Dateline Rice for Aug. 7, 2025

dateline rice

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Texas Gov. wants Democrats who left state kicked out of office. Can he legally do it?
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.
Forbes (This article also appeared in MSN.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-jones
Houston-area residents voice concerns over new redistricting maps at town hall meeting
MSN (This article originally appeared in KHOU.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-jones
Abbott threatens to remove Texas Democrats from office. Can he legally do that?
The Dallas Morning News (This article also appeared in MSN.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-jones
Texas Democrats ‘fight fire with fire’ amid redistricting push
Spectrum News (El Paso)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-jones
The week in politics (Aug. 6, 2025)
Houston Public Media
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-jones
'4 p.m. newscast for Aug. 6, 2025'
Houston Public Media on Podchaser
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-jones
'It is stripping the voice of the people' | Community members speak out against proposed redistricting maps
KHOU Online
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-jones
How a bomb threat shook Texas Democrats and what it reveals about democracy’s resilience
MSN (This article originally appeared in Wellbeing Whisper.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-jones
KRLD-AM (Dallas)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-jones

Kenneth Tam's 'Silent Spikes' offers a timely look at the cowboy at Contemporary Calgary
Kenneth Tam, assistant professor of art, is featured.
Yahoo! News Canada (This article originally appeared in the Calgary Herald.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-tam

Here's where Houston traffic ranks on a national scale
Daniel Potter, director of the Houston Population Research Center at Rice's Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted.
MSN (This article originally appeared in KHOU Online.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-potter
Houston is climbing a list no one wants to be part of
KHOU Online
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-potter

Kenapa Saudi Giatkan Diplomasi demi Kemerdekaan Palestina?
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Deutsche Welle
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-ulrichsen

University employees have unique financial lives. How one advisor guides them.
Alumna Natalie Pine is featured.
Barron's
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-pine

Glencore needs to dig deep to stop disappointing investors
An article cites Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Bloomberg
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-bloomberg

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Rice University MBA programs rank among top 5 in US by Princeton Review
An article about The Princeton Review's 2025 Best Business Schools rankings mentions that the finance program at Rice's Jones Graduate School of Business is No. 3 in the nation; its online MBA program is No. 5; the entrepreneurship program is No. 1 on the Top 50 Entrepreneurship: Grad list; and the Jones School is No. 6 for "greatest resources for minority students." Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice Business and professor of strategic management, is quoted.
CultureMap Houston (This article also appeared in MSN Money.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-rodriguez

JET Program Pre-departure Orientation and Send-off Reception
Naoko Ozaki, lecturer of Japanese, is mentioned.
Consulate-General of Japan in Houston
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-ozaki

Business Journal recognizes Provost Heather Shipley with women’s leadership award
Alumna Heather Shipley is featured.
UTSA Today
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-shipley

Houston Methodist receives $25M gift, renames department of medicine
An article features late alumnus Charles Duncan Jr., a former trustee emeritus and chairman of the board of governors namesake of Rice's Duncan College and Duncan Hall.
InnovationMap 
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-duncan

Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act. Texans pay the price. | Opinion
Alumnus Maurice Frediere authored an op-ed.
Houston Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-frediere

Patriotic Houston seafood restaurant picks Rice Village for new spot
Rice is mentioned.
CultureMap Houston (This article also appeared in MSN Food and Drink.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-cmh
Class of 2025 embarks on the next adventure
St. Andrew's Episcopal School News
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-saes

UTA expert urges overhaul of flood warning system
An article featuring Nick Fang mentions that he is a founding researcher of the Rice's Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center.
University of Texas at Arlington News
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-uta

How a Dallas investor's East Texas water grab triggered a statewide battle
An article cites a 2021 collaborative Rice report into groundwater use among Western states.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in MSN.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-hc

Shoemaker coach and teacher aims to inspire civic participation among students
Rice is mentioned.
Killeen Daily Herald
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-kdh

BROADCAST

Al Jazeera English
John Diamond, the Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance and director of the Center for Tax and Budget Policy at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is interviewed about President Donald Trump's tariff policy.
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-diamond
Bail out? Tax hike? How will Kerr County pay for billions in flood damage?
Straight Arrow News
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-diamond

Judge Lina Hidalgo's 'penny tax proposal' up for discussion at Commissioners Court
Bill King, fellow in public finance at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
ABC 13 Online
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-king

The IRS says churches can now endorse candidates. That could give Texas pastors more power than ever.
David Brockman, nonresident scholar in the Religion and Public Policy Program at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
KRGV Online
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-brockman

