Dateline Rice for Dec. 18, 2018

For Trump, the economy is a potential 2020 storm cloud
Douglas Brinkley, the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Professor in Humanities, is quoted in an article about how an economic slowdown may affect President Donald Trump’s re-election bid.
Associated Press (This article also appeared in more than 50 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2ECfJSS

Since lawmakers now agree on protecting people with preexisting conditions, here’s how you do it
Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Health and Biosciences, is quoted in an article about the complications of providing affordable healthcare to Americans. Ho also is interviewed on the subject in a new episode of “Houston Matters.”
Los Angeles Times (This article also appeared in more than 20 other media outlets.)
https://lat.ms/2ErqmH8
What the Texas ruling means for the Affordable Care Act
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2ECBrpF

Texas taxpayers pay for political virtue signaling with costly renewable energy
Charles McConnell, executive director of Rice’s Energy and Environment Initiative, is quoted in an article about renewable energy in Georgetown, Texas.
Forbes
http://bit.ly/2EC8w5e

Is solar power actually accessible for everyone?
Solar power is now more accessible and affordable, according to Daniel Cohan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering. Cohan is also quoted in Chemical News about his research that determined sulfur dioxide emissions from Texas coal plants pose greater health risks than pollutants that cause ozone smog.
Playboy
http://bit.ly/2ECgxH1
Coal power plants neglect sulfur dioxide emission
Chemical News
http://bit.ly/2EsiIMB

Which colleges enroll the most Hispanic students?
An article about undergraduate Hispanic enrollment at nationally ranked colleges and universities mentions that Rice’s Hispanic student population is 14 percent.
The Washington Post (Subscription is required.)
https://wapo.st/2UTASwB

HOUSTON/TEXAS

How much should leaders be paid?
David De Angelis, an assistant professor of finance at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted in an article about how to gauge executive pay.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2ED6IJ8

Richardson ISD’s student demographics have significantly changed. The makeup of its school board hasn’t.
John Alford, professor of political science, is quoted.
Community Impact Newspaper
http://bit.ly/2ErthzE

Matthew Ritchie on his project at Rice, what makes Texas unique, and why he keeps coming back
Artist Matthew Ritchie, whose multipart, site-specific installation “Matthew Ritchie: The Demon in the Diagram” at Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts, is featured in a Q&A. The work is on display through Dec. 22.
Glasstire
http://bit.ly/2EAuQw3

Texas Tech receives 2nd Carnegie Tier One classification
An article mentions Rice’s Tier One status from the Carnegie Foundation.
KCBD Online (This article also appeared in EverythingLubbock.com.)
http://bit.ly/2ECvvNA

Firefighter named Sugar Land employee of the year
An article featuring firefighter and paramedic Warren Phillips mentions that he has taught classes at Rice.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2EC96Qs
http://bit.ly/2EERvXY

Houston’s 43 most fascinating, controversial and notorious headliners of 2018
A slideshow of some of Houston’s most interesting 2018 headline-makers features Judy Le, founder of the leadership development organization TakeRoot and former director of the Leadership Rice Mentorship Experience at Rice’s Center for Civic Leadership. Le also teaches the Art and Practice of Influencing Without Authority at Rice’s Glasscock School of Continuing Studies.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2EDjfwd
Most fascinating 2018
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2EDggnc

Review: ‘Disrupting for Good’
A book review mentions that Rice engineering students created a breathing machine to lower infant mortality rates in low-resource nations.
Baptists Standard 
http://bit.ly/2EDzI3c

Brandon Elementary 4th-grader is finalist in state history writing contest
An article featuring Daniel Lanigan, 10, mentions that he wants to study architecture at Rice.
LufkinISD.org
http://bit.ly/2QGjIUU

Carlyle, Quad Partners to invest in Accelerate Learning
An article mentions that Accelerate Learning and STEMscopes, which delivers digital STEM curriculum in all 50 states, originated at Rice.
CityBizlist Dallas
http://bit.ly/2EB2otP

Metro moving toward $3B bond vote for 20-year transit plan
Rice is mentioned in a caption.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2EzLfAN
http://bit.ly/2EBO4Bp

The case against making a city ‘beautiful’
Rice’s tree-lined campus is highlighted.
Catapult
http://bit.ly/2EuWycs

