rice magazine issue 8

8/8/2019 Rice Magazine Issue 8

1/52

The Magazine of Rice University No. 8 | 20

Rhodes toSuccess20 RICES PAST AND FUTURE

22 SCIENCE VS. RELIGION

26 BE COUNTED AND COUNT

28 UNDERSTANDING CITIES OF TOMORROW

32 BETTER HEALTH CARE, LOWER COST

34 THREE NEW INITIATIVES

38 ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND

IMMIGRANT STUDENTS

4| Pushing Moores Law 10|Carbon Tax 12|Bull Year 40|Rice Filmmakers 45|Van Gogh's


2/52

00

Cover photo: Tommy LaVergne

Contents

8The Houston Asian-

American Archive isdesigned to foster adeeper understandingof Houstons immi-grant history.

21A festive mlaunches thCentennialCelebrationcountdownon RiceDay.

12 Its been a bull yearfor the Jesse H. Jones

raduate School ofBusiness.

13 That letter of recom-mendation might beurting your chances.

4 If you cant accept aphysical limitation, thenpush its boundaries.

5 nce again, Rice isGreat College to

Work For.

3 Heroes come in allshapes and sizes.

7 When it comes to

segregation, sepa-rate is never equal.

8 The maternal ancestorof us all lived 200,000

years ago.

9 To live on campus,or not to live oncampus thats thequestion.

11Looking for telltalesigns of bioterror.

10 To meet the UnitedNations climate chal-enge, the U.S. mighto well to institute aarbon tax.

40

7

Rice film school

On the Cover: Ye jin Kang, Rices newest Rhodes Scholar, holds up a signed football presented byDirector of Athletics, Recreation and Fitness Rick Greenspan during halftime at the RiceUniversityof Alabama at Birmingham game, which Rice won 2823. See the story on Page 5.


3/52Rice Magazine No. 8

Students

Features

38

Students16 If you cant get water from the

ground, harvest it from the ai

17 History meets science at a H

Texas Cemetery.

18 A summer fellowship programoffers students a Gateway to

real world.

19 Seeing small never looked so

Arts40 Students dont come to Rice

study film. They become filmm

because they cant help it.

42 Somewhere at the intersectio

art and science sits Lina Dib.

44 Scale, spectacle, and tricks of

and perspective emerge from

Gallery in one elegant plane.

45 Sometimes what lies beneath

surface of a painting is what g

the real clues to an artists oe

Bookshelf46 Want statistics on the U.S.

presidency? Look no further.

46 Photos and text chart the coa

of the western Gulf of Mexico

47 The Large Hadron Collider wo

create a black hole or tear the

of spacetime, but what it wi

pretty amazing.

47 Who better to edit a collection

Latino mysteries than a pair o

Latina law enforcement office

who also are professional wri

Sports48 Mens soccer is kicking up a s

20 Reflections on Rices Past and FutureWith the launch of the Centennial Celebration,

its time to consider where Rice has been and the

course it has charted for the century to come.

B y D a v i d W . L e e b r o n

22 Science vs. Religion: Is DialogPossible?

The divide between science and religion seems to

be growing, but is it? Sociologist Elaine Howard

Ecklund delves into the facts and figures.

B y L i n d a D a y

26 Be Counted and CountWhen you want to know about the census,

theres no better source than sociologist Steve

Murdock.

B y C h r i s t o p h e r D o w

28 Understanding Cities of TomorrowTwo former centers at Rice merge in a new

institute that aims to bring insight and direction

to urban growth and development.

B y C h r i s t o p h e r D o w

32 Better Health Care, Lower CostA health care economist eyes the efficiency

and effectiveness of the health care system.

B y J e s s i c a S t a r k

34 Provost Appoints Task Forces forThree New Initiatives

Rices new provost, George McLendon, talks

about a strategy that will allow Rice to marshal

its resources to become a recognized leader

in bioscience and health, energy and the

environment, and international strategy.

B y M i k e W i l l i a m s

38 Academic Success and ImmigrantStudents

How can we increase success among the

increasing number of immigrant students in U.S.

schools? There may be answers.

B y J e s s i c a S t a r k

22

26


4/52

Rice Magazine

No. 8

Published by theOffice of Public Affairs

Linda Thrane, vice president

EditorChristopher Dow

Editorial DirectorTracey Rhoades

Creative DirectorJeff Cox

Art DirectorChuck Thurmon

Editorial StaffB.J. Almond,staff writerJade Boyd,staff writer

Franz Brotzen,staff writerJenny West Rozelle, assistant editor

David Ruth, staff writerJessica Stark,staff writerMike Williams,staff writer

Photographers

Tommy LaVergne,p otograp er Jeff Fitlow, assistant p otograp er

The Rice UniversityBoard of Trustees

James W. Crownover, airman J.D. Buc Allshouse; D. Kent Anderson; KeithAnderson; Laura Arnold; Subha ViswanathBarry; Suzanne Deal Booth; Robert Brockman; Nancy P. Carlson; Douglas LFoshee; Susanne Morris Glasscock; JamesHackett; Larry Kellner; Robert R. MaxfieM. Kenneth Oshman; Jeffery O. RoLee H. Rosenthal; Hector de J. Ruiz; L.Simmons; Charles Szalkowski; Robert Tudor III; James S. Turley; Randa DuncWilliams.

Administrative OfficersDavid W. Leebron, president; Geor

McLendon, provost; Kathy Collins,president for Finance; Kevin Kirby, v president for Administration; Ron Loninterim vice president for Investments atreasurer; Chris Mu z, ice president f

Enrollment; Carol Quillen, ice preside for International and InterdisciplinaInitiatives; Linda Thrane, ice presid for Public Affairs; Richard A. Zansitis, president and general counsel; DarrZeidenstein , vice president for Resou

Development.

