NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
James Comey's long, strange trip into the jaws of Donald Trump's campaign of retribution
Douglas Brinkley, the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Professor in Humanities and professor of history, is quoted.
CNN
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-brinkley
Eco-friendly technology removes toxic PFAS from water
An article features collaborative Rice research developing the first eco-friendly technology to rapidly capture and destroy "forever chemicals" in water. Co-authors include 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; Pedro Alvarez, the George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the NEWT Center and WaTER Institute; James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and a Rice Academy Senior Fellow; and postdoctoral associate Youngkun Chung.
MSN (This article originally appeared in Phys.org.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-wong-alvarez-tour-et.al
Flash Joule heating lights up lithium extraction from ores
An article features collaborative Rice research developing a method of extracting high‑purity lithium from spodumene ore. Co-authors include James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry and a Rice Academy Senior Fellow; Yimo Han, assistant professor of materials science and nanoengineering; Kai Gong, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and a Rice Academy Senior Fellow; Boris Yakobson, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Engineering and professor of materials science, nanoengineering and chemistry; postdoctoral associates Shichen Xu, Weiqiang Chen, Jaeho Shin and Qiming Liu; research assistant Justin Sharp; academic visitors Yufeng Zhao and Tengda Si; graduate students Alex Lathem, Karla Silva and Shihui Chen; alumni Lucas Eddy and Chi Hun Choi; and former postdoctoral associate Bowen Li.
MSN (This article originally appeared in Tech Xplore.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-tour-gong-yakobson-et.al
HOUSTON/TEXAS
Meth and other stimulant overdoses skyrocket in Texas. What's fueling the trend?
Katharine Neill Harris, the Alfred C. Glassell III Fellow in Drug Policy at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-harris
Houston could reach a $227M deficit in 2027. What is Mayor John Whitmire's plan to close the gap?
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 quoted.
Houston Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-diamond
Why a new Texas-based stock exchange could be a boon for the state's economy
Houston Public Media
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-diamond
Trill Burgers and ChòpnBlọk will collab for 2 nights only
An article features alumnus Ope Amosu and Bernard "Bun B" Freeman, former distinguished lecturer at Rice.
Eater
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-amosu
Texas' $51B gamble
An article mentions a study by Rice's Kinder Institute for Public Research that found that over 73% of Texas schools are underfunded.
The Paisano
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-tp
BROADCAST
Alejandra Salinas, Dwight Boykins lead Houston City Council candidate field in fundraising, endorsements
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. The second article also quotes Dan Potter, director of the Houston Population Research Center at Rice's Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Houston Public Media
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-jones
Houston Mayor John Whitmire opposes property tax increase despite over $100M deficit
Houston Public Media
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-jones-potter
TRADE/PROFESSIONAL
Rice University unveils second cohort of Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows
An article features the newest cohort of the Chevron Energy Graduate Fellowships, a partnership between the Rice Sustainability Institute and Chevron that provides each fellow with a $10,000 award to advance scalable energy technologies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The fellows include graduate students Cristel Carolina Brindis Flores; Davide Cavuto; Jaewoo Kim; Jessica Hema Persaud; Johanna Ikabu Bangala; Kashif Liaqat; Md Abid Shahriar Rahman Saadi; Ratnika Gupta; Wei Ping Lam; and William Schmid. President Reginald DesRoches and Carrie Masiello, the W. Maurice Ewing Professor, director of the Rice Sustainability Institute and a Rice Faculty Scholar at the Baker Institute for Public Policy, are quoted.
Bioengineer.org
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-desroches-masiello-et.al
Revolutionary metamaterial transforms medical devices
An article features Rice research that designed a soft but strong metamaterial that can be controlled remotely to rapidly transform its size and shape. Co-authors quoted or mentioned include Yong Lin Kong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and alumnus Taylor Greenwood.
Today's Medical Developments
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-kong-greenwood
'There are no shortcuts'
Alumnus Charles Baker is featured.
Railway Age
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-baker
OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST
Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation recognized as a global leader in venture creation
An article mentions that the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers is headquartered at Rice.
UConn Today
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-gcec
SPORTS
East Carolina, Rice pick up first swimming and diving honors of the year
A roundup features Rice swimming and diving members Ava Portello and Lily Archibald, who have been named the American Conference's Swimming Athlete of the Week and Freshman Swimming Athlete of the Week, respectively.
