Nov. 4, 2020
POSTED IN: RICE NEWS > Current News > 2020

Dateline Rice for Oct. 30, 2020

Dateline Rice

Dateline Rice

COVID-19 PANDEMIC
How COVID-19 may affect spectator sports in the coming years
A roundup of viewpoints on the pandemic's possible effects on sports authored by Diane Crossey, professor in the practice of sport management, is featured.
Live Mint (This Wall Street Journal article also appeared in a previous edition of Dateline.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-crossey

Texas teachers group to Abbott: Prevent in-person college graduations
Doug Miller, director of news and media relations at Rice, is quoted.
Reform Austin
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-miller
 

NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
How secure are Michigan elections? Quietly released report shines light
Dan Wallach, a Rice professor of computer science and of electrical and computer engineering, is quoted.
The Detroit News (Subscription is required. This article also appeared on the front page of the Oct. 30 print edition.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-wallach

Who is Mark Vines? He once dominated Paris
Alumnus and former Rice tennis player Harold Solomon is quoted.
The New York Times (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-solomon
 

HOUSTON/TEXAS
Texas surpasses 2016 voter turnout with more than 9 million ballots cast
Bob Stein, the Lena Gohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, is quoted.
San Antonio Express-News (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-stein

Houston coronavirus updates: Oct. 29

An image shows a mural designed by Houston street artist GONZO247 being painted on one of Rice's semipermanent structures Oct. 26. The mural was commissioned as part of Rice's "Owl Together" week, a combination of homecoming and parents' weekend.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-mural

Edith and Bob Zinn prefund $250,000 legacy gift to Houston Hillel
An article mentions that Houston Hillel was established at Rice in 1940, and The Menorah Society, a Hillel precursor, was established at Rice in 1912.
Jewish Herald-Voice
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-rice-hillel

Meet 5 of HBJ's 2020 40 Under 40: Shawn Parks, Tosha Perkins, Derek Pershing, Brandon Renken, Atif Riaz
Alumnus Atif Riaz is featured.
Houston Business Journal (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-riaz
 

BROADCAST
Can Democrats seize control of the Texas House?
Numerous outlets quote 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.
Fox 26 Online (This segment also aired on KRIV-TV in Houston.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-jones
Most Texas voters favor some voting reforms — but they don’t agree on what kinds
Houston Public Media
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-jones
With days left in the race, senate hopeful MJ Hegar appeals to disenchanted Texas Republicans
Dallas Observer
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-jones
Winning Florida may be 'crucial' for Trump, as presidential runners set to clash in the swing state
Sputnik
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-jones

Meet the four candidates for the 2020 North Little Rock mayor race
An article and broadcast feature alumnus and former Rice basketball player Tracy Steele, who is running for mayor of North Little Rock, Arkansas.
ABC 7 Online (This segment also aired on KATV-TV in North Little Rock, Arkansas.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-steele

Latino voters 2020: First-generation American, first-time voter
A broadcast mentions that the Latino political advocacy group Mi Familia Vota has held weekend workshops at Rice.
Texas Standard (This Texas Public Radio segment aired on more than 20 stations across Texas, and it appeared in a previous edition of Dateline.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-ts
 

TRADE/PROFESSIONAL
Path to nanodiamond from graphene found
An article features collaborative Rice research that found that a chemically driven process to make high-quality diamane, the 2D form of diamond, is theoretically possible. Boris Yakobson, the Karl F. Hasselmann Professor of Materials Science and NanoEngineering and a professor of chemistry, and postdoctoral associate Pavel Sorokin are quoted.
Science Daily
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-yakobson

Plastic waste comes back in black as pristine graphene
An article features Rice research that modified a method to make flash graphene to enhance it for recycling plastic into high-quality turbostratic graphene. Co-authors James Tour, the T.T. and W.F. Chao Chair in Chemistry and a professor of computer science and of materials science and nanoengineering, and graduate student Wala Algozeeb are quoted.
Nanowerk
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-tour

