Dateline Rice for Aug. 25, 2020

dateline rice

COVID-19 PANDEMIC

These outdoor classes are ‘designed to withstand hurricane-force winds’
An article details Rice's plan to reopen campus with changes to prevent the spread of COVID-19, which includes staggering the return of students to campus, conducting tests, requiring face masks and holding some classes outdoors in semipermanent structures. Kevin Kirby, vice president for administration, is quoted. A Rice video is included.
Fast Company (A similar article appeared in the Aug. 25 print edition of the Daily Democrat Woodland issue.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-kirby

Shadowboxing with Russian bots
Mark Finley, fellow in energy and global oil at the Center for Energy Studies at Rice's Baker Institute Public Policy, is quoted.
Canadian Dimension
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-finley

Disasters are driving a mental health crisis
An article cites collaborative research by Rice and the Texas Flood Registry that determined 50% of Houston-area residents have wrestled with powerful or severe emotional distress since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in 2017.
The Center for Public Integrity (This article also appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-rice-flood-registry

Texas Squared startup newsletter #259
A news roundup mentions Rice's move-in process for incoming freshmen.
Texas Squared on Medium
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-o-week

COVID-19 in wastewater could be infectious
An article mentions that experts from Rice have partnered with officials from Houston to test wastewater to track the spread of the coronavirus.
Israel 21c
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-poop

Views from the bottom of The Hill
Rice volleyball is mentioned.
College Heights Herald
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-chh

Clemson, Alabama lead way in preseason NCAA Re-Rank 1-76
Rice football is mentioned.
USA Today (This article also appeared in more than 10 other media outlets.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-usat

Who’s playing whom and when: Updated fall 2020 college football schedule
An article mentions that Rice's football team is slated to play Marshall University Oct. 3 and the University of Texas at San Antonio Nov. 7.
The Athletic
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-rice-marshall
Roadrunners agree to home game against Army on Oct. 17
UTSA Athletics News
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-rice-utsa

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL

Wealth tax does much more harm than good
An article cites a Center for Freedom and Prosperity study co-authored by John Diamond, the Edward A. and Hermena Hancock Kelly Fellow in Public Finance at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy and director of its Center for Public Finance, and George Zodrow, the Allyn R. and Gladys M. Cline Chair of Economics at Rice and a Faculty Scholar at the Baker Institute, on the economic impact of a wealth tax.
MSN (This article originally appeared in the Aug. 25 print edition of the Boston Herald, and it appeared online in the Boston Herald and InsideSources.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-diamond-zodrow

HOUSTON/TEXAS

Fayez Sarofim’s name will adorn the new Rice University arts building
An article mentions that Rice will add a new arts building to house the Department of Visual and Dramatic Arts, which will be located near the Moody Center for the Arts and named for lead donor Fayez Sarofim. President David Leebron and Kathleen Canning, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of History and dean of the School of Humanities, are quoted.
Houston Chronicle's Preview (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-sarofim-leebron-canning

With campaign funds dwindling, Texas House Speaker Bonnen boosted taxpayer-funded salary of aides
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 in several articles. An article from the University of Houston News mentions that Jones and Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, contributed to the featured research. The Rio Grande Guardian features collaborative research by the Baker Institute and the Texas Hispanic Policy Foundation.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article appeared in the Aug. 25 print edition of the San Antonio Express-News and a previous edition of Dateline.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-jones


Bonnen uses taxpayer dollars to hike staff salaries as high as $280K
Reform Austin
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-jones


Tracking Houston’s recovery three years after Harvey
University of Houston News
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-jones-stein


Texas all but missing from GOP national convention lineup
Reform Austin
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-jones


COVID-19: Hispanics have a different view than Anglos
Rio Grande Guardian
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-baker-study

Gerald D. Hines, developer who shaped Houston’s skyline, dies at 95
An article quotes Stephen Fox, lecturer of architecture, and mentions Edgar Odell Lovett, Rice's first president.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. This article also appeared on the front page of the Aug. 25 print edition.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-fox-lovett

Houston chamber group explores music and health
An article features alumna Yvonne Smith, member of la speranza, a Houston-based chamber music group that seeks to promote physical and emotional healing through a repertoire from the Baroque to early Romantic eras. James Dunham, professor of viola at Rice's Shepherd School of Music, is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle's Preview (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-smith-dunham

Rice University ranks No. 1 in Texas on Niche list, makes Princeton Review rankings
An article features Rice on two university ranking lists. According to Niche, Rice is No. 1 overall in Houston and Texas; No. 1 for the best value college in the Houston area; and No. 1 for kinesiology and physical therapy, sport management and architecture programs. According to the Princeton Review, Rice ranked No. 1 for quality of life, No. 1 for race and class interactions, No. 3 for best-run college, No. 3 for best student newspaper, No. 5 in best health services, No. 6 in best college dorms, No. 7 in most beautiful campus and No. 9 for most LGBTQ-friendly.
Houston Business Journal (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-niche-princeton

