Dateline Rice for Dec. 16, 2016

FEATURED ITEM

More oil countries promise cuts: What does it mean for Houston?
Bill Arnold, professor in the practice of management at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, discusses OPEC’s decision to cut oil production.
Houston Public Media
http://bit.ly/2hFcLhB

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Rings around young star suggest planet formation in progress
Rice astronomers and their colleagues have for the first time mapped gases in three dark rings around a distant star. The rings mark spaces where planets are thought to have formed from dust and gas around the star. Andrea Isella, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, is quoted.
National Science Foundation
http://bit.ly/2hFlW1h

Team measures nanoparticles with microscope’s tiny tip
Isabell Thomann, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and of materials science and nanoengineering, uses lasers, light-activated materials and light-measuring nanoscale tips to push the boundaries of experimental nanoscience, but light is providing the pull in her latest study. Graduate student Xiao Yang; Peter Nordlander, professor of physics and astronomy; postdoctoral research associate Thejaswi Tumkur; and Naomi Halas, the Stanley C. Moore Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and a professor of chemistry, bioengineering, physics and astronomy, and materials science and nanoengineering, are also mentioned.
Futurity (This also appeared in The Exception.)
http://bit.ly/2hVWkwF
Light provides pull for future nanocatalyst measurement
Nanowerk (This also appeared in R&D and Technology.org.)
http://bit.ly/2hOnHMW
Nanocatalyst measurement pulled by light
Controlled Environment
http://bit.ly/2hOor51

Shell’s CFO pick leaves most analysts asking simply ‘Who?’
A Rice profile on Jessica Uhl is mentioned.
Bloomberg Markets (This also appeared in Bloomberg Quint and Energy Voice.)
http://bloom.bg/2gRSNTZ

Fossil fuels, yes. But Trump energy team isn’t a 1-note band.
Joe Barnes, the Bonner Means Baker Fellow at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, is quoted about President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks.
The Christian Science Monitor
http://bit.ly/2hOhpwZ

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Big data analytics pioneer sets sights on Houston
Alumnus Babur Ozden ’04 is featured.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2hFii7H
http://bit.ly/2hrHBwA

The big race
A republished 1986 Houston Post article mentions Rice.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This also appeared in My San Antonio.)
http://bit.ly/2hBLxuV
http://bit.ly/2hrEC7j

When ‘historic’ doesn’t mean ‘white’
Raj Mankad, editor of the Rice Design Alliance’s Cite Magazine, co-authored an article about preservation in Houston.
Houston Chronicle (This appeared in the Chronicle’s “Gray Matters” online magazine. Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2gICP9V

Local farmers’ market favorite expands muffin business
Alumna Jennifer Thai ’05 is featured.
Houston Press
http://bit.ly/2hBQnZ3

ISKCON 50: 4-day celebration is a success
Zahra Jamal, associate director for community engagement at Rice’s Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance, is mentioned.
Indo American News
http://bit.ly/2hWdQkg

BROADCAST

Populism continues to spread
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 about the spread of populism.
KTRH
http://bit.ly/2hFlcJJ

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

South China: A rising power in science
Former Rice postdoctoral researcher Yuan Li is mentioned.
Science
http://bit.ly/2h8jik5

New type of traveling wave pattern could contain biological coordinates
Physicists in Israel and the U.S. have proposed a new type of traveling wave pattern — one that can adapt to the size of the physical system in which it is embedded — reporting the work in the New Journal of Physics. Herbert Levine, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Bioengineering, is quoted.
Phys Org
http://bit.ly/2h8hwzq

Toward visible-light-based imaging for medical devices
MIT researchers have developed a technique for recovering visual information from light that has scattered because of interactions with the environment — such as passing through human tissue. Ashok Veeraraghavan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, is quoted.
Medical Design Briefs
http://bit.ly/2hD34R8

Mexico’s energy reform calls for new water policy
As the Mexican government oversees the implementation of the country’s energy reform, it must consider how best to prioritize water use in accordance with the law and allocate supplies thoughtfully, according to a paper from the Mexico Center at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The paper is co-authored by Regina Buono, a nonresident scholar in the institute’s Center for Energy Studies.
Terra Daily
http://bit.ly/2gIQPR2

