Dateline Rice for March 28, 2018

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

‘Invisible’ no more: How advising programs are finding new talent for top colleges
A growing movement of nonprofit talent hunters and advisers is seeking to raise the ambitions of disadvantaged students and connect them with premier colleges, attacking a widespread problem researchers call “undermatching.” Alumna Sayra Alanís ’15 is featured.
Washington Post (Subscription is required.)
https://wapo.st/2uraukC
Wipro unveils technology center at Texas
Global software major Wipro unveiled a technology center in Plano, Texas. The article mentions that Rice graduates are being recruited.
WebIndia123 (This also appeared in The Hindu, Virtual-Strategy and Equity Bulls.)
https://bit.ly/2GBzzOC
Wipro Texas Technology Center launched with 150 new IT jobs in America
Tech Observer
https://bit.ly/2GcCX2Z

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Months after Harvey, another flood: One of fire ants
Scientists at Rice are trying to measure the impact of Hurricane Harvey on fire ant populations, an invasive species common throughout the South. Tom Miller, the James and Deborah Godwin Assistant Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Sarah Bengston, a Huxley Faculty Fellow in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the Department of BioSciences; and Scott Solomon, associate teaching professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, are quoted. Solomon is quoted in the KUT-AM broadcast.
Houston Public Media
https://bit.ly/2pMRveB
KTRH-AM
https://bit.ly/2E2oSPv (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)
KUT-AM 
https://bit.ly/2pLTZtR (Click the audio button to listen to the broadcast.)
Researchers investigate if Hurricane Harvey helped fire ants spread in Texas
Infosurhoy.com
https://bit.ly/2E0OAEc
Are fire ants worse this spring because of Hurricane Harvey?
Science Daily
https://bit.ly/2pLHSNZ

America wasn’t ready for a female president. Here’s how to change that.
Despite being described by former President Barack Obama as the most-qualified presidential nominee in U.S. history, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost the 2016 campaign for the highest office in the land. That outcome may have been the result of systemic gender discrimination, according to psychologists at Rice. Abby Corrington, a psychology graduate student, and Mikki Hebl, the Martha and Henry Malcolm Lovett Chair of Psychology in Rice’s School of Social Sciences, authored an op-ed.
TribTalk
https://bit.ly/2uqnCqb

A female-led ‘Henry V’ goes up at Rice’s annual BakerShake
Rice’s 49th annual BakerShake, Houston’s longest running Shakespeare festival, is featured. This year the student-run event put on by Rice’s Baker College opted to stage “Henry V” with a female lead in the titular part. Students Molly Hurley and Nonie Hilliard are quoted.
Houstonia Magazine
https://bit.ly/2GCnUPH

Houston investment firm raises $1M tech fund
Houston risks being “shut out” of America’s future innovation economy due to a lack of growth in venture capital investment, according to a report from the Baker Institute for Pubic Policy’s McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Houston Business Journal (Subscription is required.)
https://bit.ly/2GfXeow

Texas factory index declines
Ed Egan, fellow of Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and director of the institute’s McNair Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is quoted in an article on Texas factories cutting production growth by more than half in March.
San Antonio Express-News (Subscription is required.) 
https://bit.ly/2DZGv2o

Census citizenship question draws fire
Steve Murdock, the Allyn and Gladys Cline Professor of Sociology and director of Rice’s Hobby Center for the Study of Texas and former U.S. Census Bureau director, is quoted.
San Antonio Express-News (Subscription is required.)
https://bit.ly/2Gz7PtH

Harmony students named National Merit finalists
Harmony School of Innovation-Katy announced that Morgan Long and Tanner Scott are both National Merit finalists. The article mentions that Rice is one of the colleges Long is considering attending.
Houston Chronicle (This article also appeared in the Katy Rancher.)
https://bit.ly/2uuzw24

Trio seeking election for BISD Place 3 seat
Alumnus Brent Bishop ’98 is running for a seat on the Bullard ISD Board of Trustees.
Bullard News
https://bit.ly/2pO6zbZ

Rice School rocks!
Anne Papakonstantinou, director of the Rice University School Mathematics Project (RUSMP) and clinical assistant professor of mathematics, authored an article on The Rice School/La Escuela Rice. Carolyn White, RUSMP director of elementary programs, is quoted.
The Village News
https://bit.ly/TukJ0i

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Life beyond Earth: No plate tectonics, no problem
Researchers searching for life on removed planets are making arrangements to look non-Earth-like planets in view of disclosures inside our close planetary system that are testing long-standing thoughts regarding tenable zones, plate tectonics and then some.
Tech Explorist
https://bit.ly/2J0ZOMx