Rice Magazine is published by the OfficePublic Affairs of Rice University and is seto university alumni, faculty, staff, gradustudents, parents of undergraduates afriends of the university.

Editorial Officesreative ServicesMS 95

P.O. Box 1892Houston, TX77 51-1892

Fax: 713-348-6757E-mail: [email protected]

DECEMBER 2010 RICE UNIVERSITY

F O R E W O R D

2 www.rice.edu/ricemagazine

THE HUMAN FACE OF RESEARCH

T

he contributions made to human knowledge and understanding by research univer-sities such as Rice is most obvious in the sciences and engineering, which producetangible results that impact our lives on a daily basis. At Rice, our scientists andengineers are exploring the universe from the biological to the cybernetic, from the

dimensions of the purely physical to the effects of unseen forces, and from nanoto cosmic scales. But perhaps no subject is so profoundly difficult to study and understand ashuman beings. Who we are as individuals and how we interact within social, political, economicand religious aggregates are the domains not of the hard sciences but of the social sciences.

The Rice School of Social Sciences may be the smallest of the main divisions on campus, butit serves the largest number of students, with more than a third of Rice undergraduates majoringin one of its departments. Its varied disciplines anthropology, cognitive sciences, economics,managerial studies, policy studies, political science, psychology and sociology not only focuson how people think and act as individuals and within society, but also seek to generate work-able solutions for problems faced by individuals and the global community as a whole.

It would seem that a great deal of what social scientists study contains some degree of po-larization, and maybe thats what makes the social sciences as intrinsically interesting as they areimportant. Take, for example, the work of sociologist Elaine Howard Ecklund, who has spentthe last few years examining the divide between science and religion. In Science vs. Religion,

we look at her latest findings, which question the popular assumption that scientists are, by and

large, antireligious.We also look at the work of political scientist Melissa Marschall, who has been researching

ways to promote academic success among the increasing numbers of immigrant and English-language learners in U.S. schools, and at the efforts of health care economist Vivian Ho, who isseeking ways to streamline the U.S. health care system and make it more efficient as well as ef-

fective. And in this census year, we also talk to sociologist SteveMurdock about the U.S. Census, which he directed in 2008 and2009: how it works, who benefits from it, why its important tobe counted and why the U.S. Census is a world-class model ofdata collection.

There are a number of other articles on Rice social sci-ences in this issue, but let me highlight the Kinder Institutefor Urban Research. An outgrowth of the nearly 30-year-oldHouston Area Survey and other urban-based institutes at Rice,

the Kinder Institute aims to bring insight and direction to urban growth and development by

studying major cities in the U.S. and abroad, in addition to Houston. The institute will bring awealth of Rice talent not just from the social sciences but from practically every discipline to bear on the pressing issues created by the massive growth of urban centers worldwide.

If you just scratch the surface of research at Rice, you will find a great research universitythat aspires to understand our world and our universe. If you explore a little deeper, youll findthe human face that gives it all meaning.

Explore the social sciences at Rice: socialsciences.rice.edu

Corrections: Our article Brains and Bronze stated incorrectly that John L. Wortham, rather than his son, Gus S. Wortham, was

the founder of the Wortham Foundation. The first director of the Center for the Study of Cultures was Michael Fischer and not David

Nirenberg, as was stated in Human(ities) Interaction.

Christopher Dow

[email protected]



SallyporTHROUGH TH E

Beraud, who left Rice University after her junior year to attendChicago University, had put off her degree to attend to a more im-portant matter: The War to End All Wars. She was one of nearly 300

American women to join the Army Signal Corps Female TelephoneOperators Unit, which was formed in 1917 when Gen. John Pershing,commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe, report-edly ignored orders to keep women (other than nurses) out of the

war and formed the operators unit that becameknown as the Hello Girls.

Most of the recruits had been telephone op-erators, and all were fluent in English and Frenchso that they could translate messages instantly.

After two weeks of training in communicationsand self-defense, they took an enlistment oath and

were told to buy their own uniforms. The first 233Hello Girls were sent to France in March 1918, andthey quickly proved their worth, working longhours to keep command posts wired to the front.

Beraud, who became Louise Beraud Griggs when she later married her wartime love, hadlearned French at home. Her father came overfrom France as a master chef, said ShelleyGottschalk, Griggs granddaughter and wife of

Arthur Gottschalk, professor and chair of compo-sition and theory at the Shepherd School of Music.John Jacob Astor hired him. Griggs parents metin America and settled in Houston, where Griggsfather managed the Tejas Club at the Rice Hoteland catering at the Rice Institute.

Various reports indicate between two and four other Hello Girlswere at the switchboard in an Army barracks in Souilly when the build-ing caught fire during a shell attack in the MeuseArgonne Offensive,a bloody, months-long battle that helped seal Germanys fate. Whilesoldiers worked to put out the blaze, Griggs and other operators refusedorders to abandon their posts and kept critical lines of communicationopen. For that, they won special citations from the Army.

We just kept on working, Griggs told the Houston Chronic1980. It wasnt really a matter of bravery. You just do the thing right. You dont think of anything else.

