FEATURED ITEMS
Rice University to open Chao College, its 12th residential college, in 2026
An article features the news that Rice's 12th residential college, the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao College, will open in fall 2026. The college is named for the Chao family's foundation, which has supported several other Rice initiatives: the Chao Center for Asian Studies in the School of Humanities; the Houston Asian American Archive; the Asian American Community Study conducted by experts at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research; the Rice360 Institute for Global Health Technologies; the Rice Emerging Scholars Program; Brockman Hall for Opera; and the William T. Cannady Hall for Architecture. Community members quoted include President Reginald DesRoches; trustee emeritus Albert Chao; alumna Anne Chao, co-founder and program manager of the Houston Asian American Archive and adjunct lecturer in the humanities; Bridget Gorman, dean of undergraduates and professor of sociology; and Stephen Bayer, vice president for development and alumni relations.
Houston Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-chao.college
Rice University names 12th residence after gift from Westlake's Chao family
Houston Business Journal
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-chao.college
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
James Talarico's chances of beating Colin Allred in Texas primary — poll
Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor of political science and fellow in political science at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Newsweek
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-jones
With Democrats back at Texas Capitol, Republicans have clear path on redistricting
The National Desk
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-jones
Texans could lose clout in Washington if GOP changes political lines
MSN Politics (This article originally appeared in KEYE Online, and it appeared in The Texas Tribune.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-jones
Rep. Collier remains on the House floor ahead of a redistricting vote on Wednesday
CBS Austin
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-jones
John Cornyn narrowing Ken Paxton's lead in GOP Senate primary, Texas Southern University poll shows
Houston Public Media
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-jones
The week in politics (Aug. 20, 2025)
Houston Public Media
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-jones
KERA-FM
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-jones
African migration: 5 trends and what's driving them
Kevin J.A. Thomas, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, authored an article.
The Conversation
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-thomas
Trump's copper push fails to get the resolution mining CEOs wanted
An article cites a working paper from Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy into how Texas' Permian Basin may become a hub for data centers.
Bloomberg
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-bloomberg
HOUSTON/TEXAS
Peak hurricane season is here. Why doesn't Harris County have an updated FEMA flood map? | Editorial
Jim Blackburn, professor in the practice of environmental law and co-director of Rice's Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-blackburn
Special session 2: House Democrats return, Abbott renews redistricting fight
Paul Brace, the Emeritus Clarence Carter Chair in Legal Studies, is quoted.
Defender
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-brace
Why Houston's streets keep falling apart, no matter how many potholes the city patches
Kai Gong, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and a Rice Academy Senior Fellow, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-gong
Transforming how students think about math
Jones College senior Rachel Parr authored an article about the "Preparing for Success" program for middle and high school students hosted by the Rice University School Mathematics Project (RUSMP) at Rice's O'Connor Building for Engineering and Science. Alumna Joanna Papakonstantinou, a master teacher at RUSMP, is quoted.
Village News (This article also appeared in the Aug. 19 print edition, and it appeared in the print and digital editions of the Southwest News.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-parr-papakonstantinou
Big personnel changes for the Dallas Symphony this season
An article mentions Erin Hannigan, professor of oboe at Rice's Shepherd School of Music.
D Magazine
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-hannigan
Houston universities climb the ranks on annual list of most patents issued
An article mentions that Rice is No. 68 on the National Academy of Inventor's Top 100 U.S. Universities Granted Utility Patents list. Neha Malik, assistant director for intellectual property management in Rice's Office of Technology Transfer, is quoted.
InnovationMap
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-malik
Texas Quantum Summit comes to Texas A&M Sept. 19-20
An article mentions that experts at Rice will participate in Texas A&M University's Texas Quantum Summit Sept. 19-20, with the aim of collaborating with industry partners to identify strategies for advancing quantum computing, sensing, communications and related technologies.
Texas A&M University
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-tamu
Recycling CEO Jordan Vexler transforms family business with innovative logistics solutions
Alumna Jordan Vexler is featured.
San Antonio Business Journal
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-vexler
South Texas Law announces fall 2025 faculty appointments and returns
A roundup features alumna Claire Andresen.
South Texas College of Law Houston
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-andresen
El Paso events: Gold Rush kicks off semester, Book Club hosts borderland author
A roundup features the Balourdet Quartet, which formed at Rice in 2018.
El Paso Matters
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-epm
3 Austin-area universities earn national honors in Princeton Review rankings
A roundup mentions that Rice is included in The Princeton Review's "The Best 391 Colleges: 2026 Edition."
TheAustin.org
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-the.austin
BROADCAST
EEUU envía buques de guerra cerca de Venezuela ¿Qué acciones podrían tomar?
Luis Duno-Gottberg, the Lee Hage Jamail Professor in Latin American Studies, is quoted.
Telemundo Houston
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-gottberg
Growth surges northwest of Houston as new communities take shape
Rice is mentioned.
KHOU Online
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-khou
TRADE/PROFESSIONAL
EVs put Ford and other automakers at a crossroads: Who will innovate the assembly line of the future?
Douglas Brinkley, the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Professor in Humanities and professor of history, is quoted.
