Dateline Rice for Aug. 31, 2012

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

National Public Radio’s ‘Talk of the Nation’
Edward Djerejian, founding director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is interviewed about diplomatic options for dealing with Syria.
http://n.pr/QFdPB2

Have we already colonized Mars?
There is a small chance microbes from Earth may have hitchhiked to Mars. Janet Siefert, senior faculty fellow in statistics, is quoted.
Discovery.com
http://bit.ly/RsEjkk

This telepathic exoskeleton could help stroke victims move again
Researchers at Rice University are looking to help stroke sufferers move their limbs again by using a wearable robot that they can move with their thoughts alone. Marcia O’Malley, associate professor in mechanical engineering and materials science and of computer science, is quoted.
Gizmodo.com (This article also appeared on Gizmodo.com.au.)
http://bit.ly/O6axSX

Turning flood waters into liquid assets
Rice is mentioned in an article about flood water management innovations.
Scientific American (This article also appeared in Fast Company.)
http://bit.ly/PuKaX8

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Romney’s narrative for next 9 weeks aimed at women
Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor and chair of political science and fellow in political science at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in news items about the Republican National Convention, the Texas voter ID law and how other voter ID laws will impact the 2012 elections.
Houston Chronicle (This article appeared on the front of the City & State section and also in the San Antonio Express-News.)
http://bit.ly/O8OnPX
Rick Perry is working hard in Tampa to rebuild his brand
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/PCvJyU
Stop defending voter ID and discriminatory districts
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/NBaH9t
KUHF-FM
http://bit.ly/PuOGVl
How will voter ID laws impact the 2012 election?
NerdWallet.com
http://bit.ly/OxVxOC

Texas universities score well on unconventional ranking
Rice placed 38th in Washington Monthly’s 2012 national universities rankings.
MyHighPlains.com (Amarillo, Texas)
http://myhighplains.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=295922

New Buddha statue has Mona Lisa’s smile
Rice is mentioned in an article about the installation of a statue of Buddha at a monastery in Pearland, Texas.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/PAbSWI

BROADCAST/WEBCAST

KHOU-TV
Phil Bedient, the Herman Brown Professor of Engineering and director of Rice’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center, is quoted in a story about storm planning in Houston.
http://bit.ly/O0Su51

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Nanoparticle offers early-stage treatment to brain injuries
A nanoparticle developed at Rice University and tested in collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine may bring great benefits to the emergency treatment of brain-injury victims, even those with mild injuries. James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry and professor of mechanical engineering and materials science and of computer science, is quoted.
IEEE Spectrum
http://bit.ly/SWaDSo
Nanoparticles quickly stabilize blood flow in brain after injury
MedIndia.net
http://bit.ly/ONCBfj
Researchers might have key to brain injury recovery
Voxxi.com
http://www.voxxi.com/brain-injury-recovery/
Nano-sized package with power to battle brain damage
Examiner.com
http://exm.nr/OMWxyR

Louisiana oil refineries largely untouched by Hurricane Isaac
Ken Medlock, the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and adjunct assistant professor in economics, is quoted in articles about the effects of Hurricane Isaac on energy markets.
PennEnergy.com
http://bit.ly/S2yrF7
Little damage at Louisiana oil port
Columbus Dispatch (Ohio)
http://bit.ly/OC1YlB
US oil industry may escape severe damage from Hurricane Isaac
Offshore-Technology.com
http://bit.ly/OztSve

Huge antenna yields big gain in wireless capacity
New multi-antenna technology could help wireless providers keep pace with the voracious demands of mobile devices by allowing cell towers to beam signals simultaneously to more than a dozen customers on the same frequency. Lin Zhong, assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering and of computer science, and Clayton Shepard, Narendra Anand and Hang Yu, graduate students in electrical and computer engineering, are mentioned.
TVTechnology.com
http://bit.ly/PUCNZz

Could fracking spur a manufacturing renaissance?
Research by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy is cited in an article about hydraulic fracturing.
Modern Distribution Management
http://bit.ly/OBMjPK

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

US Gulf oil industry largely shut down as Isaac nears
Amy Myers Jaffe, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow in Energy Studies at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in an article about Hurricane Isaac’s effect on oil production.
Orlando Sentinel (This article also appeared in the Edmonton Journal and the Regina Leader-Post.)
http://bit.ly/S2DZzu

Rice student leads fight against pediatric cancer
Duncan College freshman James Ragan is profiled for his fight against cancer and work to promote more funding for pediatric cancer research.
Sioux City Journal (Iowa)
http://bit.ly/ONCwZ4

SPORTS

Owls unable to overcome early deficit
Articles recap the season-opening football game between Rice and the University of California, Los Angeles.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/PwHmsy
UCLA gets points across in opener
Los Angeles Times
http://lat.ms/PDM2RL
Laboring to beat Rice is not a promising start for Jim Mora and UCLA
Los Angeles Times
http://lat.ms/PDS4w5
UCLA pounds Rice in Mora debut
CBSSports.com
http://cbsprt.co/QGC69U
Johnathan Franklin runs for 214 yards, 3 TDs in UCLA’s rout
ESPN.com (Coverage of this game appeared on Yahoo.com, FoxSports.com and nearly 220 other media outlets.)
http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=322430242

Rice linebacker Nwosu sets NCAA record
Martel College junior Cameron Nwosu set an NCAA record with three blocked extra-point attempts in the first half against UCLA.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/PDrHMm

College football’s grid of shame
A chart accompanying an article about college football includes Rice.
Wall Street Journal
http://on.wsj.com/PzOiUz

NEWS RELEASES

Sept. 12 is 50th anniversary of JFK’s iconic speech, ‘We choose to go to the moon,’ at Rice University
Working with Centennial Historian Melissa Kean and Douglas Brinkley, fellow in history at Rice University’s Baker Institute, video producer Brandon Martin takes a look at President John F. Kennedy’s iconic 1962 speech at Rice.
https://news2.rice.edu/?p=33492

Rice, MD Anderson scientists probe mystery of operon evolution
The threads of an evolutionary mystery that dates to the birth of molecular biology are beginning to unravel, thanks to a new investigation by computational bioengineers at Rice University and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
https://news2.rice.edu/?p=33493