Dateline Rice for May 29, 2019

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Homeschooling kids isn’t bad for their health
An article features research by Laura Kabiri, lecturer of kinesiology, which suggests that increased time being homeschooled does not appear to affect overall health.
Futurity (This article was featured in the May 29 Futurity Today newsletter.)
http://bit.ly/2W2k1vy

The government is serious about creating mind-controlled weapons
A roundup of DARPA’s Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology research program projects mentions that Jacob Robinson, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and of bioengineering, is developing a bidirectional system for recording from and writing to the brain.
Fox News
https://fxn.ws/2WqqGiM
Engineers start work on headset that links brain to machines without surgery
Industrial Equipment News (A similar article also appeared in Wearable Technologies, The Science Times and Long Room.)
http://bit.ly/2WvtlaU

Opportunity Zones’ biggest myths
An article cites a study by Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, which determined that many cities are guiding Opportunity Zone investors toward projects that are less likely to facilitate gentrification.
Forbes
http://bit.ly/2WqpLyQ

Recent editorials from Texas newspapers
An editorial about flood mitigation proposals from the Houston Chronicle mentions that Rice’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center (SSPEED) worked with Rice’s economics department to determine the viability of social impact bonds, where private money is invested in a public project, as well as grant money and other public-private partnerships. The editorial also mentions that SSPEED proposed 25-foot-high barriers across the middle of Galveston Bay to protect coastal communities from storm surge. Jim Blackburn, a professor in the practice of environmental law and the co-director of SSPEED, is quoted.
Associated Press (This article also appeared in more than 40 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2VZCaWa

6 months later, gene-edited babies stir new interest, debate
An article about gene editing in humans mentions Michael Deem, the John W. Cox Professor of Biochemical and Genetic Engineering and a professor of physics and astronomy, and that He Jiankui, the Chinese scientist who claimed he produced the first genetically engineered twins, attended Rice.
Associated Press (This article also appeared in the May 29 print editions of the Dallas Morning News, Rome News-Tribune and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and it appeared online in more than 400 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2VYup2y 
Fertility clinic asked disgraced Chinese scientist He Jiankui for help gene-editing human embryos
Daily Mail
https://dailym.ai/2VUYgJr

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Ratify the new North American trade deal. It’s good for Texas. [Opinion]
David Gantz, the Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored an op-ed calling for the ratification of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Houston Chronicle (This op-ed also appeared in the May 29 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/2W1hmgN

Breaking down Texas Republicans’ biggest 2019 black eye
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 two articles and interviewed by KRLD about Texas politics.
Dallas Observer
http://bit.ly/2W3Kkgo
Texas’ election chief resigns after voter citizenship flub
KRLD Online
http://bit.ly/2Wx7AHI
KRLD-AM (Dallas)
http://bit.ly/2WxjSji (This segment aired six times.)

Boeing, which helped put the first men on the moon, works toward a return trip
David Alexander, director of the Rice Space Institute and professor of physics and astronomy, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in the May 29 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/2VXCPr5

Traffic is a growing concern among Houstonians, Kinder Survey says
An article cites the 38th annual Kinder Houston Area Survey conducted by Stephen Klineberg, founding director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and professor emeritus of sociology in Rice’s School of Social Sciences.
Realty News Report
http://bit.ly/2MqGApk

Houston researchers are commercializing their human tissue-printing technology 
An article features the research of Jordan Miller, assistant professor of bioengineering, who led a team that developed a tangled, 3D-printed network of vessels that mimic a human lung. Miller and graduate students Bagrat Grigoryan and Daniel Sazer are quoted and pictured.
InnovationMap (A similar article also appeared in Medical Health News, Newswise and Nanowerk.)
http://bit.ly/2MheUDy

Texas Music Festival takes shape
An article featuring Kelsey Sham mentions that she plans to conduct graduate studies at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in the May 29 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/2VVuAvz

Houston companies take home big prizes from a Texas A&M startup competition 
An article mentions that the 2018 Texas Life Science Forum was hosted by the Rice Alliance.
InnovationMap
http://bit.ly/2VXnNSf

St. John XXIII College Preparatory announces top students
An article mentions that Abby Hollman, salutatorian of St. John XXIII College Preparatory, plans to attend Rice.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2VUcAlv

May 30
An article mentions that the final round of the Ima Hogg music competition will be held at Rice’s Stude Concert Hall at the Shepherd School of Music June 1.
Texas Classical Review 
http://bit.ly/2VTMH57

Mathew Knowles is here to remind you that Destiny’s Child did not break up. They retired.
An article featuring Mathew Knowles mentions that he is a former guest lecturer at Rice.
Houstonia Magazine
http://bit.ly/2Wurh2J

New grads see best job market in decades
Graduating Rice students are pictured.
Houston Chronicle’s The Woodlands Villager (This article appeared in the May 29 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/2VTwP2A

Edinburg CISD honors top graduating seniors
An article features alumnus George P. Bush, the Texas land commissioner, who recently gave the keynote address at the 2019 Top Ten Percent Honor Banquet in McAllen, Texas.
Texas Border Business
http://bit.ly/2Wwj12r

Heights resident plays key role in Texas Music Festival
Rice is mentioned.
The Leader
http://bit.ly/2Wycm7P

BROADCAST

The iconic Sears sign atop old Midtown store has been taken down
Rice’s plan to redevelop the historic Midtown Sears building into The Ion, the centerpiece of an innovation district built in collaboration with other Houston agencies and institutions, is featured.
KHOU Online (This segment aired on KHOU-TV in Houston.)
http://bit.ly/2W1fFju