At the wars conclusion, Griggs stayed in France for a timeworked with the YWCA to help resettle families before returninRice to complete her degree in 1920. Although her bravery was nuestioned, she and the other Hello Girls returned to the States t

over that they had never actually been in the And therefore could not be honorably discha

She said that after the war, something happenthe Senate, and they were told they werent af the U.S. Army, Gottschalk recalled. She anther women in the Signal Corps had to petongress for their discharge. She wrote those le

for what must have been 50 years.Finally, at the behest of then-President Ji

arter in 1978, Congress passed a law orderingthe status of civilian volunteers with the ArForces in wartime be revisited. In 1980, the before she died, Griggs received her honoraryharge and a World War I Victory Medal wlasp for France in a ceremony at the Texas A

National Guard Armory in Houston. This yeaNov. 11, Griggs was honored again for her hservice in a ceremony at the Rice Memorial Ces part of Rices 2010 Veterans Day observanc

Griggs continued to make use of her aptiin French after the war; she taught the lang

t Houston Heights High School until her marriage in 1924, saiaughter, Belle Griggs Johnson. She never griped, Johnsonf her mom. She made the best of everything. She was a su

super woman.Mike W

on the Line

Louise Beraud should have been home, enjoying the rewards of a colledegree. Instead, she was busily patching calls through a telephone switcboard in wartime France while the building around her burned.

Hero

iew photos from Rices 2010 Veterans Day celebration:

ricemagazine.info/75

Louise Beraud Griggs


6/524 www.rice.edu/ricemagazine

The limitation, in this case, is the physical limits of miniaturization

possible for todays electronics. If Moores Law, which states thenumber of devices on a circuit doubles every 18 to 24 months, con-

tinues to hold true, our electronic devices will reach their smallest and fastest state in the very near future.

N w, however, Rice University scientists have created the first two-terminal memory chips that use only silicon, one of the most commonsubstances on the planet, in a way that should be easily adaptable tonanoelectronic manufacturing techniques and promises to extend theimits of miniaturization.

Last year, researchers in the lab of RiceProfessor James Tour showed how elec-trical current could repeatedly break andreconnect 10-nanometer strips of graphiteto create a robust, reliable memory bit.

At the time, they didnt fully understandwhy it worked so well, but that recently

hanged thanks to a new collaboration bythe Rice labs of professors Tour, DouglasNatelson and Lin Zhong, and it turns outthat you dont need the carbon at all.

Jun Yao, a graduate student in Toursab and primary author of a paper thatppeared in the online edition of Nano

Letters, confirmed his breakthrough ideawhen he sandwiched a layer of silicon ox-ide, an insulator, between semiconductingsheets of polycrystalline silicon that served as the top and bottomlectrodes. Applying a charge to the electrodes created a conductiveathway and formed a chain of nanosized silicon crystals. The chain

an be repeatedly broken and reconnected by applying a pulse ofvarying voltage. The nanocrystal wires are as small as 5 nanometers

billionths of a meter) wide, far smaller than circuitry in even the mostdvanced computers and electronic devices.

The beauty is its simplicity, said Tour, Rices T.T. and W.F. ChaoProfessor of Chemistry as well as a professor of mechanical engineer-ing and materials science and of computer science. That simplicity isey to the technologys scalability. Silicon oxide switches or memoryocations require only two terminals, not three as in flash memory

because the physical process doesnt require the device to hold

charge. Flash memory is going to hit a brick wall at abou

nanometers, Tour said. But our technique is perfectly suited for10-nanometer circuits.

It also means layers of silicon-oxide memory can be stacketiny but capacious three-dimensional arrays. Ive been told bustry professionals that if youre not in the 3-D memory busine

four years, youre not going to be in the memory business, TourThis is perfectly suited for that.

Silicon-oxide memory also is compatible with conventionalsistor manufacturing technology. The circuits feature high oratios, excellent endurance and fast switching below 100 n

seconds and they will be resistant tiation, which should make them sui

for military and NASA applications. Yao had a hard time convincin

olleagues that silicon oxide alone c

make a circuit even though it is, accorto Tour, the most-studied material inman history. In research, if everyone their heads, then its probably not that

Yao said. But if you do something anryone shakes their heads, and thenrove it, it could be big.

Austin tech design company Privais testing a silicon-oxide chip with memory elements that was built in aboration with the Tour lab. The comis using the technology in several pro

supported by the Army Research Office, National Science FoundAir Force Office of Scientific Research, and Navy Space and N Warfare Systems Command Small Business Innovation Res

SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.Yaos co-authors on the paper were Tour; Natelson, a Rice pr

sor of physics and astronomy; Zhong, assistant professor of elal and computer engineering; and Zhengzong Sun, then a gte student in Tours lab. The David and Lucile Packard Found

the Texas Instruments Leadership University Program, the NatScience Foundation, PrivaTran and the Army Research Office Program supported the research.

Mike W

Breaking a BarrierIf you cant accept a physical limitation, then push its boundaries.

Clockwise from left: Rice professorsDouglas Natelson and Lin Zhong, gradu-ate students Zhengzong Sun and Jun Yao,and Professor James Tour.

Ive been told by industry profess

als that if youre not in the 3-D mem

business in four years, youre not go

to be in the memory business. Thiperfectly suited for that.

James T

Read the paper: ricemagazine.info/67

A silicon-oxide memory chip in which silicon nanowire formswhen a charge is sent through the silicon oxide, creating atwo-terminal resistive switch.

Graphic:Jun

Ya




A Great College tWork For

For the second year in a row,Chronicle of Higher Education recognized Rice University as onits Great Colleges to Work For.

The Chronicle cited 97 collegesspecific best practices and polisuch as compensation and benfacultyadministration relations, onfidence in senior leadership.

honorees were determined by hronicles random survey of facdministrators and staff and an audemographics and workplace polnd practices from each institution

Rice was honored in eight oategories among four-year, med

sized schools: job satisfaction; teacnvironment; facilities, workspaces

security; compensation and benprofessional/career development grams; work/life balance; respect ppreciation; and supervisor or

partment chair relationship. Rice was named to the Chronicles hroll, which recognizes the overall10 colleges that were cited most ocross all categories.

