Dateline Rice for July 21, 2020

COVID-19 PANDEMIC

178,000 Cigna planholders to stay in-network at Memorial Hermann
Vivian Ho, the James A. Baker III Institute Chair in Health Economics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Health and Biosciences, is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared on the front of the Business section in the July 21 print edition of the Chronicle, and it appeared online in MSN, San Antonio Express-News and San Francisco Chronicle.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-ho

Tomball’s BJ Services files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Michelle Michot Foss, fellow in energy and minerals in the Center for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is cited.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared on the front of the Business section in the July 21 print edition.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-foss

Rice University students collaborate on COVID-19 solutions
An article features the Rice 360° Institute for Global Health, which collaborated with institutes in Malawi on six projects to mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Rice community members quoted or mentioned include Rebecca Richards-Kortum, the Malcolm Gillis University Professor, professor of bioengineering and director of Rice 360º; Maria Oden, a full teaching professor in bioengineering, director of the Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen and co-director of Rice 360°; Lovett College seniors Hannah Andersen and Nimisha Krishnaswamy; Lovett College junior Ben Zaltsman; and McMurtry College senior Alex Lammers.
InnovationMap
http://dateline.rice/july-21-kortum-oden

How a record number of lawsuits are setting the course for America’s COVID-19 election

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. 

The Columbus Dispatch (This USA Today article was included in a previous edition of Dateline.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-jones

URTeC 2020: Opening-session speakers see industry recovering, but ESG issues loom large
An article mentions that Ken Medlock, senior director of the Center for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, was a featured speaker at the virtual Unconventional Resources Technology Conference.
World Oil
http://dateline.rice/july-21-medlock

NY-27 race portends a presidential election night like no other
Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, is quoted.
The Buffalo News (This article appeared in the July 21 print edition and a previous edition of Dateline.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-stein

Opening campuses is risky. The alternative is worse.
Several articles mention Rice’s plan to hold some classes outdoors in tents to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Kevin Kirby, vice president for administration, is quoted in the Sonoma Index-Tribune.
Bloomberg (This article also appeared in Bloomberg BNN, Bloomberg Quint, MSN Money, Yahoo! News and Yahoo! Finance.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-tents
Lorna Sheridan: Education roundup, July 22

The extraordinary expenses of campus reopenings
University Business
http://dateline.rice/july-21-tents
With college looming, experts answer 6 of parents’ most pressing questions
Omaha World-Herald (This Los Angeles Times article also appeared in the July 21 print editions of the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer and the Tacoma News Tribune.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-tents

3 challenges facing Harris County’s election office leading up to the November election
An article cites Rice research that surveyed poll workers and potential voters in Harris County to gauge their willingness to participate during a pandemic.
Community Impact Newspaper
http://dateline.rice/july-21-rice-survey

Guest editorial: Pandemic adding more stress to housing crisis
An article cites 2019 research by Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research into the nation’s housing markets.
The Lewiston Tribune (This article appeared in yesterday’s Dateline.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-kinder-study

Austin Bost excels in taste of A&M baseball, ready for more action
An article mentions that Rice’s baseball team was defeated by Texas A&M University March 10; it was the Owls’ last game of the shortened season.
The News
http://dateline.rice/july-21-rice-baseball

For the love of soccer: RRHS’s Shepard reminisces
Former Rice soccer player John Shepard is featured.
Albuquerque Journal (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the July 19 print edition of the Rio Rancho Observer.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-shepard

RACE IN THE U.S.

Drawing the full picture: Former A&M student wins Pulitzer Prize in History
An article features Caleb McDaniel, associate professor of history, who discusses his Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution.”
The Eagle
http://dateline.rice/july-21-mcdaniel

Black and Hispanic computer scientists have degrees from top universities, but don’t get hired in tech
An article mentions that Rice has a large number of Latinx computer science students.
USA Today (This article also appeared in 10 other media outlets.) 
http://dateline.rice/july-21-usa-today

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Four takeaways from the Chevron-Noble deal
An article quotes Francisco Monaldi, fellow in Latin American energy policy at the Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Energy Studies, Center for the United States and Mexico and Latin America Initiative and a lecturer in energy economics.
Financial Times (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-monaldi

