Dateline Rice for Aug. 7, 2013

FEATURED ITEMS

KPRC-TV
Rice University was ranked by Affordable Colleges Online as having the best return on investment among schools in Texas. Chris Munoz, vice president for enrollment, comments on the ranking. Rice was also ranked by Princeton Review as No. 1 for best quality of life and No. 2 for happiest students.
http://bit.ly/14jh5YC (click broadcast)
KTRH-AM
http://bit.ly/143fbqF (click audio)
KHOU-TV
http://bit.ly/18a6AXz (click broadcast) (The news was also broadcast on KTYX-TV [Tyler, Texas], KJTV-TV [Lubbock, Texa]), KVUE-TV [Austin] and KAUZ-TV [Wichita Falls, Texas].)

5 tips for preventing a data loss disaster
Kamran Khan, vice provost for information technology, and Marc Scarborough, information security officer, offer best practices for safeguarding personal and confidential information.
EDTECH: Focus on Higher Education – Online
http://bit.ly/1425A3l

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Off-grid solar sterilizers could aid remote areas
Researchers from Rice have developed two prototype sterilization devices that harness the sun’s power: one to sanitize medical equipment and the other to sterilize human waste without the need for an external electricity source.
Reuters AlertNet – Online
http://bit.ly/14k9mcL

Victor Lopez elected NACAC president
Victor Lopez, the former Rice women’s track and field head coach, was elected president of the North American, Central American and Caribbean Confederation Aug. 6. Former Rice track and field team members Schwannah McCarthy ’05, Kareem Streete-Thompson ’95 and Ryan Haylock are also mentioned.
Cayman Net News (Cayman Islands)
http://bit.ly/1cv42bl

Are married parents the magic cure for childhood obesity?
Research from Rice University and the University of Houston suggests children living in households where the parents are married are less likely to be obese. Study co-author Rachel Tolbert Kimbro, associate professor of sociology and director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s Urban Health Program, is quoted.
Your Wellness
http://bit.ly/15aPa96

Pepco to Exelon seek rate hikes to guard power grid from hackers
Pepco Holdings Inc. and Exelon Corp. are among the electric utilities seeking authority to raise customer rates or take other steps to recoup costs of meeting U.S. demands to protect the nation’s power grid from hackers. A 2012 report from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy on the threat of cyber attacks on electric, oil and gas operations is mentioned.
Businessweek.com (This article also appeared in Bloomberg.com)
http://buswk.co/142LXZ3

Alberto R. Gonzales fast facts
Facts of the life of former U.S. Attorney General and Rice alumnus Alberto R. Gonzales ’79 are listed.
CNN.com (This article also appeared on Channel400.com, KVIA-TV – Online [El Paso, Texas], WFMZ-TV – Online [Allentown, Pa.], WISN-TV – Online [Milwaukee, Wis.] and WMUR-TV – Online [N.H.].)
http://bit.ly/15Kyz2d

Can you be for-profit and for students?
Frederick M. Hess, the lead faculty member for the Rice Education Entrepreneurship Program, co-authored a review of a new book on for-profits’ role in improving education.
AEI.org
http://bit.ly/13Nk7AV

Tools for learning: Digital textbooks – show me the future!
Rice University’s Connexions open education project is mentioned in this list of digital textbooks and educational resources.
Internetatschools.com
http://bit.ly/16uKD4h

Multimedia: Downtown Tokyo ‘office farm’ takes green building to new heights
Willi Rice College senior Sophie Feng writes about a new Tokyo office building incorporating a green design.
AsiaSociety
http://bit.ly/133yIIm

A frog in the pot: Global food supply
Rice alumnus Gwynne Dyer ’66 writes that developed and underdeveloped nations are ignoring the adverse impacts of population growth, limited agricultural land and global warming on the world’s food supply.
Thompson Citizen – Online (Manitoba, Canada)
http://bit.ly/Thompso12ZXzSI

BROADCAST/WEBCAST

KPRC-TV
Clark Haptonstall, the chair of Rice University’s Department of Sport Management and professor in the practice of sports management, comments on the likely marketing impacts of Manziel’s alleged violations.
http://bit.ly/13k8jGs (click broadcast)

WTTW-TV (Chicago)
James McLurkin, assistant professor of computer science, appears in a segment on teaching kids about robotics.
http://bit.ly/1bbT6ML

KUHF-FM
Terry Grier, superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, mentions Rice University as a possible reviewer of the district’s Apollo program to improve struggling schools.
http://bit.ly/13jxxEL

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

How much does a shale gas well cost? ‘It depends’
Ken Medlock, the James A. Baker III and Susan Baker Fellow in Energy and Resource Economics and senior director of the Center for Energy Studies at the Baker Institute and lecturer of economics, comments on the pricing conventions for shale gas at a recent USAEE/IAEE North American Conference in Anchorage, Alaska.
Breaking Energy
http://bit.ly/1epNSN1

Twisted nanorods are 10X stronger than best circular polarizers
Researchers from Jiangnan University (China), the University of Michigan and Rice University have demonstrated that slightly twisted pairs of gold nanorods have a circular polarizing effect on light that is 10 times stronger than the best liquid-crystal-based circular polarizers.
Laserfocusworld.com
http://bit.ly/1cJVQTb

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Conflict and strategy in the Middle East: The view from Washington
Ambassador Edward Djerejian, the founding director of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, will give a talk in Oslo Aug. 20 on the Middle East as viewed from Washington, D.C., with particular emphasis on Israel, Palestine, Egypt and Syria.
PRIO Network (Oslo, Norway)
http://bit.ly/174MKvG

Sept. 8 at Boston’s Jordan Hall: Pappoutsakis 33rd annual winner’s recital to honor Fenwick Smith
Leone Buyse, the Joseph and Ida Kirland Mullen professor of flute, will help pay tribute to Boston Symphony Orchestra flutist Fenwick Smith Sept. 8 in Boston.
Prolog.org
http://bit.ly/15MgZeb

Classical notes: “Latin fire” date night
Richard Brown, professor of percussion and chair of percussion and harp, will lead his orchestra in a performance of classic Broadway and TV pop show tunes in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Aug. 7.
Planet Jackson Hole (Wyo.)
http://bit.ly/15KyRX1

SPORTS

Day 1 photos: Offense
Owls Insider posts photos of the offense as the Rice Owls kicked off practice Monday afternoon.
Rivals.com
http://bit.ly/13Koa0X

Owls bring their NCAA game to UFV
The Rice basketball team traveled to Canada for exhibition games that started Aug.1.
Abbotsford-Mission Times (Canada)
http://bit.ly/13ETSQW

@HerdWSoccer’s Simmons named 2013 C-USA preseason player to watch
Rice University’s hosting of the 2013 conference USA Championships Nov. 4-10 is mentioned.
Huntingtonnews.net (W.Va.)
http://bit.ly/11LQrq4

Sports Center
The Aug. 31 season opener of Rice football against Texas A&M is mentioned in several articles on the alleged NCAA rules violation by Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.
ESPN.com (click broadcast)
http://bit.ly/19aU1jg
Johnny Manziel: Las Vegas casino won’t take Texas A&M bets
Alamogordo Daily News – Online (This article also appeared in 24 other papers.)
http://bit.ly/130Fggd