Dateline Rice for April 21, 2020

COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Crash! US crude futures turn negative for first time in history
Several Rice experts are quoted in articles and broadcasts on the oil market collapse. Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted and interviewed by Al-Jazeera; Peter Rodriguez, dean of Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted in a KPRC-TV broadcast; Amelie Carlton, lecturer in economics at Rice, is quoted in Marketplace; Mark Finley, fellow in energy and global oil at the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies, is quoted in E&E News; and Vikas Mittal, the J. Hugh Liedtke Professor of Marketing at the Jones Graduate School of Business, is quoted in InvestorPlace.
Al-Jazeera (This article also appeared in GeesGuud and Hiiraan Online.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-krane
‘News Live’
Al-Jazeera English
http://dateline.rice/april-21-krane
‘KPRC Channel 2 News’
KPRC-TV (Houston)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-rodriguez
US oil prices fall below zero for the first time
Marketplace 
http://dateline.rice/april-21-carlton
‘Uncharted territory.’ Oil prices go negative for 1st time
E&E News
http://dateline.rice/april-21-finley
7 cash-rich oil stocks that will survive this crisis
InvestorPlace (This article also appeared in Markets Insider.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-mittal

Vote by mail in Wisconsin helped a liberal candidate, upending old theories
Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science at Rice, is quoted.
The New York Times (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in Newsmax and F3 News.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-stein

Special edition: Dr. Vivian Ho and Dr. Susan McLellan (April 20, 2020)
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 interviewed.
Houston Public Media (This “Houston Matters” segment also aired on KUHF-FM in Houston.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-ho

Balconies, bicycles and belonging: The future of communities after COVID-19
Bill Fulton, director of Rice’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, is quoted.
The National (This article appeared in the April 21 print edition and a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-fulton

‘If the Italians can be overwhelmed, then we can be overwhelmed’: Houston expert shares insights on coronavirus response
Yousif Shamoo, Rice’s vice provost for research and a professor of biochemistry and cell biology, is quoted.
Community Impact Newspaper (This article appeared on the front page of the April 7-May 4 digital and print editions of the Bellaire/Meyerland/West University issues, and it appeared in a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-shamoo
Industry count of US Gulf COVID-19 cases rises to 40
Upstream
http://dateline.rice/april-21-shamoo

Rice University researchers looking to understand impact across communities of COVID-19
An article mentions Rice’s collaborative effort to establish the COVID-19 Registry, which aims to compile a demographic portrait of the pandemic’s impact on Houston. Former Rice Provost Marie Lynn Miranda is interviewed.
Fox 7 Online (This segment appeared in a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-miranda

Snacks for med staff: Rice University students send meals to health care workers
An article features graduate students Coco Ma and Kathleen Harcourt, co-founders of nonprofit #SnacksForMedStaff.
Fox 26 Online (This segment also aired three times on KTBC-TV in Austin, Texas.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-ma-harcourt

What if Houston floods during the pandemic?
Jim Blackburn, a professor in the practice of environmental law and the co-director of Rice’s Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disasters Center, is quoted.
Houston Public Media (This segment aired on twice on KSTX in San Antonio, and it appeared in a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-blackburn

Texas engineers work in labs, living rooms to invent ventilator shortage solutions
An article mentions that the design plans for an emergency ventilator developed by a team of Rice engineering experts and students are now online and freely available to everyone in the world. Amy Kavalewitz, executive director of Rice’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, is interviewed by KUT. Rice’s ventilator design is mentioned in two additional articles.
KUT Online
http://dateline.rice/april-21-kavalewitz
MasksOn.org making protective gear from snorkel masks
EHS Today
http://dateline.rice/april-21-ventilator
Innovation champion no more
Pacific Research Institute
http://dateline.rice/april-21-ventilator

Marie Kondo has advice for working from home
An article features a new book by Marie Kondo and Scott Sonenshein, the Henry Gardiner Symonds Professor of Management at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, titled “Joy at Work: The Career-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.”
TreeHugger
http://dateline.rice/april-21-sonenshein

Loneliness and stress can make you more prone to COVID-19, if exposed. Here’s how to combat those feelings.
Stress, loneliness and lack of sleep can weaken your immune system and make you more susceptible to COVID-19, according to Christopher Fagundes, associate professor in psychological sciences.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the April 21 print edition of the Orlando Sentinel and a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-fagundes

UCS president helps organize letters calling for flexibility in hiring, admissions, mental health counseling regulations
Brown College senior Grace Wickerson, president of the Rice Student Association, is quoted.
The Brown Daily Herald
http://dateline.rice/april-21-wickerson

Rice University awards first COVID-19 research grants
An article mentions that Rice’s COVID-19 Research Fund has awarded grants for projects to develop affordable diagnostic tools, seals to maximize the efficiency of surgical masks, a system to identify signs of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 in Houston wastewater and methods to ensure voter safety this fall.
Community Impact Newspaper
http://dateline.rice/april-21-covid-research-fund

Monday AM: Texas reopens; city to announce task force leader today
An article cites a Rice study that analyzed social distancing views based on political affiliation.
KTRH Online (This article also appeared on KPRC Online.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-ktrh

Coronavirus y economía: el precio del petróleo y una caída anunciada
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.
Clarín (An English translation is not available. This article also appeared in the April 21 print edition of Clarín, and it appeared online in The World News, MSN Colombia and MSN Argentina.) 
http://dateline.rice/april-21-jones
GOP pledges $3M for candidate Wesley Hunt in bid to retake Houston suburbs
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared in the April 21 print edition of the Chronicle, and it appeared online in the San Antonio Express-News, the Connecticut Post and the San Francisco Chronicle.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-jones

