Dateline Rice for Dec. 17, 2019

Stefan De La Garza
– December 17, 2019Posted in: Dateline Rice

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
Despite strong headwinds, Uber won’t be taxed out of business
Joyce Beebe, a fellow in the Center for Public Finance at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored an op-ed.
The Hill
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-beebe

Will the siege against Qatar end any time soon?

HOUSTON/TEXAS
Global coding, tech education firm expands into Houston
Rice’s redevelopment of the historic Midtown Sears building into the Ion, the centerpiece of an innovation district slated to open in the first quarter of 2021, and Gabriella Rowe, executive director of the Ion, are mentioned.
Houston Business Journal
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-the-ion

BROADCAST
‘Morning Dose’
Bill Fulton, director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is featured in a television broadcast discussing the results of Houston’s mayoral race. Fulton is quoted in CultureMap San Antonio about Texas’ changing demographics.
CW 39 
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-fulton
Bexar County outranks Travis on report of top places for new Texans
CultureMap San Antonio
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-fulton

‘Meltdown’
Cymene Howe, associate professor of anthropology, is interviewed on a television broadcast about how climate change will affect sea-level rise.
The Weather Channel 
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-howe

’13 Eyewitness News at 6 p.m.’
A television broadcast features a study from Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research on the suicide rates of Houston-area residents between 2015-17.
KTRK-TV (Houston)
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-kinder-study

Houston ranked as one of the best cities for students to attend college in the country
An article mentions that Rice is ranked on WalletHub’s 2020 Best Colleges and Universities list.
Click2Houston
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-c2h

Free tuition offered to thousands of Texas students at this university
An article about area college outreach programs mentions The Rice Investment, an initiative offering full-tuition scholarships and grants to students from low- and middle-income families.
ABC 13 Online
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-rice-investment

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL
Connecting the prehistoric past to the global future
A new study shows that climate changes and human impacts over the last 100,000 years continue to shape patterns of tropical and subtropical mammal biodiversity today. Lydia Beaudrot, a data scientist and assistant professor of biosciences, is mentioned.
Phys.org (This article also appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-beaudrot

Researchers report breakthrough in ‘distributed deep learning’
Computer scientists from Rice and Amazon have shown they can slash the amount of time and computational resources it takes to train computers. Anshumali Shrivastava, assistant professor of computer science, and graduate student Tharun Medini are quoted.
The Media HQ
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-shrivastava

Bottlebrush copolymer materials eyed to customize coatings

An article features collaborative Rice research that developed models and methods to refine surface coatings to make them, for instance, more waterproof or more conductive. Rafael Verduzco, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, is quoted. Graduate student Hao Mei is pictured.
Design News
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-verduzco

Hydrogels control inflammation to help healing
An article features collaborative Rice research analyzing how chemically distinct hydrogels provoke the body’s inflammatory response. Jeffrey Hartgerink, professor of chemistry and bioengineering, is quoted. Graduate student Tania Lopez-Silva is mentioned.
Biophotonics.world
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-hartgerink

What makes startup accelerator programs successful
An article featuring the study “The Design of Startup Accelerators” mentions that it was co-authored by Yael Hochberg, the Ralph S. O’Connor Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business.
Newswise
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-hochberg

Rice University appoints first African American provost
Reginald DesRoches, the William and Stephanie Sick Dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering, professor of civil and environmental engineering and professor of mechanical engineering, was named Rice’s new provost effective July 1, 2020.
The College Post
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-desroches

3D-printed polymers’ structures prove harder than diamond — can stop bullets
Researchers at Rice are testing polymers based on tubulanes, theoretical structures of crosslinked carbon nanotubes predicted to have extraordinary strength. Graduate student Seyed Mohammad Sajadi is quoted.
Engineering.com
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-sajadi

Memorial Hermann names Dr. Feby V. Abraham chief strategy officer
Alumnus Feby Abraham is featured.
Becker’s Hospital Review
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-abraham

