Dateline Rice for March 23, 2015 (Weekend Edition)

FEATURED ITEM

Ted Cruz to announce presidential run
Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor and chair of political science and fellow in political science at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, comments on Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential announcement and Gov. Greg Abbott’s plan to give tax relief to businesses.
USA Today (Similar articles appeared in 16 other media outlets.)
http://usat.ly/1bohbFu
Legislature moves ahead on top business priority: Cutting the franchise tax
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/1CKGWdK

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Sex assaults, drinking push colleges to rethink campus culture
John Hutchinson, dean of undergraduates, explains the benefit of Rice’s residential college system in an article about problems that other college campuses across the country have experienced.
Washington Post (This article also appeared Yahoo! and over 190 other media outlets.)
http://wapo.st/1ECW6y8

Formula reveals if material is tough, strong, stiff
Inspired by seashells, Rice researchers create a design map that predicts the strength, stiffness and toughness of composite materials. Rouzbeh Shahsavari, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, and graduate student Navid Sakhavand are quoted.
Futurity
http://bit.ly/1HrbzEe

Transcript: Read full text of Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign launch
Sen. Ted Cruz mentioned his mother, alumna Eleanor Darragh ’56, in his address at Liberty University.
Time
http://ti.me/1xdsJoS
Transcript: Ted Cruz’s speech at Liberty University
The Washington Post (This transcript also appeared in the Independent and Front Page.)
http://wapo.st/1B9MCt3
Rallying ‘courageous Conservatives,’ Ted Cruz announces presidential bid
Newsweek
http://bit.ly/1BIWr0k
Cruz asks America to ‘imagine’ in presidential campaign announcement speech
Breitbart
http://bit.ly/19fDYBM
C-SPAN-TV (This broadcast also appeared on 23 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/1FRKDie

Dr. Álvarez: ‘Están apurando a ERM’
Pedro Alvarez, the George R. Brown Professor and chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is interviewed about the environmental studies of the Interoceanic Canal.
Confidencial.com.ni (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/1GLWDAr

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Among evangelicals, science, religion not necessarily at odds, study says
Media and popular culture might portray religion and science as being at odds, but new research from Rice suggests just the opposite. Elaine Howard Ecklund, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair and Professor of Sociology, co-director of the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance and director of Rice’s Religion and Public Life Program, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (This appeared on the front of the CityIState section. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1BnOsWF

Rice tuition on the rise again
Undergraduate tuition at Rice University for the 2015-16 school year will be $41,560. Kathy Collins, vice president for finance, notes that Rice tries to keep its tuition about $5,000 to $6,000 less than most of its peers announce and offers a generous financial aid policy to keep Rice affordable to the best students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Wiess College freshman Rachel Ngo is also quoted.
Houston Chronicle (This appeared on the front of the CityIState section. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1EJdOmj

Documentary: James Baker made Washington work
Douglas Brinkley, professor of history and fellow in history at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted about former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker, honorary chair of the Baker Institute, who is featured in a new documentary airing Tuesday on PBS.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1BIY1PR

Klein ISD to ask voters for nearly $500 million
The Spring Tea Party met with Klein Independent School District Superintendent Jim Cain to discuss a bond that would increase taxes. Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/1xVB8YR

Historic downtown school building slated for demolition despite protests by former students
Stephen Fox, lecturer of architecture, is quoted about Incarnate Word Academy’s “1905 Building,” which will be demolished soon.
CultureMap Houston
http://bit.ly/18TefPC

BROADCAST

KPRC-TV
Elena Marks, scholar in health policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, discusses the percentage of Texans living in poverty on “Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall.”
http://bit.ly/1N7Cln6

KCAL-LA (Los Angeles)
Alumnus Brenton Ryan ’11 gives a teaser from his performance in “West Side Story.”
http://bit.ly/1ECR6cW

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Halas, Nordlander awarded Optical Society’s R.W. Wood Prize: Rice University researchers recognized for pioneering nanophotonics
The Optical Society awarded Rice researchers Naomi Halas and Peter Nordlander the prestigious 2015 R.W. Wood Prize for their groundbreaking work in nanophotonics. Halas is director of the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology and the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of chemistry, biomedical engineering, physics and astronomy and of materials science and nanoengineering; Nordlander is professor of physics and astronomy and in electrical and computer engineering.
Nanotechnology Now
http://bit.ly/1BImN2s