Arie Wilson Passw

See the survey results:ricemagazine.info/66

The Rice senior, one of 32 Americans and80 students worldwide to be awarded theprestigious scholarship, will spend two

years at Oxford. Im looking forward tomaking new friends, she said, embracinga new culture and immersing myself in aunique academic environment.

Kang plans to earn two Master of Science

degrees one in global health science andone in global governance and diplomacy.The latter prepares students to work withinternational and nongovernmental organi-zations and private firms that interact withthem. Kangs goals include developing pri-

vate and public partnerships with ministriesof health abroad to improve health care.

Infectious diseases know no politicalor geographical boundaries, fuel a cycle ofpoverty and hinder economic development,Kang said. Thats why I want to work towarderadicating disease as a physicianpolicy-maker on the international level.

Its a direction Kang has been movingin for several years. The summer before shecame to Rice, she was one of two Texas del-egates to the National Youth Science Camp.Then, while at Rice, she designed and taughtundergraduate courses on tuberculosis andNorth Korea. She also served as a clinical in-tern at National Masan Tuberculosis Hospitalin South Korea and has done extensive re-search on TB at the National Institutes of

Health. Her abilities as a policymaker alsoreceived a serious jump start when, as afreshman, she founded a student magazinealled Catalyst: Rice Undergraduate Sciencend Engineering Review with fellow stu-ents and served as editor in chief of the

first two issues.Kang is expected to graduate from Rice

in May with majors in ecology and evo-utionary biology and in policy studies inlobal health, along with a minor in bio-hemistry and cell biology. She attributed

the diversity of her academic interests towanting to study disease at the micro andmacro levels.

Winning this scholarship really was ateam effort, Kang said. I feel so blessed

I couldnt have gotten this award withoutthe support of my professors, committedfaculty and friends.

This year also, two Rice seniors were warded Marshall Scholarships. Anthony

Austin will pursue a Master of AdvancedStudy degree in mathematics at CambridgeUniversity and a Master of Science in puremathematics at Imperial College London,nd Jingyuan Luo will complete a Masterf Science degree in biomedicine, biosci-nce and society at the London Schoolf Economics and Political Science and a

Master of Research in stem cell biology atImperial College London.

Rice Student Named Rhodes ScholarSome people see a problem and turn away, too baffled, busy or disinterested to do

anything about it. Then theres Ye jin Kang. Kang saw the prevalence of tubercu-losis in Mexico, Honduras and Zambia, which made her committed to fighting thedisease. Now, a Rhodes Scholarship will take her one step closer to her dream ofbeing a global citizen sensitive to the needs of different cultures.

Im looking forward

to making new friends,

embracing a new culture

and immersing myself

in a unique academic

environment.Ye jin Kang



Centennial Challengeto Young Alumni

Young Alumni, Meet Your Match!

Rice simply couldnt be the high-caliberinstitution that it is today without theongoing support of alumni. With that inmind, Keith Anderson 83 and CharleyLandgraf 75 are challenging youngalumni to join them in supporting theRice Annual Fund.

Give a gift, get a match. If you graduatedfrom Rice between 2000 and 2010, Keith andCharley will generously match your AnnualFund gift 3-to-1 until Dec. 31, 2010.

Gave last year or the year before? Get a biggermatch! If you made an Annual Fund gift duringthe past two years of the challenge, your ewift will be matched 4-to-1 until Dec. 31, 2010.

Meet your class goal and help earn up to230,000 for Rice. Keith and Charley willontribute an additional $20,000 for eachlass that reaches its goal by June 30, 2011,nd an extra $10,000 in honor of the first class

to hit its goal.

Keith Anderson 83CCYA Co-Challenger

Charley Landgraf 75CCYA Co-Challenger

See how your class is stacking up, and thenrise to the challenge by making your gift at:

www.rice.edu/centennialchallenge

If you answered the Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, you be one of the 12,000 people who attend courses each year at one of the laontinuing education programs in Texas. Founded in 1968, the school has

much of its life housed in a temporary building while helping others reachpersonal and professional goals, but now the school is eyeing growth of its ow

Key to the expansion is a new building that will be located between Stadium and campus Entrance 8 at University Boulevard and Stockton Donstruction will be completely funded by philanthropic gifts, and than

generous Centennial Campaign gifts from the schools namesake and Rice trSusanne M. Glasscock 62 and her husband, Melbern Glasscock 61, and otherschool has raised nearly $9.5 million for the $24 million facility.

The Glasscock School offers noncredit programs in personal developmentfessional development, teacher professional development and languages. In tion to the thousands of Houstonians who attend classes at the school, more

4,000 college-preparatory teachers from all over the country attend its professevelopment courses, and the English as a Second Language program has attr

students from more than 100 countries. The schools Master of Liberal Studiegrown into the second-largest masters program at Rice.

For many of its programs, the school collaborates with organizations suthe Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Houston Museum of Natural Science

reater Houston Preservation Alliance; the Writers League of Texas; the Associf Fundraising Professionals, Greater Houston Chapter; and HR Houston.

We see the Glasscock School at the center of Rices efforts to engage the br Houston community, said Mary McIntire, dean of Continuing Studies. Aldest and possibly best-known educational outreach of the university, the s

has a nearly 45-year-old place in the shared lives of Rice and Houston.The new building will allow the Glasscock School to expand the size and s

f its offerings. Enrollment is expected to increase from 12,000 a year to 15,000-learning and daytime programs will be added. The three-story, 51,000-sq

foot facility will include 24 classrooms, conference rooms, a language centeuditorium, a commons area and a terrace for events.This building isnt just about Continuing Studies and all its programs, Su

lasscock said. This is a building where Rice University can greet, involve, ennd maybe even entertain our neighbors, the city of Houston and the world.