TheAmerican.org
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-portello-archibald
Mustangs finish in fourth at Trinity Forest Invitational
An article mentions that Rice's golf team tied for first in Southern Methodist University's Trinity Forest Invitational. GoUTRGV.com mentions that Owl Lukas Boandl tied for the individual title.
SMUMustangs.com
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-smu
Men's golf finishes in 10th place at Trinity Forest Invitational
GoUTRGV.com
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-boandl
Making the most of her opportunities: UTSA soccer's Michelle Polo
An article mentions that Rice's soccer team drew its match 1-1 with the University of Texas at San Antonio Oct. 2.
GoUTSA.com
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-utsa
Roadrunners, Owls draw in conference contest
The Paisano
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-tp
UTSA and Rice meet in AAC play
An article mentions that Rice's football team is slated to play the University of Texas at San Antonio Oct. 11.
The Associated Press
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-ap
2025 college football Week 7 schedule: Channels, how to watch
ESPN
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-espn
A Houston pro sports team is getting a new name and new place to play
An article mentions that the United Football League played games at Rice Stadium in 2024.
KHOU Online
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-khou
Houston's United Football League team rebrands, moves to third venue in as many years
Houston Business Journal
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-hbj
NEWS RELEASES
One year in, Momentous strategic plan accelerates Rice's path toward bold future
One year after launching its ambitious 10-year strategic plan, Momentous: Personalized Scale for Global Impact, Rice is already seeing the transformative results of its bold vision. From expanding student support and reshaping research priorities to investing in responsible artificial intelligence and urban resilience, the plan is quickly moving from blueprint to reality. "One year ago, we launched Momentous — a bold strategic vision to guide Rice University into a new era of excellence, access and innovation," President Reginald DesRoches said. "Today, I am pleased to share that we are not only on track but accelerating."
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-news-release-desroches
Rice announces second cohort of Chevron Energy Graduate Fellows
Rice has named 10 graduate students as recipients of the 2025-26 Chevron Energy Graduate Fellowships, a program created through a partnership between the Rice Sustainability Institute and Chevron. Each fellow receives a $10,000 award to support research advancing scalable energy innovations that reduce emissions, accelerate low-carbon technologies and improve the reliability and efficiency of current and future energy systems. The fellowship program, launched last year, reflects a shared commitment between Rice and Chevron to foster the next generation of energy leaders. At the award reception held in September, Rice President Reginald DesRoches emphasized that the collaboration aligns with the university's mission to drive transformative research.
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-news-release
Flash Joule heating lights up lithium extraction from ores
A new one-step, water-, acid- and alkali-free method for extracting high-purity lithium from spodumene ore has the potential to transform critical metal processing and enhance renewable energy supply chains. This study was published in Science Advances Oct. 3. As the demand for lithium continues to rise, particularly for use in electric cars, smartphones and power storage, current extraction methods are struggling to keep pace. Extracting lithium from salty water is a lengthy process, and traditional methods that use heat and chemicals to extract lithium from rock produce significant amounts of harmful waste.
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-news-release-tour-et.al
Top university programs announced at Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers conference
The Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers, headquartered at the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, brought leading programs together to celebrate creativity and innovation in university-based entrepreneurship education for its annual conference Oct. 2-4 and announced the top programs in higher education. More than 500 leaders from universities and colleges around the world participated in more than 100 breakout sessions, where educators shared their expertise and showcased their programs.
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-news-release-gcec
Rice's Jo receives Moore Foundation Experimental Physics Investigators award
Rice's Gyu-Boong Jo has been selected for the 2025 cohort of the Experimental Physics Investigators Initiative, which supports innovative midcareer researchers in experimental physics. The initiative provides funding for exploratory projects and promotes new collaborations. Jo will receive $1.3 million over five years for his research, which involves studying open quantum systems. In these systems, interactions with the environment reveal new behaviors and opportunities for quantum technologies. His laboratory specializes in quantum simulation and computation, engineering synthetic systems, exploring quantum dynamics in synthetic matter and investigating ultracold quantum gases.
http://dateline.rice/oct-8-news-release-jo