Houston, Microsoft expand digital skills training partnership
An article mentions that Microsoft has invested $1 million in the Ion, Rice's redevelopment of the historic Midtown Sears building into the centerpiece of an innovation district, with a commitment to provide training opportunities for Houston’s workforce to learn the skills necessary to pursue STEM careers.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required. Similar articles also appeared in AiThority, Microsoft News Center and What's Up Pub.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-the-ion


Microsoft invests $1 million in Houston’s Ion tech incubator, partners with HISD schools
Community Impact Newspaper
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-the-ion

UTSA welcomes more than 70 faculty for 2020-2021
Rice is mentioned.
UTSA Today
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-utsa

BROADCAST

Tuesday’s Houston Matters: Tropical weather and COVID-19 update, city council member Edward Pollard and remembering Gerald Hines (Aug 25, 2020)
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 interviewed about the Galveston Bay Park Plan, a proposal to protect the region from hurricanes.
Houston Public Media (This segment also aired on KUHF-FM in Houston.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-blackburn

As the RNC moves away from Charlotte, here’s what to expect on Day 2
Douglas Brinkley, the Katherine Tsanoff Brown Professor in Humanities, is quoted. Elon University News mentions that Brinkley will give a virtual talk Sept. 29.
WSOCtv.com
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-brinkley


Elon announces lineup of cultural and special programs for the fall
Elon University News
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-brinkley

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL

Rice’s RAMBO-II spectrometer will have stronger magnets, wider range of lasers
An article mentions that Junichiro Kono, professor of electrical and computer engineering, of physics and astronomy and of materials science and nanoengineering, has been awarded a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to create RAMBO-II, a unique instrument capable of producing stronger magnetic fields and probing samples with an even broader spectrum of intense laser pulses. Kono and postdoctoral researcher Andrey Baydin are quoted.
LaserFocusWorld
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-kono

New 3D printing technique to create soft shape-shifting materials
An article features Rice research that developed a 3D printing technique to create soft robots and biomedical implants that automatically change shape when subjected to various stressors. Quoted are Rafael Verduzco, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, and graduate student Morgan Barnes.
Engineering.com
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-verduzco

Power/Performance Bits: Aug. 25
A roundup quotes Yingyan Lin, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.
Semiengineering
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-lin

Stem cell capsules repair heart damage in rats
An article features collaborative Rice research that has shown that shielding stem cells with a novel biomaterial improves the cells' ability to heal heart injuries caused by heart attacks. Omid Veiseh, assistant professor of bioengineering, is quoted.
BioNews
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-veiseh

Andrews University to host ‘Origins’ lecture by distinguished scientist
James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry and a professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, is featured and pictured.
Adventist Review
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-tour

Diversifying the talent pool drives a more inclusive workforce

An article cites the 2020 Kinder Houston Area Survey by Rice's Kinder Institute for Urban Studies.
Construction Citizen
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-kinder-study

Government invites proposal for research on carbon capture, utilization and storage
An article mentions collaborative Rice research into synthesizing single-walled carbon nanotubes.
Mercom India
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-nanotube

Wisconsin-Madison scientists 3D-print arteries to enable real-time blood pressure monitoring
An innovations roundup mentions collaborative Rice research that created complex blood vessel networks from templates of 3D-printed sugar, capable of feeding a constructed organ.
3D Printing Industry
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-3D

Amid looming threats, avoid Nvidia stock
An article cites collaborative Rice research that developed an algorithm that can speed up deep learning technology without the use of specialized acceleration hardware.
InvestorPlace (This article also appeared in MSN.)
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-ip

SPORTS

Best- and worst-case scenarios for North Texas
Rice football is mentioned.
Denton Record-Chronicle
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-rice-football

Derek Kerstetter transitioning well to new role at center
Former Rice football player Calvin Anderson is mentioned.
SB Nation
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-sbn

NEWS RELEASES

Rice political scientist available to discuss GOP convention
As the national GOP convention continues, Rice political scientist Paul Brace says the party has a lot to measure up to following the success of this year’s Democratic National Convention.
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-news-release-brace

Protein ‘chameleon’ colors long-term memory
A chameleonlike protein in neurons can change its mind, and in the process change our brains. A study by Rice theoretical biophysicist Peter Wolynes provides insight into a positive feedback loop between forming the actin backbones that give dendritic spines their shape and flexibility and the actin-binding domains in CPEB3, a functional prion that binds RNA which also forms long-lived aggregates that may indeed store the stuff that memories are made of.
http://dateline.rice/aug-25-news-release-wolynes

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