The Glasscocks have been regular School of Continuing Studies studenbout 30 years. In 2006, the school was officially renamed the Susanne M. Glass

School of Continuing Studies in honor of an endowment gift believed to blargest endowment ever for a U.S. university continuing education program the Glasscocks. The new building will be built to the U.S. Green Building CouLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.

Jessic

ContinuingExpansion

What school at Rice enrolls more students annually thRices entire undergraduate and graduate student polations put together?


9/52


10/52

Mother of All Humans Lived200,000 Years Ago

The most robust statistical examination to date of our speciesgenetic links to mitochondrial Eve the maternal ancestorof all living humans confirms that she lived about 200,000years ago. The Rice University study was based on a side-by-side comparison of 10 human genetic models that each aim

to determine when Eve lived using a very different set of as-sumptions about the way humans migrated, expanded andspread across Earth.

Our findings underscore the importance of taking into account therandom nature of population processes like growth and extinction,said study co-author Marek Kimmel, professor of statistics at Rice.Classical, deterministic models, including several that have previouslybeen applied to the dating of

mitochondrial Eve, do notfully account for these ran-om processes.

The quest to date mito-hondrial Eve (mtEve) is anxample of the way scien-

tists probe the genetic pastto learn more about muta-tion, selection and other ge-netic processes that play keyroles in disease.

The research, whichresulted from a standingollaboration between Ricend Silesian University of

Technology, is available on-ine in the journal TheoreticalPopulation Biology. It wassupported by grants from thePolish Ministry of Sciencend Higher Education and

the Cancer Prevention andResearch Institute of Texas.

Jade Boyd

This binary tree shows how all the peopleon the bottom row are related to theirmost recent common matrilineal ances-tor. Mitochondrial Eve is the most recentcommon matrilineal ancestor for all livinghumans.

Rice Creates Houstons FirstAsian-American Archive

Last summer, Tracey Lam learned about Houstons past, bwasnt in a history book. It was through hours-long conve

tions with some of Houstons Chinese-American citizens.of a new research project of Rices T.T. and W.F. Chao Cefor Asian Studies, the oral-history interviews and transc

tions will be fully accessible through the Woodson ReseCenters Houston Asian American Archive (HAAA).

The HAAA is designed to foster a deeper understandingppreciation of Houstons immigrant history by researching

serving and sharing the rich background, diverse cultural lend continuing contributions of Asian-Americans to the cit

The Chao Center created an internship program to build the HAAA and deepen students historical and cuunderstanding. The students said that getting to know thele behind the stories helped them see Houston and

istory through new eyes.They told stories with such colorful details that I cou

ave appreciated by just reading, said Lam, a Lovett Cosenior who grew up listening to her parents tell stories of wn immigrant life. The oral histories collected by Lam andther interns join complete copies of Houstons first Chianguage newspaper, records from the publishers busis well as oral histories of the companys founders. The Center is working with more organizations to further roun

the archive and include artifacts focusing on labor and cap

Jessica

mitochondrialEve

8 www.rice.edu/ricemagazine

For the third year in a row, Rice is No. 4 on thelist of best values in private colleges rankedby Kiplingers Personal Finance magazine.

The rankings for 201011, announced Oct. 28,measure academic quality and affordability.The magazine bases two-thirds of a schools rankingcademic excellence. Princeton, Yale and Caltech were

top three schools on the list, and Duke University rouut the top five.

With the lowest sticker price of our top-25 ranked univerlong with generous need-based and merit-based aid, Kiplwrote, Rice lives up to its reputation for affordability.

B.J. Alm

For the complete rankings, visit: ricemagazine.info/7

Who Knew: ricewhoknew.info/14

Rice Remains Among NationsTop 5 Best-Value Private Schoolsin New Kiplinger Ranking




A new study by Rice Associate Professor ofSociology Ruth Lopez Turley titled CollegeResidence and Academic Performance: WhoBenefits From Living on Campus? examinedthe issue against the background of previous

research, which identified living on campusas the single most important environmentalfactor influencing academic engagement.Turley and study co-author Geoffrey Wodtkesought to reveal more comprehensive infor-mation by focusing on the academic achieve-ments of different groups. What they foundsuggests that the answer to that question var-ies by race/ethnicity, gender and a variety ofinstitutional characteristics. Wodtke, an un-dergraduate at the University of Wisconsin

when the research was conducted, currentlyis a graduate student at the University ofMichigan at Ann Arbor.

To gain comprehensive data, the authorsexpanded previous study samples from pub-lic research universities to a wider range of in-stitutions, like liberal arts colleges. At differ-ent types of institutions, Turley and Wodtke

wrote, the residential experience is likely todiffer in ways that may produce significant

variation in the relationship between student

residence and academic achievement.The studys analytic sample was centered

on first-year students, 18 to 25 years old,whose parents claimed them as dependentsand who were enrolled full time in institu-tions that offered on-campus housing butthat did not require first-time studentsto live on campus. Students attendingRice University were not included in thisstudy. Most of the sample lived on campus

54 percent), 28 percent lived off campuswith family, 15 percent lived off campus with-

ut family and very few lived in other typesf residences (3 percent), such as fraternities/

sororities or university-owned off-campusousing. By comparison, Rice houses 80 per-ent of its undergrauate students on campus.

