Dateline Rice for March 24, 2017

FEATURED ITEM

Rice promotes Scott Pera to head basketball coach
Scott Pera is the Owls’ new head coach for men’s basketball, Rice Athletics Director Joe Karlgaard announced March 23. Pera and Karlgaard are quoted and Wiess College senior Egor Koulechov is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This article appeared on the front of the Sports section in the March 24 print edition with a different headline, “Owls elevate Pera to top job.”)
http://bit.ly/2nk1rfN
Rice names Scott Pera as new basketball coach
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2n1sERJ
http://bit.ly/2nkf5j2
Rice assistant Scott Pera promoted to head coach, players go nuts
Hero Sports
http://bit.ly/2nPVEQB
Video: Pera named new men’s basketball coach at Rice
CBS Houston
http://cbsloc.al/2mYGBix
Harden hopes Scott Pera gets Rice head coach job
CBS Houston
http://cbsloc.al/2nkpb38
Rice promotes Scott Pera to head men’s basketball coach
KPRC
http://bit.ly/2nQ2lSF
Rice promotes Scott Pera to head coach
NBC Sports
http://bit.ly/2nQEBhb
MBK: Rice elevates Pera to head coach
C-USA
http://bit.ly/2mznwIo
KRIV
http://bit.ly/2nZIRrB
KPRC
http://bit.ly/2nZT5rH
KTRK
http://bit.ly/2nQxbKV
KHOU
http://bit.ly/2nwtYzc
WHTM
http://bit.ly/2nQrjBs
WGAL
http://bit.ly/2nflL05

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Concrete defects could become strengths
Rouzbeh Shahsavari, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, discusses his research on concrete.
Scientific American
http://bit.ly/2nMxDte
NSF-funded Rouzbeh Shahsavari is working on increasing the strength and toughness of concrete to help cut back on its ecological price tag
Science 360 News (This appeared in the Science360 Radio section on the Science 360 News home page.)
http://bit.ly/2mzLq6z

Chuck Berry’s final album: An in-depth preview
Rolling Stone published an excerpt from the liner notes, written by Douglas Brinkley, to the late Chuck Berry’s upcoming final album “Chuck,” out June 16. Brinkley, professor of history, is also quoted about the Lions Municipal Golf Course.
Rolling Stone (This also appeared in Yahoo Music.)
http://rol.st/2nvIXcy
Bill could transfer Lions Municipal GC ownership to state
Club & Resort Business
http://bit.ly/2odE459

Rick Perry calls Texas A&M election of gay student president ‘stolen’
Mark Jones, the Joseph D. Jamail Chair in Latin American Studies, professor of political science, fellow in political science at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and fellow at Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted about Sec. Rick Perry.
USA Today (This also appeared in WXIA and Arizona Republic.)
http://usat.ly/2nklASW
Perry calls for investigation of Texas A&M’s election of gay student body president
Star Tribune
http://strib.mn/2odxag8
Rick Perry saca tiempo de su trabajo en el gabinete para criticar la elección del primer presidente estudiantil gay de una universidad de Texas
Univision (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/2odcsNe

Pianist Jon Kimura Parker hosts ‘This Is My Music’
Jon Kimura Parker, professor of piano, is featured.
CBC Music
http://bit.ly/2nQ8Lkq

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Fortune Magazine names world’s greatest leaders for 2017
Fortune Magazine included Rebecca Richards-Kortum on its list of the world’s 50 greatest leaders. She is the Malcolm Gillis University Professor, professor of bioengineering and of electrical and computer engineering and director of the Rice 360° Institute for Global Health. Tom Kolditz, director of Rice’s Doerr Institute for New Leaders, is cited as one of the expert advisers who made nominations for the list in the Star Tribune article.
Houston Chronicle
http://bit.ly/2mzjn7g
Katharine Hayhoe, Rebecca Richards-Kortum are among Fortune’s top 50 world leaders
My San Antonio
http://bit.ly/2mzF9rt
Minneapolis police chief ranked No. 22 in Fortune’s list of ‘World’s 50 Greatest Leaders’
StarTribune
http://strib.mn/2mzjaRr