'KPRC Channel 2 News'
An article cites a survey by Rice's Kinder Institute for Urban Research that found that more than 80% of respondents believed the government should act to reduce economic inequality, 
KPRC-TV (Houston)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-kprc
 
TCU launches full-ride program for low-income Texas students
An article mentions The Rice Investment, an initiative offering full-tuition scholarships and grants to students from low- and middle-income families.
KRLD on Audacy
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-krld

'CW 39'
Rice is mentioned.
KIAH-TV (Houston)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-kiah

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Pioneering the future of AI with the Digital Health Institute
Pothik Chatterjee, executive director of the Rice-Houston Methodist Digital Health Institute, authored an article. Ashutosh Sabharwal, the Ernest Dell Butcher Professor of Engineering and chair of electrical and computer engineering, co-director of the institute and a Rice Academy Senior Fellow, is mentioned.
LinkedIn
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-chatterjee-sabharwal

Curiosity Blog, Sols 4622-4623: Kicking off (Earth) year 14 with an investigation of veins
Kirsten Siebach, assistant professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences, is quoted.
NASA
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-siebach

Solidec: $2 million pre-seed funding raised to transform chemical manufacturing
An article features Solidec, which was founded by Haotian Wang, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, Rice Academy Senior Fellow.
Pulse 2.0
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-wang
 
2025 Best & Brightest executive MBA: Patrick Garvey, Rice University (Jones)
An article features Patrick Garvey, a student at Rice's Jones Graduate School of Business.
Poets&Quants for Executives
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-garvey
Best & Brightest executive MBAs: Class of 2025
Poets&Quants for Executives
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-garvey
 
The collegiate and ecclesiastical architecture of Ralph Adams Cram
An article featuring late architect Ralph Cram mentions that he created the master plan for Rice's campus.
JohnCanningCo.com
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-jc

Stella M. Flores
Alumna Stella Flores is featured.
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-flores

GitHub CEO: Future devs will not code, they will manage AI
An article features Rice research into the negative impacts of using synthetic data to train generative artificial intelligence.
The Register (This article also appeared in MSN.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-tr

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Person of the Day | Kiese Laymon’s written creations remain ‘rooted in Jackson’
Kiese Laymon, the Libbie Shearn Moody Professor of English, is featured.
Mississippi Free Press
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-laymon

Burden of US tariffs generates wave of concern
David Gantz, the Will Clayton Fellow in Trade and International Economics at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
China Daily
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-gantz

How China used rare earths and the US playbook to turn on the chip tap again
Kenneth Evans, scholar in science and technology policy at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy and assistant director for innovation policy, is quoted.
South China Morning Post
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-evans

Chemist Francesco Evangelista elected to International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science
An article featuring Emily Huang mentions that she formerly completed a summer research project at Rice.
Emory University's News Center
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-huang

AYLUS Bellaire volunteered at the Genuine Cup Soccer Tournament at Rice University on 8/1/2025 to support athletes with special needs
An article mentions that Rice hosted the Genuine Cup, which promotes inclusion for athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism from soccer teams around the world, July 27-Aug. 2. Rice Stadium is mentioned.
The Alliance of Youth Leaders in the U.S.
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-aylus

Undergraduate students get direct research experience at the UM
An article features Martel College junior Susana Cuadra.
University of Miami's College of Arts and Sciences News
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-cuadra

SPORTS

2025 Summer Magazine Ultimate Preview: Rice Owls
An article features Rice's football program. Head coach Scott Abell is quoted.
Dave Campbell's Texas Football
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-abell
10 bold predictions for 2025 college football season
Dave Campbell's Texas Football
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-dctf

Key games to watch in Week 1
An article mentions that Rice's football team will open the season against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette Aug. 30.
TheAmerican.org
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-ta

WCNN-AM
A broadcast mentions that Rice's football team runs an options-based offense.
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-wcnn

NEWS RELEASES

A smarter membrane for cleaner water
As climate change and population growth place mounting pressure on global water resources, communities around the world are seeking sustainable ways to reclaim water from nontraditional sources such as stormwater, agricultural runoff and municipal wastewater. A team of researchers led by Menachem Elimelech and his former postdoctoral researcher Yanghua Duan at Rice University has taken a major step toward solving one of water purification’s biggest puzzles: how to best design catalytic membranes that simultaneously filter and transform contaminants in a single step. “Our work addresses a long-standing limitation in the field,” said Elimelech, the Nancy and Clint Carlson Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. 
http://dateline.rice/aug-7-news-release-elimelech-duan

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