BROADCAST

Medical Health Notes 
Rice research that determined grief can cause inflammation that can kill is featured in a radio broadcast.
Radio Health Journal (This broadcast aired on 492 stations.)
http://bit.ly/2QAT1Rq

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Rice University scientists develop synthetic protein switches to control electron flow
Rice research which developed electrical switches built from proteins, which could facilitate next-generation bioelectronics, is featured. Joff Silberg, professor of biosciences and bioengineering and director of Rice’s Systems, Synthetic and Physical Biology graduate program, is quoted, and co-author George Bennett, the E. Dell Butcher Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, is mentioned. The article also mentions that Silberg and Rafael Verduzco, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, will co-chair the Gordon Research Conference in New Hampshire in June 2019.
News-Medical.net (This article also appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2EqvzPv

Imperfections make photons perfect for quantum computing
By adding pre-arranged imperfections to atom-thick materials like molybdenum disulfide, they become perfectly capable of emitting single photons in either left or right polarization on demand, according to Rice researchers Boris Yakobson, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering and a professor of chemistry, graduate student Sunny Gupta and alumnus Ji-Hui Yang.
Nanowerk (This article also appeared in I-Connect007.)
http://bit.ly/2EuaC6f

Video: Nanoparticles reach clinical trials for prostate cancer
An article and video feature the gold nanoparticle prostate cancer treatment pioneered by Naomi Halas, the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of chemistry, bioengineering, physics and astronomy, and of materials science and nanoengineering and the director of Rice’s Smalley-Curl Institute.
Phys.org
http://bit.ly/2EtUwcK

New way to help 2D sensors hug the curve
Research by materials scientists 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 Jun Lou, associate chair and professor of materials science and nanoengineering, who have developed a method to make atom-flat sensors that seamlessly integrate with devices to report on what they perceive, is featured.
Materials Today
http://bit.ly/2EuqTba

Common ground discovered in planet-forming disks
An article quoting Andrea Isella, assistant professor of physics and astronomy and of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences, mentions that he is part of the research group using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array to analyze the first large-scale, high-resolution survey of protoplanetary disks.
Technology.org (This article also appeared in Ineffable Island Blog, Astro Watch, Fars News and Universe Today.)
http://bit.ly/2Eubjwi

‘Changing climate’ intensifying disasters per Texas report
An article about a report issued by Gov. Greg Abbott on the likelihood of powerful natural disasters affecting Texas in the future quotes John Anderson, the W. Maurice Ewing Professor Emeritus of Oceanography.
Claims Journal
http://bit.ly/2ECc8nt

Harvard has quietly bought $305 million worth of California vineyards. The water rights could be even more valuable.
An article mentions that Northwestern University and Rice invested in Black Stone Minerals LP in 2017.
Business Insider (This article also appeared in more than 30 other media outlets.)
https://read.bi/2EzR8Op

40 years of opening-up stories
An article mentions that Robert Kapp formerly taught at Rice.
Chinadaily USA
http://bit.ly/2EuNftm

Top 10 biopharma news stories of 2018
Rice research that determined the amino acid “hitch” in the swing of a protein that delivers the flu virus is a mechanism highly conserved by evolution and may be a better target for medications to stop the virus from infecting cells is featured as one of the top 10 bio-pharmaceutical news stories of the year. Postdoctoral researcher Xingcheng Lin is quoted.
Technology Networks (Scroll down to “9. New Way to Target the Flu Virus.”)
http://bit.ly/2EDiFyu

Why is there an ugly Christmas sweater day?
Professor Emerita of Slavic Studies Ewa Thompson is quoted.
Crisis Magazine
http://bit.ly/2EusVbi

What an MBA is worth: By the numbers
Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business and online MBA program are mentioned.
Poets & Quants
http://bit.ly/2EvSPM3
SMU Cox launches a $91K online MBA
Poets & Quants
http://bit.ly/2ErKsRE

LawNext Episode 23: Dan Rodriguez on innovating law and legal education
An article featuring Daniel Rodriguez mentions that he is a former research fellow at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
LawSites
http://bit.ly/2EuyM0r

New initiative offers 3 popular engineering textbooks for free
An article mentions OpenStax, a Rice-based publisher of open educational resources.
The Institute
http://bit.ly/2EwyjuN