San Antonio school ranks high on list of ‘Best Value Colleges’ in Texas
An article mentions that Rice is the No. 1 best value college in Texas, according to SmartAsset.
KENS5 Online
http://bit.ly/2VVex0Z

Dahm keeping things private at iHeart
Alumnus Andrew Dahm is featured and pictured.
RadioInk.com
http://bit.ly/2WvmwWK

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Chemists build a better cancer-killing drill
An article features the research of an international team of scientists that includes experts from Rice, who are developing molecule-sized motors that drill through the surface of cancer cells, killing them in an instant. 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. A Rice video is included.
Phys.org (This article also appeared in Nanowerk.)
http://bit.ly/2WurByM

Paper requirement for Texas voting machines dies in legislature
Dan Wallach, professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering and a Rice Faculty Scholar at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in an article about House Bill 2909, which aimed to require all voting machines in Texas to produce paper records by 2024.
StateScoop
http://bit.ly/2MgliuK

Rice U. lab grows stable, ultrathin magnets
Rice research that simplified the synthesis of a unique, nearly two-dimensional form of iron oxide with strong magnetic properties is featured. Jun Lou, associate chair and professor of materials science and nanoengineering; and Doug Natelson, professor of physics and astronomy, of electrical and computer engineering, and of materials science and nanoengineering, and the department chair of physics and astronomy, are quoted.
Scienmag
http://bit.ly/2Wv4xjk

The new marriage penalty
Joyce Beebe, a fellow in public finance at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Accounting Today
http://bit.ly/2MhMfOB

Master class with Kathleen Winkler
Kathleen Winkler, the Dorothy Richard Starling Chair in Classical Violin at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, is featured and pictured.
Violinist.com
http://bit.ly/2MdQXwR

What’s behind the killings of Mexico’s mayors?
An article about crime in Mexico cites a study authored by David Pérez Esparza, the fall 2017 visiting scholar at the Mexico Center at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
InSight Crime
http://bit.ly/2WCJ6Nu

Recyclable graphite-cellulose composite stronger than steel
An article mentions that scientists from Rice collaborated on research to develop a viable alternative to plastic in the form of a composite of graphite and cellulose extracted from wood pulp.
Materials Today
http://bit.ly/2WsVGyF

Elisa Gabbert doesn’t like television
Alumna Elisa Gabbert is featured in a podcast.
LitHub
http://bit.ly/2Mi25Zx

Michelle LaFoe and Isaac Campbell of OFFICE 52 Architecture
Alumna Michelle LaFoe ’89 is featured in a Q&A.
Surface Magazine
http://bit.ly/2MfBU5R

Luck, illusion, success: Humanist Media awardee Richard Wiseman entertains it all
An article featuring Richard Wiseman mentions that he will receive the Humanist Media Award at Rice June 7. This will be the second segment of the American Humanist Association’s 78th Annual Conference, which is taking place at five universities around the country.
The Humanist
http://bit.ly/2MfDFzZ

9th annual Siletz Bay Music Festival brings world-renowned musicians to town
Sergiu Luca, former professor of violin at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, is featured.
The News Guard
http://bit.ly/2Mgoeaw

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Panetta Lecture Series: Esteemed professors talk democracy in Monterey
An article featuring Douglas Brinkley, the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Professor in Humanities, mentions that he spoke as part of the 2019 Leon Panetta Lecture Series May 27 in Monterey, California.
Monterey County Herald
http://bit.ly/2WsRf6Z

SPORTS

Matt Bragga’s first season at Rice marked by ups and downs
An article features Rice head baseball coach Matt Bragga and mentions Owls Justin Collins, Trei Cruz, Andrew Dunlap and Matt Canterino, who was recently named the Conference USA Pitcher of the Year. Former head coach Wayne Graham is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in the May 29 print edition.)
http://bit.ly/2JK6W3z

Undrafted free agent and ex-Bronco Jordan Taylor seeking bigger role with Vikings
Former Rice football player Jordan Taylor is featured.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
http://strib.mn/2JQmVNR

MVC outfielder Tyler Keenan hauls in first-team honors 
Former Rice baseball player Jared Gayhart is mentioned.
Santa Cruz Sentinel
http://bit.ly/2Wza888

NEWS RELEASES

ACS selects Naomi Halas to represent Americas at ChinaNano
Rice nanoscientist Naomi Halas has been chosen by the American Chemical Society to represent the Americas as the winner of a coveted 2019 ACS Nano Lectureship Award. The awards honor the contributions of scientists whose work has significantly impacted the fields of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Only three are awarded each year, with one awardee each from the Americas, Europe/Middle East/Africa and Asia/Pacific.
http://bit.ly/2Wyh19P

Chemists build a better cancer-killing drill
An international team of scientists is getting closer to perfecting molecule-sized motors that drill through the surface of cancer cells, killing them in an instant. Researchers at Rice, Durham (U.K.) University and North Carolina State University reported their success at activating the motors with precise two-photon excitation via near-infrared light.
http://bit.ly/2WApUQ6

The future of the North American Development Bank is topic at Rice’s Baker Institute
U.S. Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-Laredo) and Jodey Arrington (R-Lubbock), North American Development Bank (NADB) Managing Director Alex Hinojosa and NADB Deputy Managing Director Calixto Mateos-Hanel will join a panel of experts at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy June 6 to examine the bank’s future under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s new trade arrangements.
http://bit.ly/2WxjG3y