Greener concrete possible through ‘programmed’ nanoparticles
Scientists at Rice have decoded the kinetic properties of cement and developed a way to “program” the microscopic, semicrystalline particles within. The process turns particles from disordered clumps into regimented cubes, spheres and other forms that combine to make the material less porous and more durable.
AIChE
http://bit.ly/2gSIkpA

Is there a robot in the house?
IBM Research and Rice University have collaborated to create the prototype IBM Multi-Purpose Eldercare Robot Assistant, a first-of-its-kind Watson-enabled application designed to aid the elderly and assist caregivers.
Healthcare Dive
http://bit.ly/2gS3plC

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST

Christians in US less educated than other religious groups — Pew report
Evangelicals are more skeptical of evolution than of climate change, according to new research from Rice. The study examines the larger “anti-science” tendency that some see as related to membership in conservative religious groups such as evangelical Protestants. Elaine Howard Ecklund, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair and Professor of Sociology and director of the Religion and Public Life Program, is quoted.
Christian Daily
http://bit.ly/2hCBAuX
70 percent of evangelicals don’t believe in evolution, new study reveals
Hello Christian
http://bit.ly/2hFiAvj

John Glenn’s legacy must be one of exploration
President John F. Kennedy’s famous “Moon Speech” delivered at Rice Sept. 12, 1962, is discussed.
The Journal Gazette
http://bit.ly/2hVPo2y
Buzz Aldrin: John Glenn was a hero. We owe it to him to keep exploring space.
Tulsa World (This also appeared in The Salt Lake Tribune.)
http://bit.ly/2gIyNyb
John Glenn was a hero. We owe it to him to keep exploring space.
Albuquerque Journal
http://bit.ly/2hBM1RV
We owe it to John Glenn to keep exploring space
Stars and Stripes
http://bit.ly/2hW1Ak3

Billboard Magazine’s singing nuns
Thomas Craughwell mentions in an op-ed he attended Rice.
The American Spectator
http://bit.ly/2hBSRXp

3 siblings score honor for clarinet talent
A student who hopes to attend Rice is mentioned.
WNCN
http://bit.ly/2hFNh3y

SPORTS

Koulechov scores 20 on perfect shooting, Rice rolls 93-64
Rice men’s basketball defeated St. Edward’s University 93-64. Players Egor Koulechov, Marcus Jackson, Connor Cashaw, Marquez Letcher-Ellis and Austin Meyer are mentioned. The team will play the University of Pittsburgh Dec. 17.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required. This appeared in 100 other media outlets.)
http://bit.ly/2hBMhQX
http://bit.ly/2hrK7CX
5 can’t-miss C-USA basketball games this weekend
Be In Sports
http://bit.ly/2hOlph7
Pitt prepares for Rice as finals week comes to a close
Pittsburgh Panthers Athletics
http://bit.ly/2gRUYad

Offseason: Lemond, Greene named Australian all-stars
Former Rice baseball player Zech Lemond is mentioned.
San Diego Union-Tribune
http://bit.ly/2hOnGZD

Rice blows out Islanders with big second half
Rice women’s basketball defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 70-36. Players Nicole Iademarco, Shani Rainey and Jasmine Goodwine are mentioned.
Corpus Christi Caller-Times
http://bit.ly/2hBTBfc

Daily Craig: Next man up
A Rice commit is mentioned.
KPRC
http://bit.ly/2h8mSdU

New Texas assistant Drew Mehringer is gambling on himself
Former Rice football player Drew Mehringer is profiled.
247 Sports
http://bit.ly/2hOnMR7

From GA to top dog: Herman’s path to Texas
An article mentions Tom Herman’s coaching at Rice. Former Rice Athletic Director Chris Del Conte and Rice head football coach David Bailiff are quoted.
Scout
http://foxs.pt/2h8ihsi

No. 10: Patriotism
An article mentions that Super Bowl VIII was hosted at Rice Stadium.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2hCWSbU

10 years ago this week, Jeff Bagwell retired from the Houston Astros
Former Rice baseball player Lance Berkman is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription required.)
http://bit.ly/2hVZBMn
http://bit.ly/2hFcSJV

NEWS RELEASE

Rice, Baylor team sets new mark for ‘deep learning’
Neuroscience and artificial intelligence experts from Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine have taken inspiration from the human brain in creating a new “deep learning” method that enables computers to learn about the visual world largely on their own, much as human babies do.
http://bit.ly/2hFyXbn