Where were Jupiter and Saturn born?
An article features collaborative Rice research that conducted 6,000 simulations of the Milky Way's evolution, revealing new details about Jupiter and Saturn's original relationship. André Izidoro, the CLEVER Planets Postdoctoral Research Associate in Earth, environment and planetary science, is quoted.
Space Ref
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-izidoro

Voter participation predicts compliance with social distancing
An article mentions that Yael Hochberg, the Ralph S. O’Connor Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business, collaborated on the featured research.
Phys.org
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-hochberg

Rethinking Darwin’s theory of atoll formation
An article features collaborative Rice research into how cyclic changes in sea levels drive atoll formation, which disproves Charles Darwin’s theory published in 1842, decades before glaciation became common knowledge. Co-author André Droxler, former professor of Earth, environmental and planetary sciences at Rice, is quoted.

Eos
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-droxler

Houston’s Ion will transform a disused Sears into an Rice University-led innovation hub
An article features Rice's redevelopment of the historic Midtown Sears building into the Ion, the centerpiece of an innovation district slated to open in the first quarter of 2021.
The Architect's Newspaper
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-the-ion

Overcoming financial and investment fears in the millennial generation
An article cites Rice research into possible gender-based differences in investment risks.
Stock Investor
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-si

Would Biden make gas the next coal?
An article cites a talk given Oct. 21 by Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette at Rice's Baker Institute for Public Policy.
E&E News
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-baker-talk
 

OTHER NEWS OF INTEREST
Why I voted for America
An article cites Rice research into the education levels attained by Nigerian Americans.
This Day (This article also appeared in the Oct. 30 print and digital editions.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-td

Streaming Jewish programs (Nov. 1-7)
A roundup mentions that Rice's Program in Jewish Studies will host a virtual discussion with Jon Schwartz, director of “This Is Our Home, It is Not for Sale," Nov. 5.
SDJewishWorld.com
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-sdjw
 

SPORTS
Rice intent on preventing big plays against Southern Miss
An article mentions that the Owls will play the University of Southern Mississippi Oct. 31. Head coach Mike Bloomgren is quoted.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-bloomgren
Southern Miss refocus for upcoming conference game
Student Printz
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-owls

How Gareon Conley’s absence keeps impacting Texans’ defense
Former Rice football player Phillip Gaines is mentioned.
Houston Chronicle (Subscription is required.)
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-gaines
 

NEWS RELEASES
Rice experts available to discuss 2020 election
With eyes around the world on the 2020 U.S. election just five days away, three Rice professors are available to discuss various topics related to the vote, including the contest for president, election security and the electoral climate in Texas. Experts include Paul Brace, the Clarence L. Carter Professor of Political Science; Mike Byrne, a professor of psychological sciences; and Mark Jones, a professor of political science at Rice and fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy.
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-news-release-brace-byrne-jones

In a hurry to develop drugs? Here’s your cHAT
Rice chemist Julian West and postdoctoral researcher Padmanabha Kattamuri have developed a method to reduce alkenes, molecules used to simplify synthesis, to more useful intermediates for drugs and other compounds via a dual-catalyst technique known as cooperative hydrogen atom transfer, or cHAT.
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-news-release-west

Flash graphene rocks strategy for plastic waste
Rice scientists make efficient use of waste plastic that would otherwise add to the planet’s environmental woes. In this instance, the lab of Rice chemist James Tour modified its method to make flash graphene to enhance it for recycling plastic into graphene.
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-news-release-tour

Top legal scholars to discuss future of Supreme Court in Nov. 12 Rice U. webinar
The future of the U.S. Supreme Court — both immediate and long-term — is the focus of a Rice webinar Nov. 12 that’s open to the public: “After RBG: American Democracy and the Future of the Supreme Court.”
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-news-release-humanities-talk

Rice finds path to nanodiamond from graphene
Research led by Rice materials theorist Boris Yakobson and his colleagues at the Brown School of Engineering suggests a pinpoint of pressure on few-layer graphene, the atom-thin form of carbon known for its astonishing strength, can nucleate a surface chemical reaction with hydrogen or fluorine.
http://dateline.rice/oct-30-news-release-yakobson