Dateline Rice for Dec. 14, 2017

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

For prey escaping predators, location matters
If you’re on a beach and threatened by predators, run for that nearby forest. Your chance of survival will rise, if only a little bit. Nick Keiser, a Rice Academy postdoctoral fellow in the Department of BioSciences, demonstrated as much in a study of predator-prey combinations that tested the effect of habitat structure on how prey species’ behavioral traits predict their survival in the face of predation. Volker Rudolf, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, and Julia Saltz, assistant professor of biosciences, are mentioned.
Futurity (Similar articles appeared in Science Newsline, Phys.org, Scienmag, Jersey Tribune, BrightSurf and Follow News.)
http://bit.ly/2j2AdY3

Rules for superconductivity mirrored in ‘excitonic insulator’
Rice physicists dedicated to creating the working components of a fault-tolerant quantum computer have succeeded in creating a previously unseen state of matter. The “topological excitonic insulator” was observed in tests at Rice by an international team from the United States and China.
National Science Foundation
http://bit.ly/2zcpzGT

Automatic course syllabus maker
Associate Professor of History Caleb McDaniel’s “Generic Syllabus Maker” is featured.
Chronicle of Higher Education
http://bit.ly/2AG9o78

HOUSTON/TEXAS

University of Houston to lead new hurricane research center
Rice is a partner in the Hurricane Resilience Research Institute.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. Similar articles appeared in East Texas Review, Florida Trend and Port Technology International, and it appeared on the front page of the Dec. 14 print edition of the Chronicle with a different headline, “UH to lead hurricane research.” The article was included in a previous Dateline when the article was posted online.)
http://bit.ly/2ynbRxc
http://bit.ly/2AiWzLO
KPRC-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2ktUshp (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

Harris County sues drug makers, doctors over opioid epidemic
Katharine Neill Harris, the Alfred C. Glassell III Fellow in Drug Policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted in an article on Harris County, Texas, joining other cities and counties in filing suit against pharmaceutical companies.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Laredo Morning Times, and it appeared on the front page of the Dec. 14 print edition of the Chronicle with a different headline, “County sues over opioid epidemic.”)
http://bit.ly/2jUJ26V
http://bit.ly/2AFNP6x

Think-factory here advises $750 million
Rice benefactor Fayez Sarofim is featured in a reprint of an article that originally appeard in the Feb. 11, 1968 edition of the Houston Chronicle.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the San Antonio Express-News, and it appeared in the Dec. 14 print edition of the Chronicle.)
http://bit.ly/2ATGTjk
http://bit.ly/2C2TWhN

Net worth: What net neutrality’s all about
Phil Shook, a contributor to Rice Business Wisdom magazine, authored an op-ed on the Federal Communications Commission’s vote to undo “net neutrality” rules that guarantee equal access to the internet. 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, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also ran in Houston Public Media and Houston News Info.)
http://bit.ly/2AHXjhS

Farenthold drops reelection to Congress, apologizes for ‘off color jokes’ in his office
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 in an article on Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, opting not to run for re-election. Jones also commented in stories on the state of the Republican party in the Texas House of Representitives, the special Senate election in Alabama, accusations of sexual harassment and assault against Texas state senators and Texas primary races.
Dallas Morning News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2An1Hyv
Which side has the best players in Texas House GOP Family Feud, 2018 edition?
Dallas Morning News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2BjdMse
A win in Alabama won’t translate unless Texas Democrats can turn purple counties blue
Texas Standard (The audio version of this story aired on more than 25 radio stations.) 
http://bit.ly/2ChkDjA
Political Roundup: Doug Jones’ upset win in Alabama, and Texas midterm candidates
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2ADAqfu
KRIV-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2jU6PEd (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
KPRC-TV (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2AGDiIl (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)
No Texas Senator has called for the resignation of 2 colleagues accused of sexual misconduct
Texas Observer
http://bit.ly/2ytzmVu
Texas primary races emerging
KTRH.com
http://bit.ly/2CjtdOU
KTRH-AM (Houston)
http://bit.ly/2kt4xuY (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)
http://bit.ly/2kt4Kyi (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)

In the galleries this week
“Mickalene Thomas: Waiting on a Prime-Time Star” at Rice’s Moody Center for the Arts is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article alos appeared in the San Antonio Express-News and Laredo Morning Times.)
http://bit.ly/2Cd9SPj
http://bit.ly/2iYUbTn

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Low-cost, handheld device reliably detects neonatal jaundice
The first clinical study of a low-cost, hand-held jaundice detector invented by Rice students was a success for NEST 360°, an international team of scientists, doctors and global health experts that is a finalist for a $100 million grant from the MacArthur Foundation. The money would allow the team to carry out its visionary plan to halve the number of newborn deaths in African hospitals within 10 years. Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Malcolm Gillis University Professor, professor of bioengineering and of electrical and computer engineering and director of the Rice 360° Institute for Global Health, is quoted.
M.D./alert (A similar article appeared in Down to Earth.)
http://bit.ly/2o5GcR6