NIH awards $5.1 million toward study of human enteric disease
Rice University bioengineers are teaming with colleagues from Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center to apply the latest techniques in tissue engineering toward the study of one of the most common and deadly human illnesses — the stomach flu. Jane Grande-Allen, professor of bioengineering, will participate in the study.
Healio.com
http://bit.ly/1LOD3KC

Students applying lessons to develop safer spacecraft
Alumnus John Olivas ’96 is leading the University of Texas at El Paso’s Center for the Advancement of Space Safety and Mission Assurance Research.
Product Design & Development
http://bit.ly/1BagxBD

A duel between mathematical models supports the reigning theory of the genetics of altruism
Alumnus Xiaoyun Liao ’14 helped test mathematical models that were supposed to be an alternative to the theory of inclusive fitness.
Phys.org
http://bit.ly/1N7nKrD

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

42nd annual Bach Week Festival to feature Brandenburg’ Concertos
Barbara Butler, professor of trumpet and director of artist diploma program, will perform at the 42nd annual Bach Week Festival.
Broadway World
http://bit.ly/1xscB3g

Rice-Jones announces new part-time MBA option
Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business announced the launch of a new part-time MBA program option called “Extended Professional Evening MBA Program.”
Find-MBA.com
http://bit.ly/1FuMhaU

Evictions can take severe long-term toll on families
Eviction from a home can have multiple negative consequences for families – including depression, poorer health and higher levels of stress – and the side effects can persist for years, according to new research from sociologists at Rice University and Harvard University. Rachel Kimbro, associate professor of sociology, is quoted.
Truth-Out.org
http://bit.ly/1OsjXIR

Alberto Gonzales, now at Belmont, relives Bush years
Alumnus Alberto Gonzales ’79 is featured.
The Tennessean
http://tnne.ws/1HlF9uT

Mobile native wins Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
Former Rice student Nick Brownlee is one of five grand prizewinners of the 2015 Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.
AL.com
http://bit.ly/1FRCU3U

Elysian Ensemble comes to the Wachtung Arts Center
Alumnus Samuel Magill ’82 will perform at the Wachtung Arts Center in New Jersey April 11.
NJ.com
http://bit.ly/1B9ZeAE

SPORTS

‘Female athlete tetrad’ can play havoc with young bodies
Will Rice College sophomore Marita Sailor is featured in an article about “female athlete tetrad,” which is the effect of a poor diet on a female athlete’s body.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/19fxXoD

2 Owls set school records in outdoor track and field opener
Students from Rice and other national universities competed at Rice’s Shirley Crowe Combined Events Track and Field Meet in a series of track and field competitions in Houston. Students Evan Karakolis and Duncan Dickerson set Rice records at the Texas Southern Relays.
Examiner.com
http://exm.nr/1DPGhZU
Morrison 4th in Harvard heptathlon history
Independent Record
http://bit.ly/1N1g9gg
Houston opens with big day at TSU relays
Sports Page Magazine
http://bit.ly/1DPwDqi

Saturday’s multi-sport local and college roundup: Monarchs again beat No. 8 Rice in baseball
Rice baseball fell to Old Dominion University 9-8 in a three-day game series in Norfolk, Va.
Daily Press
http://bit.ly/1N1HDCl

NEWS RELEASES

42 teams selected to vie for over $1M in prizes at Rice Business Plan Competition
Forty-two teams hailing from some of the world’s top universities will vie for more than $1 million in prizes at the 15th annual Rice Business Plan Competition at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business April 16-18.
http://bit.ly/1CitVHO

Rice University joins national engineering education initiative
Rice’s Brown School of Engineering is one of more than 120 U.S. engineering schools leading a transformative movement in engineering education announced today at the White House.
http://bit.ly/1Ilpcpt

Rice U. political expert available to comment on Cruz’s presidential announcement
Mark Jones is available to comment on Cruz’s presidential announcement.
http://bit.ly/1xWi10X

Media Advisory: Boko Haram and the Nigerian elections topic at Rice’s Baker Institute March 25
Boko Haram and the Nigerian elections will be the topic of a presentation at Rice’s Baker Institute March 25.
http://bit.ly/1FvxKvJ

Rice to hold news conference on crude oil export ban March 25 at National Press Club
A new study on the effects of lifting the 40-year-old export ban on U.S. crude pricing, energy security and energy sector investment will be presented by Kenneth Medlock.
http://bit.ly/1BaLBkt