Dateline Rice for Dec. 5, 2019

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Natural gas: Is it a bridge or roadblock?
Daniel Cohan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, authored an op-ed about the role natural gas may play in a clean energy future in the U.S.
The Hill
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-cohanDiary tool addresses epilepsy seizure risk
An article features a collaborative Rice study that determined that the researchers’ automated machine-learning algorithm correctly identified changes in seizure risk in more than 87% of cases. Co-author Marina Vannucci, the Noah Harding Professor of Statistics, is quoted.
Futurity (This article appeared in the Dec. 5 edition of the Futurity Today newsletter, and it also appeared in Newswise, News-Medical.net and TMC News.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-vannucciQatar, Saudi edge towards diplomatic thaw despite hurdles
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
France 24 (This Agence France-Presse article also appeared in more than 20 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-ulrichsen

Caped crusader: After his search-and-rescue instructor died on a mountain, Caleb Carr, 25, co-founded a company to help stabilize helicopter baskets
A caption mentions that Vita Inclinata won the 2019 Rice Business Plan Competition at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business.
Forbes
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-rbpc

HOUSTON/TEXAS

NASA’s solar probe answers fundamental questions about the sun’s behavior
Stephen Bradshaw, associate professor of physics and astronomy, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared on the front page of the Dec. 5 print edition of the Chronicle, and it appeared in the San Antonio Express-News and the San Francisco Chronicle.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-bradshawRice class explores what it means to be Muslim in America
Craig Considine, lecturer in sociology at Rice who teaches the course Muslims in America, is featured. Rice students Noor Gamal Eldin, Emma Siegel, Eden Desta, Amanda Ochu and Alina Zhu are quoted. A column authored by Zhu published in the Rice Thresher is cited.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-considineField notes: December 2019
Rice has announced the creation of a new center in response to increasing interest and expertise in African and African American Studies on campus. Anthony Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and professor of religion, who will serve as founding director of the Center for African and African American Studies, is pictured and quoted.
TMC News (This article was also featured in the December 2019 digital and print editions of TMC Pulse.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-pinn

Top Texas Medical Center news stories of 2019
An innovations roundup features the following “news of the year” from Rice: Jordan Miller, assistant professor of bioengineering, led a team that developed a tangled, 3D-printed network of vessels that mimics a human lung; conductive carbon threads developed at Rice could serve as an electrical bypass or bridge to repair the function of the heart; and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, which partners with Rice, received $37 million in renewed funding for its Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences from the National Institutes of Health.
TMC News (This article was also featured in the digital and print editions of the December 2019 TMC Pulse.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-miller-tmc

Self-funded candidates achieve mixed results in Houston area
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.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-jones
KLBJ-AM (Austin)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-jones-klbj

Magical snowbirds take over Discovery Green in an art frenzy that will have you seeing double
An article features the collaborative artwork of Lina Dib, lecturer in Rice’s Program in Writing and Communication. Dib created “Here and Now,” the complementary sound recording for Discovery Green’s new public art piece “Paloma,” on view through Feb. 24, 2020.
PaperCity
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-dib

Magical tree fort exhibition climbs into Austin as a must-see attraction
Alumnus James Edward Talbot is featured.
CultureMap Houston
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-talbot

Andrea Bocelli emphasizes beauty for his upcoming Houston performance
Grammy Award-winning soprano Ana María Martínez, Rice’s Shepherd School of Music’s artist-in-residence for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 academic years, is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-martinez

What’s on in Houston galleries this week
An arts roundup mentions that Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts will exhibit “Moon Shot” through Dec. 21.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-moody
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-moody2

How an investor in Japanese anime came to restore a golf course in Lake Bridgeport
Alumnus Daniel Cocanougher is featured and pictured.
D Magazine
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-cocanougher

10+ can’t-miss Houston business and innovation events for December
An article mentions the Dec. 3 Houston Coalition for Equitable Development without Displacement community forum with Rice Management Co.
InnovationMap
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-rmc

Outside the Megaplex: Here are the Houston arthouse movies showing Dec. 6-12
A roundup of alternative Houston-area movie theaters mentions that Rice Cinema will present “Low-Fi,” a collection of unusual films from the Rice Cinema archive, Dec. 12.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-rice-cinema

Entrepreneurship program founded by local honored
An article mentions that Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business is ranked No. 1 in the nation for entrepreneurship studies according to the list compiled by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine.
Fredericksburg Standard (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-jones-school

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

SCI-Arc launches new postgraduate program, Synthetic Landscapes
Timothy Morton, the Rita Shea Guffey Chair in English, is featured.
Archinect
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-morton2020 IEEE RAS Fellow class announced
An article mentions that Marcia O’Malley, the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Mechanical Engineering, professor of computer science and professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been elevated to IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Fellow status for her contributions to rehabilitation robotics and haptic systems.
IEEE-RAS.org
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-omalleyFiber maps faults beneath the sea
Collaborative research that suggests the fiber-optic cables that make up the global undersea telecommunications network may help assess offshore earthquakes is featured. Co-author Jonathan Ajo-Franklin, professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences, is quoted.
Optics & Photonics News
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-ajo-franklin
Cabos de telecomunicações submarinos também podem ser usados ​​para detectar terremotos
Gizmodo Brasil (An English translation is not available.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-ajo-franklin2

Where are Dr. He Jiankui and the ‘CRISPR babies’ now?
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.
ASH Clinical News
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-deem

White House looks to bolster ‘American values’ in US research

Neal Lane, a senior fellow in science and technology policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is mentioned.