6 Rice students tapped for NY Phil’s Global Academy Fellowship Program
Six Rice graduate students have been selected to participate in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program.The students selected were from the string studios of the Shepherd School: Chloe Yeseul Gam (violin), Andrew Keller (bass), Andrew Laven (cello), Samuel Pedersen (viola), Erica Schwartz (viola) and Siyu Zhang (violin).
Broadway World
http://bit.ly/2zaxwwm

Music Academy of the West selects 10 Zarin Mehta Fellows
Graduate student Michael Marks, a bassist, was named a Zarin Mehta Fellow and will take part in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program.
Broadway World
http://bit.ly/2C25DVY

New book examines what religious Americans think about science
Elaine Howard Ecklund, founding director of the Religion and Public Life Program and the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences, is co-author of “Religion vs. Science: What Religious People Really Think.”
Phys.org
http://bit.ly/2B0QGnL

Nanotechnology takes on microbial drug resistance
Research by the Rice lab of Pedro Alvarez, director of the NEWT Center at Rice University and the George R. Brown Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is mentioned.
NanotechWeb
http://bit.ly/2zdg0rh

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Remembering Pedestrian Pete
Christof Spieler ’97, senior lecturer of architecture, is quoted in an article on former Houston City Councilman Peter Brown.
Epeak (This article originally appeared on the Kinder Institute for Urban Research’s blog, “The Urban Edge.”)
http://bit.ly/2zcC3hZ

Small-batch brewing takes off in a big Texas way
Baileson Brewing Company, founded by alumnus Adam Cryer ’01 and Sarah Pope, is featured
Crain’s
http://bit.ly/2AYHBf1

Leaders discuss how to support family caregivers
Collaboration between Rice and SoftBank Robotics on facial recognition technology is mentioned.
Next Avenue
http://bit.ly/2zbKFFh

SPORTS

Evans leads No. 24 Texas Tech over Kennesaw State 82-53
The Rice men’s basketball team faces Texas Tech University Dec. 16 in Lubbock.
Washington Post (This Associated Press article appeared in more than 40 media outlets.)
http://wapo.st/2BoQkK0
Red Raiders back in the top 25
1340TheFan.com
http://bit.ly/2zakyi2
AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh
http://bit.ly/2ytCSiD (Click the video button to watch the broadcast.)

Fall report: Rice
The Rice baseball team is featured.
D1Baseball.com (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2C6tIed

College soccer player rankings
Rice midfielder Samantha Chaiken is No. 52 on TopDrawerSoccer.com’s ranking of the top 100 players in the country.
TopDrawerSoccer.com
http://bit.ly/2Ao0HKm

New Texas AD Del Conte brings expertise on melding various factions
A story on the University of Texas mentions new Longhorns athletic director Chris Del Conte and head football coach Tom Herman worked together at Rice.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Dec. 14 print edition with a different headline, “Del Conte brings expertise on melding various factions.”)
http://bit.ly/2BmNTHZ
Here’s the biggest challenge new Texas AD Chris Del Conte will face in Austin
Dallas Morning News (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2ATMhmy

How to travel-proof your game
Alumnus Michael Buttacavoli ’10 is mentioned.
Colorado Avid Golfer
http://bit.ly/2jVMNsL

NEWS RELEASES

Climate change made Harvey rainfall 15 percent more intense
A team of scientists from World Weather Attribution, including researchers from Rice and other institutions in the United States and Europe, have found that human-caused climate change made the record rainfall that fell over Houston during Hurricane Harvey roughly three times more likely and 15 percent more intense. The study is published in Environmental Research Letters.
http://bit.ly/2krRdHj

Rice musicians selected for New York Philharmonic fellowship program
Six Rice graduate students have been selected to participate in the New York Philharmonic Global Academy Fellowship Program, part of the New York Philharmonic Global Academy partnership launched in fall 2015 between Rice’s Shepherd School of Music and the New York Philharmonic. The students selected were from the string studios of the Shepherd School: Chloe Yeseul Gam (violin), Andrew Keller (bass), Andrew Laven (cello), Samuel Pedersen (viola), Erica Schwartz (viola) and Siyu Zhang (violin).
http://bit.ly/2ktCyLF

Rice U. study: Dissatisfied parents in public schools 2.5 times more likely to switch to charter schools
Public-school parents who are “very dissatisfied” with their child’s school are 2.5 times more likely to switch to a charter school than parents who are “very satisfied,” according to a new study by scholars at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business. Specifically, among parents who are “very dissatisfied,” 57 percent were “very/somewhat” likely to switch to a charter school, compared with 22 percent of the parents who are “very satisfied.”
http://bit.ly/2yt5xnU