MSN Autos (This article originally appeared in MarketWatch.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-brinkley
Turning the tide in America's border and fentanyl crises
Tony Payan, the Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies and director of the Center for the United States and Mexico at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
American Affairs
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-payan
Driving the quantum future: Phononic interference and new materials
An article features collaborative Rice research harnessing the interference of phonons and its impact on quantum computing. Co-authors include Shengxi Huang, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and materials science and nanoengineering and a Rice Academy Senior Fellow, and former postdoctoral researcher Kunyan Zhang.
Securities.io
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-huang-zhang
Bacteria build a better material
An article features Rice research developing a new type of plastic from bacterial cellulose.
Springwise
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-sw
Creating pollution detectors from E. coli
An article features Rice research engineering E. coli to act as living multiplexed sensors.
Springwise
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-sw
Kwong von Glinow successfully navigates Rice University's call to craftily renovate MD Anderson Hall
An article features the renovation to Rice's MD Anderson Hall.
The Architect's Newspaper
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-tan
Texas site to debut e-waste metals recovery
An article mentions that experts at Rice pioneered flash Joule heating.
Metal Tech News
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-mtn
OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST
How local communities shape business responses to social issues
An article features research co-authored by Alessandro Piazza, associate professor of strategic management.
University College London's School of Management
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-piazza
Music in the Vineyards brings world-class performances to Napa — for free
An article mentions that the Pavone String Quartet is based out of Rice's Shepherd School of Music.
The Press Democrat
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-tpd
The MSM Alumni Summer Newsletter: In memoriam (March to August 2025)
An article featuring the late musician Karen Ritscher mentions that she formerly taught at Rice.
Manhattan School of Music
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-msm
Tamaulipas binational climate alliance takes shape at Rice University
An article mentions that the Secretaría de Desarrollo Urbano y Medio Ambiente in Tamaulipas, Mexico, signed a memorandum of understanding at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy with BCarbon, a nature-based carbon credit certifier developed by a working group at Rice, and Earth Carbon, which aims to build science-based carbon credits and fund restoration across forests, coastal wetlands and soils.
Vallarta Daily
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-vd
In Our View: 'Movement' against mail-in voting misguided
An article cites a 2020 study by Rice into mail-in voting.
The Columbian
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-tc
SPORTS
'Houston's Morning Show'
Rice head football coach Scott Abell is featured ahead of the Owls' season-opening game against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Aug. 30.
KRIV-TV (Houston)
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-abell
Ragin Cajuns unveil new Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium
Yahoo! Sports (This article originally appeared in KLFY Online.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-klfy
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns unveil new Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium at Cajun Field
KADN Online
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-kadn
Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium construction time lapse
KADN Online
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-kadn
Rice selected favorite in 2025 American Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll
An article mentions that Rice's volleyball team has been selected as the preseason favorite in the American Conference Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The article also mentions that Owls Lademi Ogunlana, Savannah Skopal, Taylor Preston and Cindy Tchouangwa have been named to the Preseason All-Conference Team.
TheAmerican.org
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-the.american
Quarterman makes All-Academic Team
An article featuring Rice soccer player Camille Quarterman mentions that she has been named to the American Conference All-Academic Team.
The Savannah Tribune
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-quarterman
WSOC: Murillo named SLC Defensive Player of the Week
An article mentions that Rice's soccer team defeated Houston Christian University 2-1 in the season opener Aug. 14.
HCUHuskies.com
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-hcu
No. 1/1 football's Baxter, Clark named to Comeback Player of the Year watch list
An article mentions that Rice's football team lost to the University of Texas at Austin in 2023.
Texas Longhorns
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-tl
NEWS RELEASES
Rice's top innovation exec headed for University of Virginia
After more than a decade of outstanding leadership at Rice, Paul Cherukuri, the university's top innovation executive, will be leaving his post to accept a position at the University of Virginia. Cherukuri, Rice's inaugural vice president for innovation and chief innovation officer, plans to depart from his position at the of end September to become UVA's Donna and Richard Tadler University Professor of Entrepreneurship and their first chief innovation officer.
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-news-release-cherukuri
New statistical tool reveals hidden genetic pathways in complex diseases, paves way for personalized genetic medicine
A collaboration between Rice, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital's Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute has produced a breakthrough in how to study and classify complex diseases. The new method, called the Causal Pivot, gives researchers a powerful way to detect hidden genetic drivers and subgroup patients by true biological causes of their illnesses using new computational tools developed in the research, paving the way for major advances in personalized genetic medicine.
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-news-release-shaw
Rice scientists launch powerful new online tool to streamline mineral identification
Identifying a mineral might sound straightforward: analyze its chemistry, compare it to known minerals and voilà. But for geologists, this process can be a time-consuming puzzle requiring specialized expertise and a lot of manual calculation. Now, a team of researchers at Rice's Department of Earth, Environmental and Planetary Sciences has developed MIST — Mineral Identification by Stoichiometry — the first online tool capable of automatically identifying hundreds of different mineral species from their chemical composition using a carefully designed rules-based algorithm.
http://dateline.rice/aug-20-news-release-siebach-moreland-et.al