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Saudi Arabia’s takeover of Newcastle is nakedly political — it’s about sportswashing, not football
Kristian Coates Ulrichsen, fellow for the Middle East at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted.
Independent (This article also appeared in MSN UK and Newsgroove.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-ulrichsen

Brain ‘avalanches’ may make memories stick
An article features collaborative Rice research that suggests that actin filaments that control the shape of neurons may be the key to the formation and storage of long-term memories. Peter Wolynes, the D.R. Bullard-Welch Foundation Professor of Science, professor of chemistry, of biochemistry and cell biology, of physics and astronomy and of materials science and nanoengineering, is quoted.
Futurity (This article also appeared in 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-wolynes

BROADCAST

‘Young Sheldon’
An episode of “Young Sheldon” mentions Rice.
ProSieben Germany (An English translation is not available. This segment aired three times.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-sheldon

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Terahertz science discloses the ultrafast photocarrier dynamics in carbon nanotubes
An article features collaborative Rice research that developed a detailed microscopic model describing quasiparticle interactions in a strong electric field in carbon nanotubes.
Phys.org
http://dateline.rice/april-21-phys

Camera images blood perfusion at high resolution thanks to pulse oximeter
An article features Rice research that developed PulseCam, which can make high-resolution maps of flowing blood.
Medgadget
http://dateline.rice/april-21-pulsecam

Episode 2: Content developer Andrew Giannakakis talks access to resources
An article mentions OpenStax, a Rice-based publisher of open educational resources.
New America
http://dateline.rice/april-21-openstax

Serious playfulness: 6 young firms balancing experimentation and pragmatism
Rice is mentioned.
Azure
http://dateline.rice/april-21-azure

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Penn Program in Environmental Humanities: Climate Sensing and Data Storytelling website: Earth Day Launch
An article mentions that Dominic Boyer, professor of anthropology, will participate in a virtual panel discussion as part of the University of Pennsylvania’s Climate Sensing and Data Storytelling livestream, which will explore how data paired with story can spur action on climate, May 7-9.
University of Pennsylvania Almanac
http://dateline.rice/april-21-boyer

SPORTS

‘KARE 11 News at 10’
Former Rice basketball player Erica Ogwumike, who was the No. 26 pick in the WNBA draft held April 17, is featured in a television broadcast.
KARE-TV (Minneapolis)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-ogwumike

State College senior Maya Bokunewicz named to Class 6A All-State girls’ basketball team
An article mentions that Maya Bokunewicz signed to play basketball at Rice.
Centre Daily Times
http://dateline.rice/april-21-cdt

Was this the unlikeliest perfect game of all?
An article features the perfect game thrown on April 21, 2012, by former Rice baseball player Philip Humber.
MLB News
http://dateline.rice/april-21-mlb

10 great college baseball games you can watch on YouTube, part 2
An article features a 1999 College World Series game between Rice and the University of Alabama.
Baseball America
http://dateline.rice/april-21-ba

Fort Smith parks finishing major upgrades
An article mentions that Rice’s baseball team played the University of Arkansas at Forsgren Field in Fort Smith, Arkansas, in 1973.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (This article also appeared in the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-adg

Joe Burrow’s path to the No. 1 pick and the chip still on his shoulder
An article mentions that Rice played Louisiana State University in 2018.
Sports Illustrated
http://dateline.rice/april-21-si
Patrick Queen: NFL draft rankings, projections and prediction
247Sports.com
http://dateline.rice/april-21-247

2020 Texas football status report: Offensive line
Former Rice football player Calvin Anderson is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the April 21 print edition of the San Antonio Express-News and a previous edition of Dateline when it was first posted online.)
http://dateline.rice/april-21-hc
Texas Football: 3 Parker Braun 2020 NFL Draft landing spots
FanSided
http://dateline.rice/april-21-fs

Offseason Outlook: Boise State offensive line faces ‘unbelievable challenge’ replacing four starters
An article mentions that former Rice football player Uzoma Osuji plans to play at Boise State University.
The Hermann Advertiser-Courier
http://dateline.rice/april-21-hac

NEWS RELEASES

Rice awards first COVID-19 research grants
The Rice COVID-19 Research Fund Oversight and Review Committee announced it will support projects to develop affordable diagnostic tools, seals to maximize the efficiency of surgical masks, a system to identify signs of the coronavirus in Houston wastewater and methods to ensure voter safety this fall.
http://dateline.rice/april-21-news-release-omalley

Actin ‘avalanches’ may make memories stick
Scientists at Rice’s Center for Theoretical Biological Physics have simulated the mechanics of a complex network that helps give neurons their ever-changing structures and may be largely responsible for how the brain forms and retains memories.
http://dateline.rice/april-21-news-release-wolynes

Graduates job-hunting during recession must remain hopeful, according to Baker Institute expert
The consequences of graduating during a recession are large, negative and persistent, but graduates should not lose hope, according to Joyce Beebe, fellow in public finance Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.
http://dateline.rice/april-21-news-release-beebe

‘Mind-blowing carnage in US oil prices makes little sense,’ says Baker Institute expert
Jim Krane, the Wallace S. Wilson Fellow for Energy Studies at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is available to discuss the implications and outlook of U.S. crude oil for May delivery turning negative April 20.
http://dateline.rice/april-21-news-release-krane

Limiting immigration ‘will only hurt our economy,’ says Baker Institute expert
Kelsey Norman, fellow for the Middle East at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and director of the institute’s Women’s Rights, Human Rights and Refugees Program, is available to discuss President Trump’s plans to issue an executive order temporarily halting all immigration to the United States.
http://dateline.rice/april-21-news-release-norman

About Stefan De La Garza

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