American Institute of Physics
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-lane

Programmer Hadley Wickham touts diversity of R community
Hadley Wickham, adjunct professor of statistics, is featured.

TechRepublic
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-wickham

Bun B gets trill about aging gracefully in hip-hop
Rapper Bernard “Bun B” Freeman, former distinguished lecturer at Rice, is featured.
Ambrosia for Heads
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-bun-b

New catalyst uses light to convert carbon dioxide to fuel
An article features Rice research into the efficient conversion of carbon dioxide into pure liquid fuels.
Edgy
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-edgy

Resources for finding PDFs of textbooks
An article mentions OpenStax, a Rice-based publisher of open educational resources.
ULoop
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-openstax

How Apollo 11 brought humanity together

President John F. Kennedy’s “Moon Speech” given at Rice Sept. 12, 1962, is mentioned.
Stock Daily Dish
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-moon-speech

Gulf of Mexico coral reefs to protect from storm surge in the future — but will they?
An article mentions that Rice collaborated on research to determine how climate change will impact reefs in the Gulf of Mexico in the near future.
Phys.org (This article also appeared in 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-coral

4D bioprinting smart constructs for the heart
An article mentions that Rice is a partnering institution in the Center for Engineering Complex Tissues at the University of Maryland.
IEEE Spectrum
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-ieee

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

8 reasons why you must visit the ‘El Anatsui: Triumphant Scale’ exhibition at Mathaf
An article features the artist El Anatsui and mentions that he exhibited the solo show “Gli” at the former Rice Art Gallery in 2010.
ILoveQatar.net
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-anatsuiUC Berkeley researchers find Jupiter’s Great Red Spot is ‘flaking’ but not dying
An article features collaborative Rice research that provided a new explanation for the recently observed shrinkage of Jupiter’s Great Red Spot.
The Daily Californian
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-dc
IIT Delhi selects Indian American entrepreneur Mohit Aron for 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award
Alumnus Mohit Aron is featured and pictured.
India West
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-aronAfter hijab selfie and statement on Islam cost professor her job, Louisiana filmmaker documents controversy
Alumna Larycia Hawkins is featured and pictured.
Nola.com
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-hawkins

New Chattanooga-based company helps doctors ditch employment in favor of private practice
Patients may pay more for health care from doctors who are affiliated with hospitals but not necessarily get better care for it, according to a collaborative study from Rice.
Chattanooga Times Free Press
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-ctfp

SPORTS

Rice has three wins to build on for 2020
Rice’s football program is featured. Head coach Mike Bloomgren is quoted and pictured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Dec. 5 print edition and a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.) 
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-footballLions sign free agent P Jack Fox to practice squad
Former Rice football player Jack Fox was signed to the Detroit Lions’ practice squad.
971TheTicket.radio.com
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-foxOU volleyball: Q&A with Lindsey Gray-Walton ahead of Sooners’ NCAA Tournament appearance
An article mentions that Rice’s volleyball team will compete against the University of Oklahoma in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Dec. 5 in College Station.
The Oklahoman (This and similar articles also appeared in 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-vb
Corpus Christi volleyball products Hans, Voss set to open NCAA Tournament with Texas A&M
Corpus Christi Caller-Times
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-vb2

Texas and Washington among college football’s disappointments in 2019
An article mentions that Rice’s football team defeated the University of North Texas earlier this season.
Forbes (Similar articles also appeared in 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-forbes

Viva the Matadors Q&A: Jett Duffey has capitalized on his opportunity
Former Rice football player Jackson Tyner is featured.
SB Nation
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-tyner

Texas reassigns OC Tim Beck, WRs coach Corby Meekins, fires WRs coach Drew Mehringer
Former Rice assistant football coach Tom Herman is mentioned.
SB Nation
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-herman

Former San Antonio Commanders coach Mike Riley interested in UTSA opening
Former Rice assistant football coach Major Applewhite is mentioned.
San Antonio Express-News (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Dec. 5 print edition.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-applewhite

Women’s swim and dive team looks ahead to US Open Championships
An article mentions that Rice’s swimming and diving team competed in the 2019 Phill Hansel Invitational swim meet.
Tulane Hullabaloo
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-th

Bohls: Texas’ Brionne Butler is a chip off the ol’ middle blocker
Rice is mentioned.
Austin American-Statesman
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-statesman

 

RECRUIT SCOOP: VYPE Hot 100 for 2020 version 2.0
An article mentions that Devin Gunter, Braedon Nutter, Trey Phillippi and Kobie Campbell plan to play football at Rice.
VYPE
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-vype

DeWalt, Huskey have set Texas State volleyball up for recent success
An article mentions Rice’s volleyball team was defeated by Texas State University in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Austin American-Statesman
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-vb

Iowa State bowl analysis: Cyclones’ fate hinges on making sense of Big 12’s jumbled mess
An article mentions that Rice’s football team was defeated by the University of Texas at Austin earlier this season.
Des Moines Register 
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-dmrLocal athletes sign to play at the next level
An article mentions that Maya Bokunewicz signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Rice.
StateCollege.com
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-bokunewicz

NEWS RELEASE

Patient diaries reveal propensity for epileptic seizures
Rice statistician Marina Vannucci and an alumna of her lab have the first validation of their program to assess the risk of seizures in patients with epilepsy. In a preliminary study, their Epilepsy Seizure Assessment Tool proved equally able or better than 24 specialized epilepsy clinicians at using patients’ histories to identify periods of heightened propensity for seizures.
http://dateline.rice/dec-5-news-release-vannucci-study

About Stefan De La Garza

Stefan De La Garza is a news analyst in Rice University's Office of Public Affairs.