How new voting machines could hack our democracy
An article cites a 2007 Rice study into voter behavior when using electronic voting machines.
The New York Review of Books
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-nyrb

CELLINK partners with Made In Space for microgravity 3D bioprinting
An article mentions that Rice is a machine-supply partner to CELLINK, a company that develops a range of bioprinters for drug testing and tissue engineering experiments.
3D Printing Industry
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-bioprinting

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST
Jobless rate down but challenges ahead for Saudi economy
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
The MediaLine
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-krane

SPORTS
For Texas’ FBS programs, 2010s were topsy-turvy times
An article features Rice’s football program. Mentioned are head coach Mike Bloomgren; former head coaches David Bailiff, Ken Hatfield and Jess Neely; and former Owls Charles Ross, Chris Boswell, Emmanuel Ellerbee and Jack Fox.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-bloomgren

College basketball report: Week 6
An article mentions that Rice’s men’s basketball team defeated Houston Baptist University 96-84 Dec. 14. Player Robert Martin is highlighted. The Owls will play the University of St. Thomas Dec. 19 at Tudor Fieldhouse.
SportsMap
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-martin

Gary Blair earns 800th win
A caption mentions that Rice’s men’s basketball team was defeated by the University of Arkansas earlier this season.
WholeHogSports.com (This article also appeared in The Eagle.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-mbb
Joe beginning to heat up in December
WholeHogSports.com
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-mbb

The Sunday leftovers — Looking back on a tough weekend in recruiting for UNT
An article mentions that Adam Sheriff plans to play football at Rice.
Denton Record-Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-sheriff

Early National Signing Day 2019: Status of all major NJ HS football recruits (will be updated)

An article mentions that Michael Leone plans to play football at Rice.
NJ.com
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-leone

Texas Tech football: Teams that would make sense for Jett Duffey
Former Rice football player Jackson Tyner is mentioned.
FanSided
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-tyner

‘NBA: The Jump’
A broadcast featuring WNBA player Chiney Ogwumike mentions that her sister Erica Ogwumike plays basketball at Rice.
ESPN (This segment aired twice.)
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-ogwumike

Louisville No. 1 in CB’s preseason poll
Rice was among the teams receiving votes in the Collegiate Baseball preseason poll. An ESPN1420.com article mentions that the Owls will play the University of Louisiana at Lafayette this season.
Collegiate Baseball
http://bit.ly/2Z1ckEf
Collegiate Baseball preseason poll has Cajuns at No. 24
ESPN1420.com
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-espn

Finding purpose on the bench

Former Rice football player J.T. Granato is featured. Former head coach David Bailiff and the late Blaine Padgett are mentioned.
Word & Way
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-ww

Dodgers announce 2020 major league coaching staff
Former Rice baseball player Danny Lehmann is featured.
MLB.com
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-lehmann

Bailey putting up the points for Lumberjacks
An article mentions the Rice women’s basketball team’s Nov. 30 victory over Northern Arizona University.
BurnabyNow
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-wbb

Lady Raiders look to keep rolling
An article mentions that Rice’s women’s basketball team defeated Prairie View A&M University 77-55 Dec. 15.

Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-wbb

NEWS RELEASES
How do silt and sand differ when going with the flow?
New work led by Rice coastal geologist Jeff Nittrouer and postdoctoral researcher Hongbo Ma brings decades of experiments and field observations into focus by showing that riverbed sediment exercises extraordinary control over how much material will be transported downstream, nourishing deltas and coastlines.
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-news-release-nittrouer 

Ancient events are still impacting mammals worldwide
In the first study of its kind, researchers have discovered that events from 20,000 years ago or more are still impacting the diversity and distribution of mammal species worldwide.
http://dateline.rice/dec-17-news-release-beaudrot

About Stefan De La Garza

Stefan De La Garza is a news analyst in Rice University's Office of Public Affairs.