People, papers and presentations

David Alexander, professor of physics and astronomy and director of the Rice Space Institute, has been named a Global Scot by Scottish Enterprise, the government of Scotland’s main economic development agency. He is one of around 600 business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives recognized for their efforts to help Scottish businesses in their locales make connections and get established. Alexander said he expects to occasionally advise the government with respect to academic connections and academia-industry partnerships.

Phil Bedient spoke about the benefits of green infrastructure in reference to Tropical Storm Harvey during a news conference held in the Harris Gully Natural Area on the Rice campus. The conference was organized by Environment Texas and Galveston Bay Foundation. Bedient is the Herman Brown Professor of Engineering and director of Rice’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center.

Fred Oswald, professor of psychology, was the closing keynote speaker for the “Principles of Data-Driven Decision-Making” symposium and webcast held Sept. 14 in Washington, D.C. The event was hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.