Lawmakers hear from victims on bills targeting campus rape
An article mentions that students from Rice participated in a survey about sexual assault.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This also appeared in San Antonio Express-News.)
http://bit.ly/2mza9rJ
Rape survivors share stories with lawmakers
Houston Chronicle (This also appeared in My San Antonio and San Antonio Express-News.)
http://bit.ly/2nLxiag

Harris County drops to No. 2 nationally in population growth, according to Census data
Stephen Klineberg, founding director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research and a professor of sociology, and Steve Murdock, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and director of Rice’s Hobby Center for the Study of Texas, are quoted about population trends.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2nLNhF9

Confusion over medical facilities could cost a bundle
The rapid growth of freestanding emergency departments in Texas has been accompanied by an equal increase in use at relatively high prices that lead to sizable out-of-pocket costs to patients, according to new research by experts at Rice, Baylor College of Medicine, the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas. Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at the Baker Institute and professor of economics, is quoted. Ho also discusses the problems facing MD Anderson in the “Houston Matters” broadcast.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2nevHHh
Freestanding emergency departments in Texas deliver costly care, ‘sticker shock’
Medical Xpress (This also appeared in Scienmag.)
http://bit.ly/2nkm5fE
Freestanding ERs cost Texans more than urgent care, hospitals
Houston Business Journal (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2n1SvZy
Texans overpaid for some medical services by thousands, study says
Dallas Morning News
http://bit.ly/2odKG3u
How did MD Anderson end up in financial trouble and how to turn things around?
Houston Public Media’s “Houston Matters”
http://bit.ly/2n1qPEi

Why do so many black kids have asthma?
Black children are more than twice as likely to have asthma as white children, according to studies conducted by sociologists at Rice. Graduate student Mackenzie Brewer; Justin Denney, associate professor of sociology; and Ashley Kranjac, postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Sociology and Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s Urban Health Program, are quoted. Leah Binkovitz, staff writer for the Kinder Institute, authored the Houston Chronicle article.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This appeared in the Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine.)
http://bit.ly/2nZ7SDg
Study: Black children in Houston at higher risk for asthma
KTRK
http://abc13.co/2n1LM1W

Houston team develops DNA breakthrough that could help solve medical mysteries
A team from Rice, the Baylor College of Medicine, Texas Children’s Hospital and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard has developed a new way to sequence genomes, which can assemble the genome of an organism, entirely from scratch, dramatically cheaper and faster. Erez Lieberman Aiden, adjunct assistant professor of computer science and computational and applied mathematics, and Olga Dudchenko, a postdoctoral fellow at Rice’s Center for Theoretical Biological Physics, are quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This also appeared in LMT Online and My San Antonio.)
http://bit.ly/2nettHR
http://bit.ly/2nvylue
Scientists use new technology to assemble genome of Zika virus mosquito
Phys Org (This also appeared in eScience News and Scienmag.)
http://bit.ly/2nZ1H21
Scientists assemble Zika virus mosquito genome from scratch
Infection Control Today
http://bit.ly/2neS2o2
Assembling a human genome for under $10,000
Technology Networks
http://bit.ly/2odzKCQ
3-D assembly of Zika genome could have significant impact on human reference genome
Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News
http://bit.ly/2neQ6Mh
Scientists assemble Zika virus mosquito genome from scratch
Outbreak News Today (This also appeared in Lab Manager.)
http://bit.ly/2mzgByU

Vivienne Tam’s Houston fashion line now available to the public
Rice is mentioned in an article about New York fashion designer Vivienne Tam.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2odnaDu
http://bit.ly/2mz9WVm

The uncertain fate of the Clean Power Plan and the future of electricity in Texas
Charles McConnell, executive director of Rice’s Energy and Environment Initiative, is quoted about the Clean Power Plan.
Texas Monthly
http://bit.ly/2nkyVdT

The 5 best things to do in Houston this weekend: Drag ballerinas and disc dogs
The Rice Design Alliance will host a tour of six Houston homes March 25-26.
Houston Press
http://bit.ly/2nMbds1

