Dateline Rice for Feb. 20, 2015

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Republican lawmaker claims Congress has never set limits on a commander-in-chief
Months after the Islamic State emerged as a threat in the Middle East,President Barack Obama has asked Congress for authorization to use military force against the radical Islamist group. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., advocates that Congress should ease restrictions on the authorization for the use of military force and claims that this would be the first time Congress has placed limits on the president’s ability to be commander-in-chief. Richard Stoll, the Albert Thomas Chair in Political Science and scholar at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is one of the sources consulted about the accuracy of that claim.
PolitiFact.com
http://bit.ly/1Ap7JJS

Iwo Jima images still with veteran
Seventy years after the ferocious battle, images of capturing Iwo Jima remain with World War II veterans. Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in history at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Columbus Dispatch
http://bit.ly/1DGwseU

Class is in session: Bun B talks his hip-hop and religion course on Hot 97
Religion and Hip-Hop Culture is a new free edX online course being offered by Rice University’s Center for Digital Learning and Scholarship. Anthony Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and professor of religious studies, and Bernard “Bun B” Freeman, the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning’s Distinguished Lecturer, will lead the course.
Vibe
http://bit.ly/19JJSMc
Bun B Talks hip-hop course on ‘Ebro in the Morning’
2DopeBoyz
http://bit.ly/1CUBrr1

Famed violinist Cho-Liang Lin named artist-in-residence at the Huntington
Cho-Liang Lin, professor of violin, was named the 2015 artist-in-residence by the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens.
Pasadena Star News (This article also appeared in Whittier Daily News, Los Angeles Daily News and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.)
http://bit.ly/1JtXDPe

Egypt courts more trouble with its Gulf backers over Libya
Days after ordering airstrikes on targets of the so-called Islamic State in eastern Libya, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi may be in hot water with his Gulf Arab patrons — not over the strikes, but for comments made in their aftermath by an Egyptian official at the Arab League. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
World Politics Review
http://bit.ly/1z5oC8B

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Activist plans contest for drawings of Muhammad in Texas
Weeks after French gunmen killed people at a newspaper office in retaliation for cartoon illustrations of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, blogger Pamela Geller is offering a $10,000 prize for artists to submit their own drawings of the prophet. David Cook, associate professor of religion, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared on DailyNews724.com.)
http://bit.ly/1AT9jXS

Natural gas heavy-duty trucking fleet could benefit US economy and security, but not necessarily climate
According to a report by Rice University and the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California-Davis, switching from diesel fuel to natural gas may have advantages for the nation’s heavy-duty trucking fleet.
Fuel Fix
http://bit.ly/1vldcCi
Natural-gas trucking: Economic benefits, but mixed environmental effects?
NGT News
http://bit.ly/1Lj81oH

A deadly political scandal could test democracy in Argentina
Erika de la Garza, program director of the Latin America Initiative at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored a blog post about the mysterious death of Alberto Nisman, Argentina’s special prosecutor investigating the country’s worst terrorist attack.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1CUsf5V

Southwestern receives gift of $5.1 million
Southwestern University received a $5.1 million gift to its endowment from Margaret S. Odiorne to fulfill the desire of her late husband, Rice alumnus Truman Odiorne ’71, to establish a permanent scholarship fund for students from the Texas Hill Country in need of financial assistance.
Johnson City Record Courier
http://bit.ly/1JtYXSg

Israeli musician visits Houston Hillel
Israeli musician Shaanan Streett spoke at Rice.
Jewish Herald Voice
http://bit.ly/1zt8aQI

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Announcing Medicine in the Digital Age on edX
Medicine in the Digital Age, a massive open online course focusing on health care’s analog-digital shift, will debut on edX. Kirsten Ostherr, professor of English, collaborated to create the course.
33 Charts
http://bit.ly/1DAIPL8

Justin Guarini, Zak Resnick, Jason Tam and more set for ‘Brave New World’ Musical Lab
Alumnus Andy Einhorn ’04 will serve as music director for the musical adaption of the Aldous Huxley classic “Brave New World.”
Broadway World
http://bit.ly/19JHW6t

Report: Natural-gas market efficiency renders many policies useless
The depth and efficiency of the United States natural-gas market would buffer it against potential local policy interventions aimed at limiting access to shale gas resources, according to a new paper by energy economists at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. 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, is quoted.
Fierce Energy
http://bit.ly/1z5pUQU

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Students’ water conservation idea earns them a trip to national competition
A team from Penn State will compete against a Rice team at BP’s Ultimate Field Trip Competition in Houston.
Penn State News
http://bit.ly/1CSKJkW

Mission to Mars better be serious
John F. Kennedy’s speech given at Rice in 1962 is mentioned.
Inside Brockville (This article also appeared in The Record and Our Windsor.)
http://bit.ly/1w5G3Lv

New college guidance director to join Ranney’s Upper School leadership team
Nicholas Accrocco will be joining the Ranney’s Upper School as co-director of college guidance. Accrocco previous taught a course through Rice’s Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies.
The Monmouth Journal
http://bit.ly/1vOFP5M

SPORTS

Rice women time trial 200 medley, earn 1st NCAA relay qualification since 2001
Rice women’s swimming members have qualified during a time trial swim at the 2015 Conference USA Championships. The qualifiers include Alicia Caldwell, Rachel Moody, Casey Clark and Marissa Konicke.
Swim Swam
http://bit.ly/1z5xDyr

Wade Townsend goes all in
Alumnus Wade Townsend ’05, a former standout Rice Owls pitcher, is now dominating a new game — poker. Head baseball coach Wayne Graham and former players Jeff Niemann and Philip Humber are mentioned.
Sports on Earth
http://bit.ly/1BvfSiU

Late 3-pointers doom Owls, 60-56
Rice University men’s basketball lost to Florida International University Feb. 19. Head coach Mike Rhoades is quoted. Senior basketball player Seth Gearhart, Conference USA Player of the Week, is mentioned.
Memorial Examiner (This article also appeared in the Fort Bend Sun and the Sugarland Sun.)
http://bit.ly/1BuISXY
Recap: FIU vs. Rice
Sun Herald (This article also appeared in The Lexington Herland-Ledger, the Charlotte Observer, the Modesto Bee, the Idaho Statesman, the Sacramento Bee, the Bradenton Herald, the Wichita Eagle, the Telegraph and the Tri-City Herald.)
http://bit.ly/1EdEFYC

Bears coming off win at UTSA Oak Hills Invitational
The Baylor men’s golf team is headed to the Bayou City Collegiate Championship, which is hosted by the University of Houston and Rice University.
BaylorBears.com
http://bit.ly/1ArO63V

Club baseball prepares for conference play
Texas Christian University is prepping for conference baseball play, which includes games against Rice.
TCU360
http://bit.ly/1CUojSP