Dateline Rice for Feb. 21, 2020

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

How scientists accidentally turned trash into valuable graphene
A video features pioneering research from Rice scientists on creating flash graphene from any carbon source. 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 interviewed. Graduate student Duy Luong is mentioned and pictured.
MSN (This segment originally appeared in “What the Future” by CNET.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-tour

Want to look inside a brain? With transparent organs, you can
Jordan Miller, assistant professor of bioengineering, is quoted.
Wired
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-miller

Good luck hacking my Alexa microwave now
An article features Rice research that developed a technique to make the security of the “internet of things” more than 14,000 times more secure than current state-of-the-art defenses while using far less energy. Kaiyuan Yang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is quoted. Graduate student Yan He is mentioned, and a Rice video is included. Neuroscience News & Research features additional research by Yang into the first neural implant that can be both programmed and charged remotely with a magnetic field. Rice collaborators mentioned are Jacob Robinson, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and of bioengineering, and graduate students Zhanghao Yu and Joshua Chen.
Popular Mechanics (This article also appeared in Yahoo! News, eeNews Power Management and Fierce Electronics.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-yang
Magnetic bioelectronics could make for better neural implants
Neuroscience News & Research (This article also appeared in Science Daily, ODT Mag, Technology Networks, Medical Design & Outsourcing and The Engineer.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-yang-robinson

Algae team rosters could help ID ‘super corals’
An article features collaborative Rice research that has found a potential tool for identifying “super corals” that can tolerate a limited amount of climate change. Co-authors Adrienne Correa, assistant professor of biosciences, and graduate student Lauren Howe-Kerr are quoted.
National Science Foundation (This article was featured in the NSF’s daily newsletter Feb. 21. This story also appeared in a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-18-correa

HOUSTON/TEXAS

‘Fort Worth is only about 40% of the vote’: Putnam plays outsider vs. Granger
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.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-jones
Dallas County’s early voting crystal ball is hazy as always
Dallas Observer
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-jones
Bloomberg has less than 2 weeks to recover from bruising debate performance
ABC 7 News (This article also appeared in 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-jones
Intra-GOP battle for Texas 12th congressional primary wages on
OpenSecrets.org
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-jones

In Democrats’ low-information judicial primaries, gender and ballot names may drive voters’ decisions
Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science at Rice, is quoted in WFAA. Stein is interviewed by Texas Public Radio about Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg ahead of the March 3 Democratic primary.
WFAA Online (This Texas Tribune article also appeared in The Rivard Report and a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-stein
Texas Public Radio 
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-stein (This segment aired on more than 20 stations across Texas.)

Ex-Rice football player pleads guilty in Blain Padgett’s opioid death
The late Blain Padgett and Stuart Mouchantaf, former Rice football players, are featured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Feb. 20 print edition, and it appeared in more than 50 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-hc
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-hc
Man pleads guilty after promising Rice star died in his sleep
ABC 13 Online (This segment also aired 10 times on KTRK-TV in Houston.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-acb13
Blain Padgett
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-hc
Former Rice football player pleads guilty on two federal charges in connection with overdose death
12 News Now (Similar articles also appeared in 10 other media outlets.) 
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-12nn
WOAI-AM (San Antonio)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-woai (This segment aired three times.)

Houston’s wrestling glory days immortalized in Rice exhibit
An article mentions that Rice Media Center will present “Friday Night at the Coliseum,” an exhibit based on the 1971 book of the same name by Geoff Winningham, the Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Humanities in visual and dramatic arts. The exhibit is part of the Rice Media Center’s 50th anniversary festivities; it will be on view from the opening reception Feb. 22 through March 30.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 20 print edition and a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-winningham-rice-media

Opera in the Heights, Musiqa team for two productions
An article features the following events at Rice or by Rice faculty: Opera in the Heights’ presentation of “The Leader” by Karim Al-Zand, associate professor of composition and theory at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, and “Kassandra” by Anthony Brandt, professor of composition and theory, Feb. 23 and 29. The double-sided set used in the operas was designed by Jesús Vassallo, the Gus Wortham Assistant Professor of Architecture.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 20 print edition and a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-al-zand-brandt-vassallo

What’s up at Houston galleries
An arts roundup mentions that Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts is exhibiting “Radical Revisionists: Contemporary African Artists Confronting Past and Present” through May 16.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Feb. 20 print edition.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-moody-center

Here are your Houston arthouse film showings
A roundup mentions that Rice Cinema will present the following screenings: “Once I Moved Like the Wind: Geronimo’s Final Surrender” Feb. 21; Low-Fi: Canyon Cinema 16 mm Selections, a collection of unusual films from the Rice Cinema archive, Feb. 27; and avant-garde 16 mm films curated by Seth Mitter Feb. 28.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Feb. 20 print edition.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-rice-cinema

BROADCAST

‘Central Texas News Now’
Rice is mentioned.
KXXV-TV (Waco, Texas)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-kxxv (This segment aired four times.)

