Dateline Rice for July 3, 2018

FEATURED ITEM

Loss of lemurs might endanger many of Madagascar’s largest tree species
Widespread logging and hunting have endangered virtually all of Madagascar’s 100-plus species of iconic lemurs, and a new study by Rice ecologists illustrates how saving the animals, which are the only ones that can disperse the seeds of many of the forests’ largest hardwoods, may also be key to saving the island’s largest trees. Amy Dunham, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and alumna Anecia Gentles ’18 are quoted and alumna Onja Razafindratsima ’13 and graduate student Andrea Drager are mentioned.
UPI (This article also appeared in 10 other media outlets.)
https://bit.ly/2lQMiko

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Populist v. populist as election shifts US-Mexico relations
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 several articles and is interviewed by KHOU about likely policy changes Mexican President-elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador will make. Tony Payan, the Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies at the Baker Institute and director of the institute’s Mexico Center, appears in a CGTN America broadcast discussing López Obrador’s win.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2MLinWl
Mexico’s new president is promising big changes. Will that affect trade with Texas?
Texas Tribune (This article also appeared in the Rivard Report and Progrexas.)
http://bit.ly/2MHW4kc
How will Mexico’s president-elect impact Houston?
KHOU.com
http://bit.ly/2MH4FDQ
‘The Heat’: Mexico elects new president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador
CGTN America
http://bit.ly/2MKjWDW

How the brands we love bounce back when they do us wrong [Analysis]
Jennifer Latson, an editor for the Jones Graduate School of Business’ Rice Business Wisdom, authored an op-ed about the power of strong branding. Utpal Dholakia, the George R. Brown Professor of Marketing at the Jones School, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2KvE3ck

‘Field Notes’: July 2018
A roundup of health care news features Rice bioengineer and global health pioneer Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Malcolm Gillis University Professor, professor of bioengineering and director of Rice 360º Institute for Global Health, who was recently appointed as a science envoy by the U.S. Department of State.
TMC News
http://bit.ly/2MKjCoC

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Top 50 business schools with the best MBA programs for entrepreneurship in 2018, FT ranking 
According to the Financial Times, Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business is ranked No. 28 in the world for entrepreneurship.
CEOWorld Magazine
http://bit.ly/2MLDNCq

Study shows machine learning can improve catalytic design
Chemical engineers at Rice and Pennsylvania State University have shown that combining machine learning and quantum chemistry can save time and expense in designing new catalysts. Thomas Senftle, the William Rice Trustee Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, is quoted.
Phys.org (This article also appeared in Science Codex, Green Car Congress, Jersey Tribune, R&D Magazine and Health Medicine Network.)
http://bit.ly/2MIwdsl

NASA should update policies that protect planets and other solar system bodies during space exploration missions, new report says
An article mentions that Eugene Levy, the Andrew Hays Buchanan Professor of Astrophysics, participated in a study that ultimately recommends policies that protect planets as a new era of space exploration begins.
The National Academy of Sciences News
http://bit.ly/2MJPlGl

Gas biosensors ‘see’ through soil to analyze microbial interactions
Rice researchers engineered bacterium to receive genetic information from another bacterium and then release gas to “report” the transaction, allowing researchers to monitor such processes in real time without having to see into or disturb a lab soil sample. Jonathon Silberg, associate professor of biochemistry and cell biology and associate professor of bioengineering, and graduate student Shelly Cheng are credited for the art that accompanies the article.
Tech Briefs
http://bit.ly/2KsHxfz

New 2D hematene material shows promise for solar fuel generation
An article mentions that hematene, the first known 2D non-van der Waals material, was developed by the lab of 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, and former postdoctoral researcher Chandra Sekhar Tiwary.
Advanced Manufacturing
http://bit.ly/2MIAig8

‘Power/Performance Bits’: July 3
Rice scientists have developed a simple way to produce conductive three-dimensional objects made of graphene foam. 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 and graduate student Duy Xuan Luong is quoted and pictured.
Semiconductor Engineering
http://bit.ly/2ML9yvs

From European Southern Observatory: ‘First confirmed image of newborn planet caught with ESO’s VLT’
An article mentions that Andrea Isella, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, was part of the research team that helped shed light on the complex and poorly understood early stages of planetary evolution.
ScienceSprings (Health Medicine Network)
http://bit.ly/2KEYAKK

Wall Street is sharpening our nanoseconds
Krishna Palem, the Ken and Audrey Kennedy Professor of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of statistics, is quoted in an article about the creation of technology that can track time to 100 billionths of a second.
BusinessWorld Online (This article also appeared in SF Gate.)
http://bit.ly/2MICGn6

Algorithms ‘unbend light’ to help new camera see through skin
An article mentions a Rice-led research effort to produce a new bio-imaging camera which produces quality images deeper under the skin than what is currently possible.
Health Data Management
http://bit.ly/2MLq92t

What noise do bats make?
An article about the sounds bats make cites research from Rice to create “bat detectors” to record their calls.
Thought Co.
http://bit.ly/2MLaf8a

Cheaper textbooks and better access for higher ed students
Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and founder of OpenStax, a Rice-based publisher of open educational resources, is mentioned.
Open Health News
http://bit.ly/2KwjRqM

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Music is a fount of optimism for Gabriela Lena Frank
Alumna Gabriela Lena Frank ’94 is featured and pictured.
San Francisco Classical Voice
http://bit.ly/2KJTsVF

Demography and our destiny
Although Houston’s population growth is slowing, its current diversity represents census projections for the U.S. in 2050, according to Stephen Klineberg, professor of sociology and founding director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Off the Kuff
http://bit.ly/2KMobla

¿Qué atrae más a las mujeres de los varones?
An article mentions a study by Rice that correlated height and attractiveness in men.
Página Siete
http://bit.ly/2KuEOm1 (An English-language version is not available.)

SPORTS

Best in Texas offseason edition: Ed Oliver, Ben Banogu are big names; where do their defenses rank?
Rice football player Graysen Schantz is pictured and the late Blain Padgett is mentioned.
The Dallas Morning News
http://bit.ly/2KHjB7v (Scroll down to “11. Rice (1-11).”)

Trinity Valley star to run for national team in Australia
Rice is mentioned.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
http://bit.ly/2KudQLg