How Houston could turn downtown office buildings into residential like Los Angeles
Bill Fulton, director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, discusses how Houston could turn downtown office buildings into residential living spaces.
Houston Business Journal (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2nkuG1M

BROADCAST

The power of less
Scott Sonenshein, the Henry Gardiner Symonds Professor of Management at the Jones Graduate School of Business, discusses his book “Stretch: Unlock the Power of Less — and Achieve More Than You Ever Imagined.”
KERA’s “Think”
http://bit.ly/2nvBs5t

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Making the world more autonomous
Richard Baraniuk, the Victor E. Cameron Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is quoted about autonomous navigation.
Software Development Times (This also appeared in InterDrone.)
http://bit.ly/2n1sfyC

Gene mutation may be linked to unexplained female infertility
Researchers at Rice, Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital have uncovered a gene mutation that may provide answers to unexplained female infertility.
ALN Magazine
http://bit.ly/2mZ5af6

Artificial photosynthesis steps into the light
Rice scientists have created an efficient, simple-to-manufacture oxygen-evolution catalyst that pairs well with semiconductors for solar water splitting, the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy in the form of hydrogen and oxygen. Kenton Whitmire, associate dean of the Wiess School of Natural Sciences and professor of chemistry, is quoted.
Nanotechnology Now (This also appeared in Phys Org, Scienmag and Nanowerk.)
http://bit.ly/2nZnbMi
Rice team develops oxygen-evolution catalyst for solar applications
AZOCleantech
http://bit.ly/2mZ98Eu
Researchers create efficient, simple-to-manufacture photoanode for solar water-splitting
Green Car Congress
http://bit.ly/2nMm7hr
New catalyst promotes artificial photosynthesis
The Engineer
http://bit.ly/2nZkM4b

New study defines best-known material to capture greenhouse gas
Natural gas producers want to draw all the methane they can from a well while sequestering as much carbon dioxide as possible and could use filters that optimize either carbon capture or methane flow. No single filter will do both, but thanks to Rice scientists, they now know how to fine-tune sorbents for their needs. Andrew Barron, the Charles W. Duncan Jr.-Welch Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science and nanoengineering, and research scientist Saunab Ghosh are mentioned.
AZOCleantech
http://bit.ly/2nvPPqd
Rice team fine-tunes sorbents for carbon capture, methane selectivity
Green Car Congress
http://bit.ly/2nvOz6z
Team refines filters for greener natural gas
Phys Org (This also appeared in eScience News.)
http://bit.ly/2neWQcU
Refining filters for greener natural gas
Nanowerk
http://bit.ly/2nZn2Z9
Rice U. refines filters for greener natural gas
Nanotechnology Now
http://bit.ly/2nMltR1

Data center automation
Rice is mentioned.
Storagecraft Recovery Zone
http://bit.ly/2mZ7JOr

Pulverizing electronic waste is green, clean, and cold
Researchers at Rice and the Indian Institute of Science have an idea for how to simplify electronic waste recycling: Crush it into nanodust. Postdoctoral research associate Chandra Sekhar Tiwary and Pulickel Ajayan, the Benjamin M. and Mary Greenwood Anderson Professor in Engineering and founding chair of the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering, are mentioned.
Waste Advantage
http://bit.ly/2n1QKvv
Chill out — and improve commodities recovery
E-Scrap news
http://bit.ly/2mzFVF5

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

2 Indian-American scholars at Rice win prestigious CAREER Award
Anshumali Shrivastava, assistant professor of computer science, and Ashok Veeraraghavan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, have received CAREER Awards from the National Science Foundation.
Indian Panorama
http://bit.ly/2mYYBcw

5 things that worked for digital marketing until now
A Rice study is mentioned.
Nigeriana
http://bit.ly/2odQAkO

Kauffman honoree examines impact of accelerators on an ecosystem
Yael Hochberg, the Ralph S. O’Connor Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, is profiled.
Silicon Prairie News
http://bit.ly/2nkxThY