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Electric vehicles are evolutionary, not revolutionary, says Baker Institute expert
Tesla will disrupt the automotive industry only if it is able to achieve scale, according to a new issue brief by Gabriel Collins, the Baker Botts Fellow in Energy and Environmental Regulatory Affairs at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
FleetBusiness.com
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-collins

There they go again: Energy Department disses the future of renewables
Daniel Cohan, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is quoted.
EWG.org
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-cohan

U of Southern California to offer free tuition for families earning up to $80K
An article mentions the Rice Investment, an initiative offering full-tuition scholarships and grants to students from low- and middle-income families. Rice is featured in a slideshow in a Houston Chronicle story about the University of Southern California’s tuition plan.
Education Dive
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-ed
Free USC tuition to students with $80K or less family income
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-hc

A very hot year
An article mentions that former President Barack Obama spoke at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy’s 25th anniversary celebration.
The New York Review of Books (Subscription is required. This article will also be featured on the cover of the March 12 print edition.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-obama-baker-inst

UCLA develops ice-preventing coating
An article cites 2016 Rice research into developing an epoxy coating infused with graphene nanoribbons that helped to melt ice.
Paint Square
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-ps

Flood buyouts benefit the whitest at-risk neighborhoods
The federal flood buyout program disproportionally benefits the whitest communities of America’s largest cities, according to Jim Elliott, professor of sociology and fellow at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research. The research is mentioned in Sierra.
Homeland Security News Wire
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-elliott
ICYMI: Bezos’s billions, damming the North Sea, koala calamity & more
Sierra (A similar article also appeared in Prevention Web.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-sierra

A musical performance and talk featuring jazz pianist Ted Rosenthal
Alumna Sishel Claverie is featured.
New Jersey Stage
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-njs

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

The Seattle Opera welcomes Kelly Kuo, who will conduct ‘Charlie Parker’s Yardbird’
Larry Rachleff, the Walter Kris Hubert Professor of Orchestral Conducting at Rice’s Shepherd School of Music, is mentioned.
International Examiner
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-rachleff

Regents roundup — February 2020
An article mentions that Hollis Showalter completed a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellowship at Rice from 1974-76.
University of Michigan’s Record
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-umr

New dean talks about supporting Stanford students
An article features Mona Hicks, former director of the Women’s Resource Center and director of student activities at Rice.
Stanford University News
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-sn

The emergence of calculus: A mathematical journey of human thought
President John F. Kennedy’s “moon speech” given at Rice Sept. 12, 1962, is mentioned.
Medium
http://dateline.rice/feb-21-kennedy

SPORTS

‘Just know that I gave Rice my all’: Rice basketball’s Ako Adams reflects on career
Rice basketball player Ako Adams is featured and pictured in Click2Houston. Head coach Scott Pera is mentioned. An Associated Press article mentions that Rice’s men’s basketball team will play the University of Texas at El Paso Feb. 22. Owls Ako Adams, Robert Martin, Josh Parrish and Drew Peterson are mentioned.
Click2Houston
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-ako-adams
UTEP looks to end streak vs. Rice
The Associated Press (This article also appeared in more than 50 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-mbb
UTEP men’s hoops hosts Rice on Saturday at the Don
El Paso Herald-Post
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-mbb

Can SEC topple Pac-12 as best women’s basketball conference? Kentucky holds the key

Rice basketball player Erica Ogwumike is featured and pictured in ESPN. A sports roundup from the Houston Chronicle mentions that Rice’s women’s basketball team defeated the University of North Texas 69-66 Feb. 20. Ogwumike and fellow Owls Sydne Wiggins and Lauren Schwartz are highlighted.
ESPN
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-ogwumike
Post duo leads A&M to victory
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Feb. 20 print edition.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-wbb
Women’s basketball: Rice rallies to hand UNT another loss
Denton Record-Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-wbb

XC: 13 teams garner All-Academic distinction
An article mentions that the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association’s 2019 NCAA Division I All-Academic honorees include Owls Grace Forbes and Khayla Patel. Rice’s men’s and women’s teams were included in the All-Academic Teams.
Conference USA
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-forbes-patel

SWIM: All-Academic Team announced
An article mentions that Owls Brittany Bui and Cailey Renken made the 2020 Conference USA Swimming and Diving All-Academic team.
Conference USA
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-bui-renken

The Recruiting Guy: Arkansas shows interest in Arkansas
Rice is mentioned.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (This article also appeared in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and Whole Hog Sports.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-adg

No. 13 Texas A&M men’s tennis team to host Rice on Friday
An article mentions that Rice’s men’s tennis team will play Texas A&M University Feb. 22.
The Eagle (This article also appeared in The Battalion and KBTX Online.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-eagle

Bearkats looking to build momentum in matchup with Loyola Marymount
An article mentions that the Rice baseball team’s Feb. 18 game against Sam Houston State University was postponed.
The Huntsville Item
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-hi

N. Texas looks to extend streak vs. La. Tech
An article mentions that Rice’s men’s basketball team defeated the University of North Texas Feb. 1.
The Associated Press (This article also appeared in more than 50 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-ap-mbb

411 on the Forty: Texas baseball, softball start season undefeated
An article mentions that Rice’s baseball team was swept by the University of Texas at Austin in their three-game, season-opening series Feb. 14-16 at Reckling Park.
Horns Illustrated
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-hi

ITF: 2020 championships begin Saturday
A Rice track and field athlete is pictured.
Conference USA
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-cusa

21 NW Houston athletes named to TSWA 6A all-state football teams
An article mentions that Braedon Nutter signed to play football at Rice.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in more than 25 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-hc
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-hc
Cy-Fair taps Rockdale’s Jeff Miller as next football coach
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/feb-20-hc

About Stefan De La Garza

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