Dateline Rice for Nov. 29, 2016

FEATURED ITEM

Colleges fight for undocumented students
Rice President David Leebron is one of more than 350 college and university presidents who have signed a statement calling for the continuation and expansion of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
KHOU
http://bit.ly/2fI7686
http://bit.ly/2fyCavQ

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Computer security experts back Jill Stein’s US election vote recount effort
Dan Wallach, professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering, is quoted about election security.
International Business Times UK
http://bit.ly/2g1LzIr
Security experts join Jill Stein’s ‘election changing’ recount campaign
The Guardian
http://bit.ly/2gESkAb

Donald Trump’s ‘truths’ often fail the test
Douglas Brinkley, professor of history, is quoted about U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Boston Globe (This also appeared in on Boston.com and MSN News.)
http://bit.ly/2gScTwQ
SoCal-based Cuban composer, and noted historian weigh in on Fidel Castro’s legacy
KPCC
http://bit.ly/2gChqDa

Iraq prime minister says his country will cut oil production
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 Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and lecturer of economics, is quoted about Iraq’s oil production.
ABC News (This appeared in over 50 other media outlets.)
http://abcn.ws/2gfxSZs

15 female candidates ran for parliament in Kuwait’s latest election. Only this woman won.
A study by Marwa Shalaby, fellow for the Middle East and director of Women’s Rights in the Middle East Program at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is mentioned.
Fortune
http://for.tn/2gCoVu0

These office cubicles are being sucked into a small hole
Jonathan Schipper’s exhibit “Cubicle” is open at Rice Gallery through Dec. 4.
Quartz
http://bit.ly/2gfDpzm

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Castro’s death could open more business doors in Houston
Erika de la Garza, program director of the Latin America Initiative at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted about the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This article appeared on the front of the Business section in the Nov. 29 print edition with a different headline, “Change in Cuba called a chance to build trade ties.”)
http://bit.ly/2g1DzHq

In a rare interview, former President George H.W. Bush discusses what Houston means to him
A slideshow includes a photo of former President George H.W. Bush at Rice.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)  
http://bit.ly/2gsFnKt

Local supplier provides tools of the artist’s trade
Rice is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)  
http://bit.ly/2gEB79S

In Houston: Latino faces in powerful places
Leah Binkovitz, staff writer for Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, authored an article about Latinos in Houston.
Houston Chronicle (This appeared in the Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2gEAZHA

Beaumont High School won area’s 1st state title in 1916
An article mentions that Patrick Sullivan attended Rice.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/2gsMimB

BROADCAST

Rice professor talks about baseball team students, himself, living historic moment in Cuba
Rice baseball’s remaining four games against Cuban Federation teams during the team’s preseason trip to Cuba were cancelled, due to the country’s national mourning period after the death of former Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Luis Duno-Gottberg, department chair and associate professor of Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American Studies, discusses the trip.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2fMRKlW

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Richard Tapia receives the AAAS Public Engagement with Science Award
Richard Tapia, University Professor, the Maxfield-Oshman Professor in Engineering and a professor of computational and applied mathematics, won the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s 2016 AAAS Public Engagement with Science Award.
ACM News
http://bit.ly/2gthBxU

Science, education leaders call for a US science adviser
Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy announced recommendations for how science and technology policy should be dealt with in the White House for the presidential transition teams.
AAAS
http://bit.ly/2fyuolS

Bumpy surfaces, graphene beat the heat in devices
Bumpy surfaces with graphene between would help dissipate heat in next-generation microelectronic devices, according to Rice scientists. Rouzbeh Shahsavari, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, is quoted.
Phys Org (This also appeared in Nanowerk.)
http://bit.ly/2gRZ2GS

Pine product offers fresh take on fine chemical synthesis
The goop from pine trees that contains compounds known as terpenes is used in the manufacture of food, cosmetics and drugs, but it might become even more valuable as a chemical reagent made through a process developed by scientists at Rice. Laszlo Kurti, associate professor of chemistry, is quoted.
R&D (This also appeared in Lab Manager, Technology.org, Newsline and BioSpace.)
http://bit.ly/2fygtfD
Researchers create chemical reagents from pine terpenes
Powder/Bulk Solids
http://bit.ly/2gCebfd
Scientists create reagents to simplify production of fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals
Phys Org
http://bit.ly/2gS8tGe

Nanocars driven by UV light
Scientists at Rice and at the University of Graz, Austria, are driving three-wheeled, single-molecule “nanoroadsters” with light and, for the first time, seeing how they move. James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, is mentioned.
Laboratory News UK
http://bit.ly/2gS2IIW

