FEATURED ITEM
Retired Rice University professor and American military historian Ira Gruber dead at 91
An article features the late Ira Gruber, the former Harris Masterson Jr. Professor Emeritus of History, who died Sept. 24 at 91. The article also mentions that Gruber and his wife founded the Ira and Patricia Gruber Research Fund in History endowment at Rice, which supports history undergraduates with summer research stipends. Kathleen Canning, dean of the School of Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of History, and Caleb McDaniel, the Mary Gibbs Jones Professor of Humanities and professor of history, are quoted.
Yahoo! News (This article originally appeared in the Houston Chronicle.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-gruber-canning-mcdaniel
NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
Tony Blair, tapped by Trump for Gaza plan, brings peace expertise and baggage
David Satterfield, director of Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
The New York Times
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-satterfield
Scientists fuse light and vibration to open new ways of controlling energy in devices
An article features collaborative Rice research creating hybrid states of matter. Co-authors include Junichiro Kono, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor in Engineering, professor of electrical and computer engineering, physics and astronomy and materials science and nanoengineering and director of Rice's Smalley-Curl Institute, and alumnus Dasom Kim.
Yahoo! News (This article originally appeared in Interesting Engineering.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-kono-kim
Antarctic icefish rewired their skulls to win an evolutionary arms race, 3D scans reveal
An article features Rice research into Antarctic icefish. Kory Evans, assistant professor of natural sciences, and former postdoctoral researcher Mayara Neves are quoted.
MSN (This article originally appeared in Phys.org.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-evans
How Second Baptist Church sacrificed its democratic principles
Michael Emerson, the Chavanne Fellow in Religion and Public Policy at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
MSN (This article originally appeared in the Houston Chronicle.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-emerson
Strong-arm leaders often get the minority vote
An article features research co-authored by Marlon Mooijman, the Jones School Distinguished Assistant Professor of Management.
Yahoo! News (This article originally appeared in Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management's KelloggInsight.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-mooijman
What academic tenure is really about
An article cites late former President Edgar Odell Lovett's research into faculty tenure.
Time
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-lovett
HOUSTON/TEXAS
10-plus can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for October
A roundup mentions that President Reginald DesRoches will participate in a panel discussion at the Greater Houston Partnership’s' Future of Health Care: Thought Leader Series Oct. 7; and the Houston Methodist-Rice Digital Health Institute will host a launch event at Rice's Duncan Hall Oct. 8.
InnovationMap
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-desroches
The chocolaty drink you need for fall
Alumna Ashley Ugarte is featured.
Texas Monthly
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-ugarte
Kids' Meals sets bold goal: Double daily meals for hungry Houston kids
An article cites a recent Rice study into food insecurity in Harris County.
Houston Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-hc
BROADCAST
President Claudia Sheinbaum's first year: Soaring popularity and tough challenges in Mexico
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.
KTEP Online
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-payan
Harris County flood improvements getting back on track
Bill King, fellow in public finance at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
KTRH Online
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-king
Texas A&M named top public university in Texas in WSJ rankings
An article mentions that Rice is No. 1 in Texas and No. 26 in the nation according to The Wall Street Journal's 2026 Best Colleges in the U.S. list.
Spectrum News (Dallas-Fort Worth)
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-spectrum
Ranking: Stanford tops Wall Street Journal's 2025 best colleges in America
Yahoo! Finance (This article originally appeared in Poets&Quants.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-yf
Houston ISD terminates or reassigns nearly 450 employees as enrollment decline continues
An article cites a March study by Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy into the capacity rates of Houston Independent School District campuses.
Houston Public Media
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-hpm
TRADE/PROFESSIONAL
Rice partnering with Google on broad AI initiative
An article features the news that Rice is partnering with Google for Education to provide access to generative artificial intelligence tools for all faculty, staff and students. Kelly Fox, executive vice president for operations, finance and support, and Raza Dawood, associate vice president for transformational technology and innovation, are quoted.
Campus Technology
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-fox-dawood
Rare-earth materials efficiently extracted from electronic waste
An article features Rice research into recovering rare earth elements from discarded magnets. Co-authors include James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and a Rice Academy Senior Fellow, and postdoctoral associate Shichen Xu.
Design Products & Applications
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-tour-xu
Floating photocatalyst turns sunlight into radicals that disinfect water in minutes
Michael Wong, the Tina and Sunit Patel Professor in Molecular Nanotechnology, professor and chair of chemical and biomolecular engineering and professor of chemistry, materials science and nanoengineering and civil and environmental engineering, is quoted.