Ombuds year in review: 2018 (Intro)
Rice is mentioned.
The Ombuds Blog
http://bit.ly/2EEnlny

Deborah Lackey named director of development at Alley Theatre
The 2015 ‘Ask the Experts’ conference at Rice is mentioned.
Broadway World
http://bit.ly/2EuB93l

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Why you should want global cosmopolitans in your team
An article cites collaborative research from Rice that determined that living abroad can clarify your sense of self.
The Horizons Tracker
http://bit.ly/2EChSxx

Office layouts can inspire creativity or mediocrity
Rice research that determined that ceilings 10 feet or higher impacted one’s abstract thinking abilities is mentioned.
Khaleej Times 
http://bit.ly/2ECj8kf

Tough-on-crime prosecutors distort truth, block prison reform
Baker College senior Ashley Nguyen co-authored an op-ed about criminal justice reform in Arizona.
Arizona Capitol Times
http://bit.ly/2Es0xXs

New head of school at WCS answers questions
Alumnus Scott Jones is featured and pictured.
Miami’s Community Newspapers
http://bit.ly/2EyqyVK

The 10 best colleges for feminists
College Magazine ranks Rice No. 1 for feminist activists, in part due to Rice’s mandatory five-week course on critical thinking regarding sexuality and the Rice Women’s Resource Center. Hanszen College junior Bharathi Selvan is quoted.
College Magazine
http://bit.ly/2EsJzrT

The Vanderbilt Hustler’s guide to Houston
James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany” Skyspace on the Suzanne Deal Booth Centennial Pavilion is featured.
Vanderbilt Hustler
http://bit.ly/2ErnDgG

SPORTS

Behind the high-scoring offenses in Texas high school football
The late former Rice assistant football coach Mike Heimerdinger is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Dec. 18 print edition with a different headline, “What’s behind state’s up-tempo offenses.”) 
http://bit.ly/2EBH2fQ

Men’s college basketball: Demons eager for Southern matchup in Shreveport-Bossier Holiday Classic
An article about the Northwestern State men’s basketball team mentions that the Demon played Rice earlier this season.
BossierPress.com
http://bit.ly/2EyPi0l

Ramsey dazzles in overtime as Gauchos win in Heidegger’s return
The Rice men’s basketball team’s 99-89 loss to UC Santa Barbara Dec. 15 is mentioned.
Daily Nexus (This article also appeared in UCSB News.)
http://bit.ly/2EDKvL9

Tulsa offers Lufkin’s Breylon Garcia
An article mentions that Jawan King plans to play football at Rice.
ETSN.fm
http://bit.ly/2EtHJa7

Maui Jim Maui Classic: Carter leads Aggies to upset of No. 8 Beavers
Rice men’s and women’s basketball games are mentioned.
The Maui News
http://bit.ly/2ErKjxx

In Texas-tinged NFL season, don’t forget Luck
Rice is mentioned.
San Antonio Express-News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2EsfWXF

No. 11 Texas Tech wins coliseum throwback game, 82-48
An article about the Texas Tech University’s men’s basketball team mentions that the Red Raiders defeated Rice in 2017.
KCBD Online
http://bit.ly/2EqXcrw

NEWS RELEASES

Baker Institute expert: USMCA will mostly preserve North American economic structure
If the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement is approved by the three parties and enters into force, most of the North American Free Trade Agreement structures that allow manufacturers to compete effectively with their counterparts in Europe and Asia will be preserved, according to a new issue brief from Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
http://bit.ly/2Eyjybq

Rice U. expert available to comment on release of accused priests’ names
In recent months, dozens of Catholic bishops have decided to take action by releasing lists of the priests in their dioceses who were credibly accused of child abuse. Releasing the names is a small step in the right direction, in particular relating to healing relations with parishioners, according to a reputation management expert at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business.
http://bit.ly/2EDTEDt

Rice University to close for winter break Dec. 22–Jan. 1
Rice University will be closed for winter break from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1 and will reopen Jan. 2. News media with an urgent request can reach the Rice News and Media Relations representative on call at 713-348-6774, but please keep in mind that we will have limited access to our faculty experts during the holiday break.
http://bit.ly/2EA4uKp