Editing preferences of enzymes may play role in infertility and cancer
To “turn off” particular regions of genes or protect them from damage, DNA strands can wrap around small proteins, called histones, keeping out all but the most specialized molecular machinery. New research shows how an enzyme called KDM4B “reads” one and “erases” another so-called epigenetic mark on a single histone protein during the generation of sex cells in mice. The researchers say the finding may one day shed light on some cases of infertility and cancer. George Phillips ’74, the Ralph and Dorothy Looney Professor of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, professor of chemistry, associate dean for research and associate chair of the Department of BioSciences at Rice, is mentioned.
News Medical
http://bit.ly/2gFt8L2
Enzyme’s ‘editing’ preferences have implications for infertility, cancer
Science Daily (This also appeared in Scicasts, Scienmag and Science Newsline.)
http://bit.ly/2gS59uT

New asphalt technology captures carbon dioxide
A Rice laboratory has improved its method to turn plain asphalt into a porous material that can capture greenhouse gases from natural gas. James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Professor of Chemistry, professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted.
For Construction Pros
http://bit.ly/2g27SxD

2-D perovskite offered for solar cell research
In a step that could bring perovskite crystals closer to use in the burgeoning solar power industry, researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Northwestern University and Rice have tweaked their crystal production method and developed a new type of two-dimensional layered perovskite with outstanding stability and more than triple the material’s previous power conversion efficiency. Graduate student Hsinhan Tsai is quoted.
Eletimes
http://bit.ly/2gFwRrM

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

The fate of the office in the ‘post-work era’
Moshe Vardi, director of Rice’s Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology, the Karen Ostrum George Distinguished Service Professor of Computational Engineering and professor of computer science, discusses the future of automation.
Tech.Co
http://bit.ly/2gsXVKv

Amid rising religious intolerance, an institute’s push for understanding and dialogue
An article discusses Rice University’s Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance. Zahra Jamal ‘00, associate director for community engagement at the institute, is quoted.
A Plus
http://bit.ly/2fI7K5E

Suburban master-planned communities benefit residents
Houston’s suburbs must share innovations, successes and lessons learned from mistakes to ensure long-term prosperity, according to a new study commissioned by Urban Land Institute — Houston and conducted by Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
GlobeSt (Registration required.)
http://bit.ly/2gFAuOn

SPORTS

David Bailiff will continue as Rice’s head football coach
Rice football head coach David Bailiff is discussed.
KRIV
http://bit.ly/2gCoQ9y
C-USA coaching hot seat roundtable
Underdog Dynasty/SB Nation
http://bit.ly/2fynooM

2 Rice students develop baseball sleeve that can alert you to arm injuries before they occur
Will Rice College senior Senthil Natarajan and Sid Richardson College junior Alex Dzeda are developing a high-tech sleeve to help prevent arm injuries in young pitchers.
Sports Illustrated
http://on.si.com/2fydYtO

Dec. 3 grand opening set for San Jacinto Memorial Green
Rice swimming is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)  
http://bit.ly/2gEw4WO
http://bit.ly/2g1DrHX

No Texas football teams in AP poll for 1st time since 1997
Rice football is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Similar articles appeared in over 100 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2gfnHEn
NCAA football: No Texas teams in AP poll for 1st time since 1997
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/2g1EfwB

Peek inside Tom Herman’s coaching philosophy with 2015 essay
An article mentions that Tom Herman coached at Rice.
Hook ’em
http://bit.ly/2gFvh9g
Tom Herman’s 1st recruiting pitch wasn’t to an athlete, but to the state’s coaches
Hook ’em
http://bit.ly/2fMVsMt

3 Richmond Steelers teams headed to Snoop Youth Football League state championships
Rice is mentioned.
The Richmond Standard
http://bit.ly/2gEYIHj

The 7 most important stats from week 12 in the NFL
Former Rice football player Phillip Gaines is mentioned.
The Big Lead
http://bit.ly/2fyjPPK

NEWS RELEASES

Rice’s Shepherd School Chamber, Symphony orchestras to conclude fall semester with performances
Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music Chamber Orchestra and Symphony Orchestra will offer their final concerts of the season Dec. 1 and 2, respectively.
http://bit.ly/2gCCZn4

Bumpy surfaces, graphene beat the heat in devices
Bumpy surfaces with graphene between would help dissipate heat in next-generation microelectronic devices, according to Rice University scientists.
http://bit.ly/2gSeVx9