Chemistry World
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-wong
Students construct timber pavilions at Woodstock site during BuildFest
An article mentions that Andrew Colopy, associate professor of architecture and director of undergraduate studies, and Chris Humphrey, director of fabrication research, participated in the 2025 Bethel Woods Art and Architecture Festival.
Dezeen
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-colopy-humphrey
Houston Methodist launches digital health training program
An article features the news that Rice has partnered with Houston Methodist to launch a three-year program aimed at expanding Texas’ digital health workforce.
Becker's Health IT
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-bhit
Best business movies and TV shows, according to top MBAs
Simón Cormack, a student at Rice's Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted.
Poets&Quants
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-cormack
SPE honors 2025 International Award recipients
Alumnus John Killough is featured.
Journal of Petroleum Technology
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-killough
Musiqa reveals winners of 2025 Emerging Composer Commission and 2025 Catalyst Commission
An article features alumnus Jaylin Vinson, a graduate of Rice's Shepherd School of Music.
BroadwayWorld
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-vinson
OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST
Bridging policy and practice
Postdoctoral associate Hojung Lee is featured.
University of Delaware News
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-lee
SPORTS
Doggett captures title to lead men's golf at Bayou City Collegiate Classic
An article mentions that Rice's men's golf team won the Bayou City Collegiate Classic tournament. Owls Lukas Boandl and Henry Daly placed second and tied for fourth, respectively.
UHCougars.com
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-boadl-daly
Men's golf moves up 2 spots to finish in sixth at Bayou City Collegiate Classic
GoUTRGV.com
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-utrgv
FAU coach Zach Kittley 2025 Rice gameweek presser recap
An article mentions that Rice's football team is slated to play Florida Atlantic University Oct. 4
The Owl's Nest
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-ton
How to be a real Roadrunner: 5 traditions to know at UT San Antonio
An article mentions that Rice's football team is slated to play the University of Texas at San Antonio Oct. 11.
UTSA Today
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-utsa
49ers rocked by injuries: Harrell out for 2025-26 season
An article mentions that Rice's football team defeated the University of North Carolina at Charlotte 28-17 Sept. 18.
Niner Times
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-nt
Houston Cougars' College Football Playoff chances start vs. Texas Tech
An article mentions that Rice formerly competed in the Southwest Conference.
Sports Illustrated
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-si
NCAA women's top 25: Top teams holding steady in Week 7
An article mentions that Rice's women's soccer team received votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll.
Soccer Wire
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-sw
When UH wins, Cougars all scream for ice cream. Coach Willie Fritz creates new treat for victories
An article mentions that Rice's football team lost to the University of Houston 35-9 Sept. 6.
Houston Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-hc
OBU football gears up for midseason
An article mentions former Rice football player T.J. McMahon.
The Bison
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-tb
UNC football to focus more on high school recruits, Belichick and Lombardi say
An article mentions former Rice football player Chad Lindberg.
Yahoo! Sports (This article originally appeared in The Herald-Sun.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-ys
NEWS RELEASES
Quantum leap: Entangled states enhance energy transfer in models of molecular systems
A study from Rice, published in PRX Quantum Oct. 1, has found that energy transfers more quickly between molecular sites when it starts in an entangled, delocalized quantum state instead of from a single site. The discovery could lead to the development of more efficient light-harvesting materials that enhance the conversion of energy from light into other forms of energy.
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-news-release-pagano-et.al
Antarctic icefish rewired their skulls to win an evolutionary arms race
Antarctica's Southern Ocean is one of the most demanding places on Earth when it comes to survival. Its waters plunge below freezing, long periods of darkness restrict growth and feeding, and food webs shift with relentless climate swings. Yet one group of fish — the notothenioids, or Antarctic icefish — not only survived here but flourished.
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-news-release-evans
Scientists uncover room-temperature route to improved light-harvesting and emission devices
Atoms in crystalline solids sometimes vibrate in unison, giving rise to emergent phenomena known as phonons. Because these collective vibrations set the pace for how heat and energy move through materials, they play a central role in devices that capture or emit light, like solar cells and LEDs. A team of researchers from Rice and collaborators have found a way to make two different phonons in thin films of lead halide perovskite interact with light so strongly that they merge into entirely new hybrid states of matter.
http://dateline.rice/oct-1-news-release-kono-kim