Abundant, but not. Australia’s gas policy problem
Kelly Neill, graduate fellow at the Center for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, authored an article.
Forbes
http://dateline.rice/july-21-neill

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Houston researcher looks into why some companies thrive in volatile markets
An article features research by Gustavo Grullon, the Jesse H. Jones Chair of Finance at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business.
InnovationMap (This article originally appeared in Rice Business Wisdom.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-grullon

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

E&T Engineering (This article also appeared in 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-alvarez

Long-term investors should put Ayro stock on their radar screen
Gabriel Collins, the Baker Botts Fellow in Energy and Environmental Regulatory Affairs at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
InvestorPlace (This article also appeared in Markets Insider and Business Insider.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-collins

Marcus & Millichap expands Houston office
An article features graduate student Travis Austin.
Multi-Housing News
http://dateline.rice/july-21-austin

SPORTS

5 C-USA programs garner NABC Team Academic Excellence Award
An article mentions that Rice’s men’s basketball team is a recipient of the National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence Award. The second article mentions that alumnus and former men’s basketball player Timothy Harrison and former Owl and current graduate student Addison Owen were named to the NABC Honors Court, which honors junior or senior student athletes with a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher.
Conference USA
http://dateline.rice/july-21-mbb

MBB: 16 named to NABC Honors Court

Conference USA
http://dateline.rice/july-21-harrison-owen

Texas A&M has two linebackers make Butkus Award Watch List
An article features Rice football player Blaze Alldredge, who was named to the watch list for the 2020 Butkus Award, which honors the best linebacker in college football.
247Sports.com
http://dateline.rice/july-21-alldredge

Rice’s Graham selected for ABCA Hall of Fame induction
An article mentions that former Rice head baseball coach Wayne Graham will be inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2021.
Conference USA
http://dateline.rice/july-21-graham

New legislation may mean brand ownership, gender equity for college athletes

Former Rice football player Shawn Stankavage is quoted and pictured.
Tampa Bay Times
http://dateline.rice/july-21-tbt

Top 10 quarterbacks in Cleveland Browns franchise history
An article featuring former Cleveland Browns quarterback Frank Ryan mentions that he completed his doctorate in mathematics at Rice in the offseason.
Browns Nation
http://dateline.rice/july-21-ryan

Volleyball wins AVCA Team Academic Award
An article mentions that Rice’s volleyball team received a American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award.
GoCreighton.com
http://dateline.rice/july-21-rice-volleyball
WKU earns 14th straight AVCA Team Academic Award
Bowling Green Daily News
http://dateline.rice/july-21-rice-volleyball

Is the Jeff Brohm era a culinary innovation or a microwaved box of stuffing?
An article mentions that Rice’s football team defeated Purdue University in 2011.

MSN Sports (This article originally appeared in SB Nation.)
http://dateline.rice/july-21-msn

Brent Hebert has no worries about life after baseball
An article mentions that Rice’s baseball team competed in the 2019 Shriners College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
San Marcos Daily Record
http://dateline.rice/july-21-smdr

What the loss of the Brockermeyer twins means for Texas
Rice is mentioned.
SB Nation
http://dateline.rice/july-21-sbn
Checking in on the C-USA football recruiting race
Denton Record-Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/july-21-drc

Patrick Mahomes: College football career, stats, highlights, records
NCAA
http://dateline.rice/july-21-ncaa

The 50 most important college players in Texas in 2020: 40-31
Former Rice football player Kylen Granson is featured.
Dave Campbell’s Texas Football
http://dateline.rice/july-21-dctf

NEWS RELEASE

Better wastewater treatment? It’s a wrap
A shield of graphene helps particles destroy antibiotic-resistant bacteria and free-floating antibiotic resistance genes in wastewater treatment plants. The labs of Rice environmental scientist Pedro Alvarez and Yalei Zhang, a professor of environmental engineering at Tongji University, Shanghai, introduced microspheres wrapped in graphene oxide in the Elsevier journal Water Research.
http://dateline.rice/july-21-news-release-alvarez

About Stefan De La Garza

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