People, Papers, Presentations

Janet Braam,
associate professor, Dept. of Biochemistry & Cell Biology,
was an invited speaker at the NASA Cell Science Conference,
Houston, March 6-8. The title of her talk was “Regulation
of Plant Gene Expression by Mechanical Force.” She
also was an invited speaker at the Plant Protein Club workshop
“Added Value Products from Plants 2: Cell Wall Components”
at the U. of York, United Kingdom, March 21-23. Her talk
was titled “Arabidopsis XETs: Regulation and Function.”
Lastly, Braam was an invited speaker in the Dept. of Plant
Sciences Seminar Series at the U. of Arizona, Tucson, April
2. The title of her talk was “Regulation and Functions
of the Arabidopsis TCH Genes.”

Bruce Etnyre,
associate professor, Dept. of Kinesiology, gave a presentation
titled “After-Contraction Effects on Reaction Time
and Anticipation Time” at the American Association
of Behavioral and Social Sciences in Las Vegas Feb. 2. With
M. Sabbahi, Etnyre gave a presentation titled “H-reflexes
in Orthopedic and Neurological Conditions” at the American
Physical Therapy Association, Combined Sections, in San
Antonio Feb. 17.

Lynne Huffer,
professor of French studies, Dept. of French Studies and
the Center for the Study of Women and Gender, was appointed
the 2001-2002 Sarofim Distinguished Professor. She will
lead a series of seminars and workshops titled “Knowledge,
Community and Pedagogy in the Age of Globalization.”
The professorship is dedicated to improving teaching in
the humanities, and all members of the humanities faculty
are encouraged to attend workshops, visit classrooms and
take part in the program.

William C.
Martin, the Harry and Hazel Chavanne Professor of Religion
and Public Policy, spoke on “Religion and American
Foreign Policy” at a conference on “Religion in
Public” at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington,
D.C., April 6. Martin also appeared on CNN’s “People
in the News” April 14 discussing evangelist Franklin
Graham.

Kellie Sims-Butler,
a doctoral candidate in the Dept. of Political Science,
was selected as an awardee in the 2001 competition of the
Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship Program for Minorities.
The National Research Council makes the award based on scholarly
competence and promise as a scholar, researcher and teacher.
Sims-Butler’s dissertation, titled “Agenda Setting
in the American States,” is being written under the
direction of Paul Brace, the Clarence L. Carter Professor
of Political Science.

At a recent
Association for College Unions International (ACUI) conference,
Paul J. Sutera, assistant director of the Student
Center, wrote a book review titled “Teaching Ways to
Stop Hate in Children,” which was published in the
March 2001 edition of the ACUI Bulletin.

Entries for
People, Papers, Presentations should be submitted to the
Office of Media Relations and Information by e-mail, <ricenews@rice.edu>;
fax, (713) 348-6380; or campus mail, MS-300. Entries will
run on a space-available basis.