The researchers first compared the

rades of a national sample of college stu-ents living on campus in residence halls, offampus in private apartments and at home

with family and then compared the effectf college residence by race/ethnicity andender. Finally, they examined whether the

relationship between residence and achieve-ment varied across a variety of postsecond-ry institutions characterized by enrollment

size, research orientation, two-year versus

four-year and public versus private conThey found that for most stude

most institutions, the type of residence ollege does not seem to have a signffect on first-year academic perform

For some minority students, howevefound notable differences. Among

students, those who live on campus ience halls have significantly higherthan similar students at the same inst

who live off campus with family. Therwas a similar difference for all studetending liberal arts institutions. Thosive on campus also have significantly PAs than comparable students at the

institution who live off campus with fa

In an effort to account for these varithe authors pointed out that the diffebetween those who live on campus and

who live off campus without family arenificant. This suggests that, for black stand students attending liberal arts institliving off campus per se does not appealeading to lower first-year grades, but rating with family seems to be the culprit. and Wodtke also noted that students at arts schools may have an advantage bthese institutions usually focus on underates and have more restrictive admissionlarger public universities.

Finally, since living on campus is mo

pensive than living off campus with famauthors called for all parties from high counselors to parents to university financadministrators to work to make on-cliving more feasible so students can expethe academic benefits.

Franz

Read the study in the journal Urban Education:


Academic Benefits of Living On Campus

To live on campus or not to live on campus that is the question for many college freshmen,their families and university administrators. Oneimportant consideration is how living in a dormaffects students academic success.

The researchers first compared the grades of a national sample ofcollege students living on campus in residence halls, off campus inprivate apartments and at home with family and then compared theeffect of college residence by race/ethnicity and gender.



D gobert Brito, the George A. PeterkinProfessor of Political Economy, and RobertCurl, the Kenneth S. Pitzer-SchlumbergerProfessor Emeritus of Natural Sciences and

winner of the 1996 Nobel Prize in chemistry,

made their recommendation in a paper pub-lished on the James A. Baker III Institute forPublic Policy website.

Brito and Curl argue that there are threeimportant unresolved questions in the cur-

rent debate on the reduction of carbon di-oxide emissions: First, what is the range ofprices on carbon dioxide emissions that willbe necessary to achieve the desired reduc-tions? Second, should electrical generatorsand transport fuels be regulated jointly orseparately? Third, should the restrictions bein the form of a quantity limit such as capand trade or in the form of a carbon tax?

The authors calculated the cost of CO2

missions by modeling the transition fromoal-based electricity generation to a systemased on natural gas. Because coal-basedlectricity generation accounts for about a

third of U.S. CO2 emissions some 2 bil-

ion metric tons Brito and Curl describeit as the 900-pound gorilla in the room.Replacing coal generators with natural gas,

they believe, is the most economical way tochieve a target of reducing carbon dioxide

missions by 20 percent.So-called clean coal is not the answer,

the authors noted. Unless or until there istechnological breakthrough in carbon se-

uestration, they wrote, replacing existingoal generation capacity with modern coaleneration plants can only reduce total car-on dioxide by 5 percent.

In any case, the United States alreadyis moving from coal-based electricity

production to a system based on nagas. The authors said policymakers shencourage this transition, but they d

whether natural gas supplies will bequate to maintain this shift in the longDevelopment of nuclear and renewable tricity generation will need to continuerapid pace. Natural gas, however, can btransition technology to carbon-neutral trical generation.

O2 permits would drastically affececonomics of coal-based electrical protion and could possibly create volatilithe market for electricity. To reduce theof high volatility, the authors back abon tax to assist the transition from co

natural gas. They also assert that separemissions permitting for the productioelectricity from that of transportation wmean that a rise in carbon prices needeeffect a shift to natural gas-based electgeneration would have very little impatransportation fuels.

Franz B

At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen last year,

the United States pledged to reduce the 2005 levels of CO2 emissions by 17

percent by 2020. To help make that happen, two Rice University research-

ers are calling on policymakers to encourage the transition from coal-based

electricity production to a system based on natural gas through a carbon tax.

Read the paper:


Replacing coalgenerators withnatural gas, they

believe, is themost economicaway to achieve a

target of reducincarbon dioxideemissions by 20percent.

CO2 EmissionsReducing

Because coal-based electricity generation accounts for about a thiof U.S. CO2 emissions some 2 billion metric tons Brito and Cudescribe it as the 900-pound gorilla in the room.


13/52Rice Magazine No. 8 20


Discovering the answer to that question is the aim of a group of Riceresearchers who have won federal support to develop a genomic testdesigned to provide homeland security and public health officials

with the tools they need to quickly determine how to respond to anoutbreak. The three-year grant is Rices first from the Defense ThreatReduction Agency (DTRA).

In a natural outbreak, there are classic rules of epidemiology thatdescribe how particular types of diseases will spread, said princi-pal investigator Yousif Shamoo, associate professor of biochemistryand cell biology and director of Rices Institute of Biosciences andBioengineering. In a man-made outbreak, you may be faced with anactor who is continuously spreading the disease, or you might have a

media. And its the same diet every day. Our expectation is thaanisms will lose certain genes that allow them to get nutrition

the soil or the gut or wherever they came from, simply becauseont need them anymore. In a lab, domesticated strains willompete the wild type, which will disappear from the lab withinfew generations.

For the DTRA project, Shamoo and his students will gwild strains of two common bacteria Enterococcus faecalisEscherichia coli and domesticate each of them in the lab. Gensnapshots will be taken throughout the process, and theyll beyzed for telltale patterns.

We dont want to get into the business of trying to catalo

specific changes that take place for thousands of different organiShamoo said. The idea is to look for common sets of responsdomestication that you would likely see for any organism thats a

ing from living in the wild to living in the laboratory.While E. faecalis and E. coli are each common, well-studiedteria, they also come from opposite ends of their species gespectrum. The fundamental differences in their chemical and pcal properties will give the researchers a broad range of geneticterns associated with domestication.