These micro-robots do the breaststroke
Rice scientists have discovered what may be the simplest form of locomotion in the travels of micron-scale particles linked and driven by a magnetic field. Sibani Lisa Biswal, associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted. Rice alumnus Di Du, now a research statistical analyst at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, is mentioned.
Communications of the ACM
http://bit.ly/2Gjp2UW

Lithium-metal batteries and the battle against dendrite growth
Scientists from Arizona State University and Rice have devised an ingenious solution for dealing with lithium dendrite growth.
In Compliance Magazine
https://bit.ly/2Gevd0e

Why Red Hat Inc. stock should be at the top of your buy list
Alumnus Dana Blankenhorn ’77 authored a column. Alumnus Jim Whitehurst ’89, CEO of Red Hat Inc., is mentioned.
Investor Place
https://bit.ly/2I9blsa

Rice team created graphene pellets using a simple, scalable process
It’s easy and economical to make shiny pellets of graphite from functionalized graphene, according to scientists at Rice. Rice’s Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology is mentioned.
Graphene Info (This also appeared in Technology.) 
https://bit.ly/2pLKjQC

Consumerism driving changes in health care, study finds 
Rising costs and changing attitudes about convenience and the ability to personalize life choices are driving a trend toward greater consumer purchasing power and individual responsibility in health care services, according to a new issue brief by experts at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
Infosurhoy.com
https://bit.ly/2E2hIe5

Mat baits, hooks and destroys pollutants in water
A polymer mat developed at Rice has the ability to fish biologically harmful contaminants from water through a strategy known as “bait, hook and destroy.”
Science and Technology Research News
https://bit.ly/2GfriAD

Mississippi approves STEMscopes digital science curriculum for grades K-12 in state science textbook adoption
The STEMscopes digital science curriculum has been approved by the Mississippi State Board of Education as part of the state textbook adoption in science. The article mentions that the program was incubated at Rice.
4-Traders
https://bit.ly/2urkn1E

Sabre elevates Roshan Mendis to chief commercial officer for Travel Network
Sabre Corporation has appointed alumnus Roshan Mendis ’97 as chief commercial officer of its Travel Network business.
Travel and Hospitality
https://bit.ly/2pPsTll

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

The Orpheus Effect revisited
An ensemble from Rice’s Shepherd School of Music is mentioned.
San Francisco Classical Voice
https://bit.ly/2IYlvgr

Cultural misunderstandings often stem from black diaspora
The definitions of race, ethnicity and everything in between are often misunderstood. Graduate student Keith McCall is quoted.
Daily Cougar
https://bit.ly/2J1oSDp

SPORTS

Owls capitalize on UH wildness at Reckling Park
The Rice baseball team defeated the University of Houston 4-3 March 27 at Reckling Park. Head coach Wayne Graham is pictured and quoted. Player Kendal Jefferies is quoted, and players Trei Cruz, Ford Proctor, Jackson Parthasarthy, Nick Silber, Garett Gayle and Braden Comeaux are mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://bit.ly/2Ibr6il
http://bit.ly/2GjO1am
Winning streak on the line against Rice in game one of the Silver Glove Series
Daily Cougar
https://bit.ly/2J2mdsU

No. 4 Ole Miss rallies past No. 14 Southern Miss, 7-6
Rice baseball will face the University of Southern Mississippi March 30.
WDAM.com
https://bit.ly/2IbksZr

Baseball team looks to build on early season momentum
Rice baseball is mentioned in an article on Texas State University’s team.
The University Star
https://bit.ly/2J2shla

Where are they now? Rice University trio
Former Rice baseball players Philip Humber, Jeff Niemann and Wade Townsend are featured.
Baseball America
http://bit.ly/2Glxoer

NEWS RELEASES

Gorman named dean of undergraduates at Rice University
Professor Bridget Gorman, chair of the Department of Sociology at Rice University and a magister at one of Rice’s residential colleges, has been appointed dean of undergraduates.
https://bit.ly/2pNNQgr

Rice University announces tuition for fall 2018
Rice University’s undergraduate tuition for the 2018-19 school year will be $46,600. The total cost, including $14,000 for room and board and $745 in mandatory fees, will increase 3.2 percent to $61,345.
https://bit.ly/2E23J8j

Baker Institute experts: Constructive relations between US and Iran unlikely under President Trump
All signs point to rocky times ahead for U.S.-Iranian relations, according to a new issue brief by experts at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
https://bit.ly/2pMbF8w

Rice U. expert available to discuss Secure Elections Act
Rice voting security expert Dan Wallach is available to discuss the Secure Elections Act, a bill aimed at combating hacking and ensuring election integrity.
https://bit.ly/2Glw4Iv

Life beyond Earth: No plate tectonics, no problem
Scientists looking for life on distant planets are making plans to search non-Earth-like planets based on discoveries within our solar system that are challenging long-standing ideas about habitable zones, plate tectonics and more.
https://bit.ly/2IWQqd3