Rice U. to abolish the term ‘master’: The reason should be obvious
An article discusses mentions that Rice plans to replace the college “master” title. Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson; President David Leebron; Provost Marie Lynn Miranda; Baker College masters Ivo and Rose van der Werff; Duncan College senior Sam Herrera and McMurtry College junior Caroline Krawczyk are quoted.
Liberty Unyielding
http://bit.ly/2nvGTkK
Rice drops ‘master’ title to promote ‘inclusive environment’
Campus Reform
http://bit.ly/2nf4zYG

Advierten riesgo político
Tony Payan, the Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Françoise and Edward Djerejian Fellow for Mexico Studies and director of the institute’s Mexico Center, is mentioned.
Diario de Yucatan (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/2nLUcy6

Venezuela es uno de los peores países para invertir, según estudio
Francisco Monaldi, a fellow in Latin American energy policy at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is mentioned.
CAN (An English translation is not available.)
http://bit.ly/2nPJze6

SPORTS

Rice advances to WBI title game with win over Idaho
Rice women’s basketball defeated the University of Idaho 86-80 and will face the University of North Carolina at Greensboro March 26. Head coach Tina Langley and players Maya Hawkins, Nicole Iademarco and Wendy Knight are mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2neOXV2
Rice women advance to play for WBI title with win over Idaho
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2n1DUNS
http://bit.ly/2mzbj6i
Owls fly past Vandals 86-80; Advance to WBI Championship Game
CBS Houston
http://cbsloc.al/2nf1c3W
Vandals’ hot shooting can’t save them in WBI
Moscow-Pullman News
http://bit.ly/2nQ5W3b

TSU’s Derrick Griffin to work out at Rice Pro Day
An article mentions that Rice will host an NFL Pro Day March 27.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This also appeared in LMT Online, MY San Antonio and Beaumont Enterprise.)
http://bit.ly/2mYNOPr
http://bit.ly/2n1EkUm

Sorenson: Off the top of my head
Rice baseball will face Florida International University March 24-26.
D1 Baseball
http://bit.ly/2n1ls7Z

Men’s tennis to face C-USA foes in Virginia
Rice tennis is mentioned.
MT Athletics
http://bit.ly/2mYEWtc
Women’s tennis heads to Murfreesboro to face MTS
University of Memphis Athletics
http://bit.ly/2nvzwdh

Red Raiders like Bruffy’s potential for left tackle
An unnamed former Rice baseball player is mentioned.
Red Raiders
http://bit.ly/2nM0HRv

Roadrunners to return home to host Old Dominion for 3 games beginning Friday
Rice baseball is mentioned.
UTSA Athletics
http://bit.ly/2nYYcse
Texas A&M baseball: Aggies set for big series against Vanderbilt
Fansided
http://bit.ly/2mzcEtX

3-star Brant Kuithe on recruitment with brother, upcoming visits
Rice is mentioned.
Rivals (This also appeared in Yahoo Sports.)
http://rvls.co/2odtESR

Track and Field heads to Houston for Victor Lopez Classic at Rice
Rice will host the Victor Lopez Invitational March 23-25.
Texas Sports
http://bit.ly/2mznhgh
Owls host Cougars in crosstown meet
The Daily Cougar
http://bit.ly/2nMdZNI

Texas A&M volleyball announces spring schedule
Rice volleyball is mentioned.
KBTX
http://bit.ly/2nvIFT2

NEWS RELEASES

Rice U. refines filters for greener natural gas
Natural gas producers want to draw all the methane they can from a well while sequestering as much carbon dioxide as possible and could use filters that optimize either carbon capture or methane flow. No single filter will do both, but thanks to Rice University scientists, they now know how to fine-tune sorbents for their needs.
http://bit.ly/2nkCe4S

Artificial photosynthesis steps into the light
Rice University scientists have created an efficient, simple-to-manufacture oxygen-evolution catalyst that pairs well with semiconductors for solar water splitting, the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy in the form of hydrogen and oxygen.
http://bit.ly/2nkFHQN