If we find something after three years, and we want to expthe pool to include soil bacteria or other types, Shamoo said,can do that and see if the patterns repeat.

Jade

erson who, knowing public health strategy, has engineered strains.Shamoos lab specializes in studying how the process of evolution

lays out at the molecular level. His group also studies how bacteria

volve to become drug-resistant. He said the same forces that allowrug-resistant strains of an organism to outcompete their nondrug-resistant cousins in a hospital will also allow his team to discernetween pathogens whose origins are in nature or the lab. That wille possible because of the way bacteria can progress through hun-reds of generations in just a few weeks and rapidly adapt to newonditions.

Living out in the wild is a pretty rough existence, Shamoo said.By comparison, life in the laboratory is very posh. Lab-grown bac-teria live in very nice conditions on agar plates eating this very rich

Exposing Telltale Signs of BioterroLarge-scale outbreaks of illness are never pretty, but these days, onquestion may be paramount: Is the outbreak caused by a natural pathgen or one that was grown in a lab by terrorists?

The idea is to look forcommon sets of responsto domestication that youwould likely see for anyorganism thats adapting

from living in the wild toliving in the laboratory.Yousif Shamoo

Low-temperature

electron micrographof a cluster of E. colibacteria, magnified10,000 times.


14/5212 rice.edu/ricemagazine1 azineu r

T date, the Rice Alliance for Technologyand Entrepreneurship, the universitys flag-ship initiative devoted to the support of en-trepreneurship, has assisted in the launchof more than 235 companies that haveraised more than half a billion dollars. Anda recent Jones School alumni survey re-

vealed that 22 percent of Rice MBA alumnihave started one or more entrepreneurialcompanies 76 percent are still in busi-ness today.

The entrepreneurship ranking cameon the heels of a survey by the Economistthat named the Jones Schools full-timeMBA program No. 1 in the Southwest, 25thnationally and 41st among 132 schoolsglobally two points higher than last

year. The survey focused in particular onstudents abilities to pursue new career op-portunities, expand personal developmentand educational experiences, increase sala-ries, and network.

A ranking by the Wall Street Journalcontinued the Jones Schools impetus,naming the MBA for Executives (EMBA) an exclusive and rigorous MBA curriculumdesigned for upper-level managers withan average of 10 years work experience

No. 1 in Houston and No. 19 overall inthe U.S.

We have students from traditionalHouston industries, such as energy and fi-nance, and we also have students from thehealth care, legal and military sectors who

A Bull Yearfor the Jones School

No. 4 for finance (Financial Times)

No. 5 for student assessment ofcareer services (The Economist)

No. 8 among MBA for Professionalsprograms (Businessweek)

No. 8 for salary increase (FinancialTimes)

No. 9 for accountancy (FinancialTimes)

No. 15 for job placement threemonths after graduation (U.S. News

& World Report)

No. 16 for faculty researchproductivity (Financial Times)

See the Entrepreneur survey: www.entrepreneur.com/topcolleges

Learn more about the Jones GraduateSchool of Business: www.business.rice.edu

Who Knew: www.ricewhoknew.info/11

re ready to build on their business aeadership skills, said Lina Bell, directf the Rice EMBA program. We woiligently to ensure that our students ha

n exemplary experience, and this raning is a positive indication that our effore valued.

Princeton Review also weighed in isting the Jones School at No. 6 for BProfessors in The Best 300 BusineSchools: 2011 Edition. In determining trankings, Princeton Review collected tpinions of more than 19,000 students

the best AACSB-accredited MBA programin the world. Describing the Jones Schos prestigious, rigorous and well-round, Princeton Review also noted that Ras a strong focus on the energy indusnd close ties to energy firms in Housto

nd the schools finance program is knowthroughout the South.

And most recently, Bloomberg Busineweek listed the Jones School a top 30 MB

rogram and tabbed the school as one the top 10 for its intellectual capital and faulty research. The fact that student saries are in the top 20, said Jeff Fleminsenior associate dean for the Jones Schoprovides a market-based measure of whorporate recruiters think of our program

Our mission has been to build a quity curriculum, taught by the best profesors and entrepreneurs, said Willia

lick, dean of the Jones School and t

H.J. Nelson III Professor of ManagemeWe are confident that by adhering this principle, the school will continuebe recognized not only by those famiar with the Jones School, but also by targer community.

Reported by Mary Lynn Fernau, La

Hubbard, David Ruth and Jessica St

Other Recent JonesSchool Rankings

If the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business was a surfer, it wouldbe riding one heck of a rankings wave. In just four years, the school hasmoved from an unranked position among entrepreneurship programs

into the No. 6 position in the country and No. 1 in Texas as ranked by thePrinceton Review for Entrepreneur magazine. Rice is one of only fourschools to achieve a top 10 ranking during both the past two years.




A comprehensive study by Rice psychol-ogy professors Michelle Hebl and RandiMartin and graduate student Juan Madera,now an assistant professor at the Universityof Houston, shows that qualities mentionedin recommendation letters for women dif-fer sharply from those for men, and thosedifferences may be costing women jobsand promotions in academia and medicine.The study was funded by the NationalScience Foundation.

The researchers reviewed 624 lettersof recommendation for 194 applicants foreight junior faculty positions at a U.S. uni-

versity. They found that the letter writersconformed to traditional gender schemas

when describing candidates. Female can-didates were described in communal (so-cial or emotive) terms such as affectionate,helpful, kind, sympathetic, nurturing, tact-ful and agreeable, and behaviors such ashelping others, taking direction well andmaintaining relationships were highlight-ed. Male candidates, on the other hand,

were described in agentic (active or asser-tive) terms such as confident, aggressive,ambitious, dominant, forceful, indepen-dent, daring, outspoken and intellectual,and writers emphasized behaviors suchas speaking assertively, influencing othersand initiating tasks.

