at minicamp
Former Rice football player Christian Covington is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2JIoRnF

Detroit Lions tight end stops by Jumpstart Games Friday
Former Rice football player and current Detroit Lions tight end Luke Willson is featured and pictured.
Montreal Gazette (This article also appeared in the Leader Post, Ottawa Sun, Vancouver Sun, London Free Press and the Province Online.)
http://bit.ly/2y7K5tL

Bohls: Say cheeeeese, Longhorns pitcher Matteo Bocchi
Rice is mentioned.
Austin American-Statesman
https://atxne.ws/2y9qbyt

Tigers nonconference basketball schedule set
An article mentions that Louisiana State University’s final home football game will be against Rice.
BRProud.com
http://bit.ly/2MlDgrw

NEWS RELEASES

Baker Institute expert available to discuss House bills aimed at fighting opioid epidemic
The House of Representatives is set to vote on more than two dozen bills aimed at fighting the opioid crisis. If the laws pass, the legislation will improve data collection on efforts to combat the epidemic and have an impact on best practices for drug treatment providers and steps to accelerate research on non-opioid pain-management alternatives, according to a drug policy expert at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
http://bit.ly/2JFvXcC