Dateline Rice for May 15, 2015

FEATURED ITEMS

UCLA, Rice receive $150 million in gifts as donations flourish
With a $50 million gift from venture capitalist John Doerr ’73 and his wife, Ann ’75, through their private family foundation, Rice University is planning an unconventional approach to developing students into leaders with the Doerr Institute for New Leaders.
Bloomberg
http://bloom.bg/1cDFTlt
Rice U. receives $50 million to launch leadership center
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
http://bit.ly/1bUuSvt
A precious gift
Beaumont Enterprise
http://bit.ly/1Hl1cWB
Businessman Doerr, wife donate $50M to Rice University
KXXV-TV (This Associated Press article appeared in more than 35 publications.)
http://bit.ly/1IFkrZM
Businessman Doerr, wife donate $50M to Rice University
The Magnolia Potpourri
http://bit.ly/1B1aZcF
Ann and John Doerr donate $50M to develop new leaders at Rice University
Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education
http://tinyurl.com/mlxqssh
CBS News’ ‘CBS This Morning’
http://bit.ly/1PnHpdo
KRIV-TV
http://bit.ly/1Gc32rp
http://bit.ly/1JMSPR7
$50M gift to develop new leaders at Rice University
The Stewardship Report
http://bit.ly/1e5wSCQ
Ann and John Doerr donate $50M to develop new leaders at Rice University
My Social Good News
http://bit.ly/1E9E45Y

Cool research into icehouses
David Richmond, who will graduate with his degree in architecture from Rice on Saturday, will spend the next year researching and writing a book on the role of icehouses in the present-day fabric of Houston. Richmond’s research is supported by a $4,500 grant from the Rice Design Alliance.
Houston Chronicle (This article appeared on the front of the Star Living section.)
http://bit.ly/1FoHFnT

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Adventures in Art: Jaume Plensa’s Easter Island-style sculptures take over a 400-year-old basilica
Catalan artist Jaume Plensa’s Rice installation, “Mirror,” is mentioned.
Yahoo!
http://yhoo.it/1d2Rv2l

Massive, fast moving structure seen beneath Tibetan Plateau in earthquake simulation study
A towering rock structure deep under East Asia has been indicated in research work involving 3-D supercomputer simulations using data from 227 earthquakes that hit the region during 2007-11. Min Chen, a postdoctoral research assistant in Earth science, is quoted. The Texas Advanced Computing Center News article also mentions Fenglin Niu, a professor of Earth science; Rice’s Center for Research Computing staff members Qiyou Jiang, Kiran Thyagaraja and Franco Bladilo; and former staff members Roger Moye and Kim Andrews.
International Business Times
http://bit.ly/1L73YgA
Earthquakes reveal deep secrets beneath East Asia
Texas Advanced Computing Center News (Similar articles appeared in Yahoo! India, Vancouver Desi, New Kerala, WebIndia123, the Business Standard, Phys.org and the Times of India.)
http://bit.ly/1PnWr2W

Plan your free online education at Lifehacker U
Lifehacker provides a list of online courses that are free. Scott Rixner, associate professor in computer science and electrical and computer engineering; Joe Warren, professor of computer science; and John Greiner and Stephen Wong, lecturers in computer science, are mentioned for their course, An Introduction to Interactive Programming in Python.
Lifehacker
http://bit.ly/1ICnmnC

Modeling the climate without hurting it more
Krishna Palem, the Ken and Audrey Kennedy Professor of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering and of statistics, discusses his research on inexact computing as a solution to creating a climate-model strategy.
The Bulletin (Oregon)
http://bit.ly/1KRyhak

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Which new Rice University grad will join this list of notable former students?
An article on the Rice commencement ceremony includes a slideshow of prominent Rice alumni.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/1E9qCyN

Gotcha questions got out of hand
An article on Sen. Ted Cruz mentions his mother, alumna Eleanor Darragh ’56.
Alice Echo
http://bit.ly/1Fip4rz

BROADCAST

KHOU-TV ‘Great Day Houston’
In discussion about Project GRAD, a participant mentions attending a summer program at Rice.
http://bit.ly/1e5ji2n

WGN-TV (Chicago)
Hanszen College senior Zack Kopplin discusses his efforts to fight teaching creationism in public schools.
http://bit.ly/1bUhK9D

KHOU-TV
Rice University’s 2015 commencement ceremonies will take place May 15 and 16. The commencement address will be presented Saturday morning by retired Gen. Colin Powell.
http://bit.ly/1JMX0wl

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Rice University, Baylor College of Medicine sign collaborative agreement
Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have signed an interinstitutional agreement to facilitate research and teaching collaborations between the two private schools.
Modern Healthcare
http://bit.ly/1e5ovHl

Gold — the key to simpler solar cell manufacture
Rice University scientists have found a way to simplify the manufacture of solar cells by using the top electrode as the catalyst that turns plain silicon into valuable black silicon. Andrew Barron, the Charles W. Duncan Jr.-Welch Professor of Chemistry and a professor of materials science and nanoengineering, and Rice postdoctoral researcher Yen-Tien Lu are featured.
The Green Optimist
http://bit.ly/1HkXufE
Shortcut for manufacturing solar cells
Controlled Environments
http://bit.ly/1QPfAIn

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

John P. Higgins: Mandatory ECG screening could save young athletes’ lives
John Higgins, a sports cardiologist who has worked with the Rice Owls sports teams, authored this op-ed on mandatory heart screenings for young athletes.
Dallas Morning News
http://bit.ly/1HkWwzQ

The 50 US colleges with the best food
Rice is ranked No. 6 among 50 U.S. universities with the best food, based on Niche survey ratings from students about the quality of both on-campus and off-campus dining options.
The Daily Ardmoreite (Similar articles appeared in the Aurora Advertiser, the Mexico Ledger and the Linn County Leader.)
http://bit.ly/1cDGcNi

SPORTS

Former MLB pitcher is fishing guide in Rockport
Twelve seasons, one all-star game and a world series championship later, Texas native and Rice alumnus Norm Charlton ‘86 resides in Rockport, where he reminisces about his glory days on a fishing boat.
KRIS-TV
http://bit.ly/1ELuNCG

NEWS RELEASES

Rice commencement ceremonies are Friday and Saturday
Rice University’s 2015 commencement ceremonies will take place May 15 and 16. Retired Gen. Colin Powell is the commencement speaker for Saturday’s ceremony.
https://news2.rice.edu/?p=76247