Dateline Rice for Nov. 13, 2020

Stefan De La Garza
– November 13, 2020Posted in: Dateline Rice

COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Rice University’s secret for containing the coronavirus: A student-run court that prosecutes rule breakers
An article features Rice’s plans to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which has included conducting over 60,000 tests since August, requiring face masks, holding some classes outdoors in tents and establishing the student-run COVID Community Court to adjudicate public health violations on campus. Rice community members quoted or mentioned include: President David Leebron; Bridget Gorman, dean of undergraduates; McMurtry College junior Mel Xiao; Jones College sophomore Jackson Jeffcoat; Duncan College junior Julian Braxton; Wiess College junior Abigail King; and Emily Garza, director of student judicial programs.
Texas Monthly
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-tm

Once-discounted binding mechanism may be key to targeting viruses
An article features a collaborative Rice study into immune system cells’ ability to recognize coronaviruses, which could lead to new targets to prevent diseases including COVID-19. Co-authors quoted include Lydia Kavraki, the Noah Harding Professor of Computer Science, professor of bioengineering and professor of mechanical engineering, and director of the Ken Kennedy Institute for Information Technology at Rice; alumnus Jayvee Abella; postdoctoral researcher Dinler Antunes; and former Rice professor Cecilia Clementi.
Science Daily
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-kavraki

Ivy League cancels winter sports because of COVID-19
Two articles mention that Rice’s Nov. 14 football game against Louisiana Tech University has been postponed. Director of Athletics Joe Karlgaard is quoted in the Houston Chronicle. Additional articles also mention that the Owls are slated to play the University of North Texas Nov. 21.
The Associated Press (This article also appeared in more than 50 other media outlets, and it appeared in the Nov. 13 print edition of the San Antonio Express-News.)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-rice-latech
Rice’s game at Louisiana Tech postponed because of COVID-19 issues
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Nov. 13 print edition of the Chronicle, and it appeared online in the San Antonio Express-News, San Francisco Chronicle and 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-karlgaard
After shutting down workouts, UH avoids serious COVID-19 outbreaks
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Nov. 13 print edition of the Chronicle, and it appeared online in the San Antonio Express-News, San Francisco Chronicle and 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-rice-latech
North Texas football team’s game at UAB canceled due to coronavirus concerns at UAB
Denton Record-Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-rice-unt
‘KPRC Channel 2 News’
KPRC-TV (Houston)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-kprc
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-kprc

The value of higher education through a COVID-19 lens
An article mentions that experts at Rice developed an open-source emergency ventilator.
NACUBO on Medium
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-ventilator

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
SpaceX-NASA launch: What to know ahead of Saturday’s Crew Dragon astronaut mission
An article features astronaut and alumna Shannon Walker ’87, who is a member of the first crew rotation flight to the International Space Station on the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Nov. 14. Umbe Oliveira-Cantú, department operations administrator for Rice’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, is quoted in the Houston Chronicle.
CNN (This article also appeared in more than 30 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-walker
NASA Crew-1 astronaut Shannon Walker ready to upgrade from Soyuz to SpaceX
Florida Today
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-walker
Houston-born astronaut Shannon Walker ready for her flight to the Space Station
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared on the front page of the Nov. 13 print edition of the Chronicle, and it appeared on the front of the Metro section in the Nov. 13 print edition of the San Antonio Express-News. This article also appeared in yesterday’s Dateline.)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-walker-cantu

Want to attend the Biden inauguration? You’ll pay a premium at DC hotels
Douglas Brinkley, the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Professor in Humanities, is quoted.
CNN (This article also appeared in more than 100 other media outlets, and it appeared in a previous edition of Dateline.)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-brinkley

Trump tees up executive orders as Biden eyes post-inauguration reversals

HOUSTON/TEXAS

BROADCAST
Harris County prepares to pick new paper-based voting machines
Dan Wallach, a Rice professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering, is interviewed.
Texas Standard (This segment aired on more than 20 stations across Texas, and it appeared in yesterday’s Dateline.)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-wallach

BBC Derby
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is interviewed about a member of Abu Dhabi’s royal family buying Derby County Football Club.
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-ulrichsen (This segment aired twice.)

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL
Disaster database cements itself as go-to hub for natural hazard information
An article mentions that experts from Rice are part of a team of researchers who created DesignSafe, a database for natural disaster information that was recently awarded a $15.5 million National Science Foundation grant for another five years. Jamie Padgett, the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is quoted.
Phys.org
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-padgett

A new era for campus discourse?
Martel College senior Maddy Scannell, executive director of Students Transforming Rice Into a Violence-Free Environment, is quoted.
Inside Higher Ed
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-scannell

Book excerpt: How living near border walls affects mental health
An article cites a Rice study that surveyed the mental health of undocumented immigrants.
Undark
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-undark

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST
The 9 best things to do this weekend in Shenzhen
A roundup features alumnus Joe Wong.
That’s
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-wong

SPORTS
UH men’s basketball announces nonconference schedule
An article mentions that Rice’s men’s basketball team is slated to play the University of Houston Dec. 12.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the Nov. 13 print edition of the Chronicle, and it appeared in the San Antonio Express-News, San Francisco Chronicle and 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-mbb

Early signing day: 8 Stratford signees include two baseball players staying in Houston
An article features Mark Perkins, who signed a letter of intent to play baseball at Rice.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the San Antonio Express-News and 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-hc
Stratford High School holds signing day
Click2Houston (This segment also aired on KPRC-TV in Houston.)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-c2h

The life and career of QB Frank Ryan 
An article features former Cleveland Browns quarterback and Owl Frank Ryan, who completed his doctorate in mathematics at Rice during offseasons and led the Browns to an NFL championship in 1964. Former player King Hill is quoted.
Browns Nation
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-ryan-hill

No. 13 women’s hoops releases 2020-21 schedule
An article mentions that Rice’s women’s basketball team is slated to play Texas A&M University Dec. 20.
KBTX Online
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-wbb

‘Action News at 11’
A broadcast mentions that Jaden Geron signed a letter of intent to play basketball at Rice.
KFSN-TV (Fresno, California)
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-kfsn

NEWS RELEASES
Once-discounted binding mechanism may be key to targeting viruses
In a study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at Rice’s Brown School of Engineering and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center revealed models at atomic resolution that detail not only the binding but also, for the first time, the unbinding mechanisms that underlie a key component of the immune system.
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-news-release-kavraki

Biden must avoid cold war with China, says Rice U. expert
With U.S.-China relations at their lowest point since the Cold War, President-elect Joe Biden’s expected approach to the world’s most populous country will likely exacerbate tensions, according to Joe Barnes, the Bonner Means Baker Fellow at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
http://dateline.rice/nov-13-news-release-barnes

About Stefan De La Garza

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