A further aspect of the study involvedrating the strength of the letters, or the like-lihood the candidate would be hired basedon the letter. The research team removednames and personal pronouns from the let-ters and asked faculty members to evaluate

them. The researchers controlled for such variables as the number of years candi-dates were in graduate school, the numberof papers they had published, the numberof publications on which they were thelead author, the number of honors theyreceived, the number of years of postdoc-toral education, the position applied forand the number of courses taught.

Communal characteristics mediatethe relationship between gender and hir-ing decisions in academia, which suggeststhat gender norm stereotypes can influ-ence hireability ratings of applicants, saidMartin, the Elma Schneider Professor ofPsychology. We found that being com-munal is not valued in academia, and themore communal characteristics mentioned,the lower the evaluation of the candidate.

A follow-up study funded by theNational Institutes of Health is under wayand includes applicants for faculty and re-search positions at medical schools. In thenew study, enough applicants and positions

will be included so that the researchers cuse the actual decisions of search commtees to determine the influence of letteommunal and agentic terms in the hiri

ecisions.The pipeline shortage of women

cademia is a well known and researchhenomenon, but this study is the first

its kind to examine the recommendatietters role in contributing to the disparnd evaluate it using inferential statistnd objective measures. Its also the fi

study to show that gender differences in lters actually affect judgments of hireabili

This research not only has importaimplications for women in academia, blso for women in management and learship roles, said Hebl, professor of pshology and management. A large body

research suggests that communality is nerceived to be congruent with leadershnd managerial jobs.

The research team also noted that letwriters included more doubt raisers whrecommending women, using phrases sus She might make an excellent leade

versus what they used for male candidatHe is already an established leader.

Subtle gender discrimination contues to be rampant, Hebl said. And its iortant to acknowledge this because yannot remediate discrimination until yre first aware of it. Our and other resear

shows that even small differences and

ur study, the seemingly innocuous chof words can act to create disparity ov

time and experiences.The study, Gender and Letters

Recommendation for Academia: Agennd Communal Differences, was publish

in the American Psychological AssociatioJournal of Applied Psychology.

Jessica St

If youre a woman seeking employment, you might want to takea closer look at those letters of recommendation youre send-

ing in with your application and resume. They might be hurtingyour chances more than helping them.

Michelle HeblRandi Martin

Subtle gender discriminationcontinues to be rampant. And it simportant to acknowledge thisbecause you cannot remediatediscrimination until you are firstaware of it. Michelle Hebl

Recommendation LettersMay Be Costing Women

Jobs, Promotions



The V2C was the result of an18-month process, known as the

all to Conversation, of gatheringinformation and ideas from across

the Rice community. But it was very muchgrounded in founding President EdgarOdell Lovetts vision of Rice as a great glob-al institution of arts, sciences and letters.

As Brockman Hall for Physics nearscompletion and the V2C moves from thestudent body growth and physical plantconstruction phase to the academic en-hancement phase, this an opportune timeto explore the V2C in action. In this issue

we will cover the first three goals. We can-not cover every achievement of the pastfour years, but we want to highlight some

of the major accomplishments that willserve Rice, and its many stakeholders, wellinto the future. Be sure to look in our up-coming issues for many of the other waysthat the V2C is enhancing Rice.

Goal 1: We must raise our researchand scholarship profile.

Although Rice is the second-smallestmember of the Association of AmericanUniversities, an organization representingthe nations 63 premier research universi-ties, U.S. News & World Report has rankedRice among the top 20 U.S. universities ev-

ery year since it began its rankings in 1988,and this year, Times Higher Educationmagazine placed Rice among the top 50universities worldwide. In recent years,Rice has regularly ranked among the topU.S. research universities in educational

value for its students, faculty scholarly out-put, invention disclosures and patent port-folio, U.S. Department of Defense awards,and salary potential of its alumni.

Rankings are creatures of methodol-gy and often cause heartburn in academic

rganizations. Nonetheless, Rices consis-tently high rankings show that it is gainingrecognition for is research and scholarship,fostered by an interdisciplinary, entrepre-neurial culture.

When it comes to cutting-edge sciencend engineering, Rices contributions haveed to worldwide revolutions in computing,nanoscale science and engineering, andmost recently, biomedicine and biotech-nology. The biosciences have been greatlynhanced by Rices many interactions with

researchers at other member institutions ofthe Texas Medical Center (TMC) interac-tions that will be further cultivated by the

ooperative atmosphere within Rices newBioScience Research Collaborative, theargest building project in Rices history.This state-of-the-art research facility, locat-d at the intersection of Rice and the Texas

Medical Center, will strengthen the linketween these world-renowned institu-

tions and lead to discoveries that will helpreinvent the world of health and medicine.

In the humanities and social sciences,Rice continues to excel in a number ofisciplines, including history, philosophy,

sociology, anthropology, economics andolitical science. We also are home to more

than 40 research centers and institutes and

more than 15 academic journals and bookseries, all of which focus international at-tention on Rice as a center of research andcademic achievement.

Sponsored research revenues are onef the more important indicators that Rice

is recognized as one of the best researchinstitutions in the country. Since the incep-tion of the V2C, sponsored research rev-nues from industries, foundations, and

federal, state and local governments increased from about $78 million to m

than $130 million. Overall, faculty effosponsored projects has gone up appmately 37 percent since 2008, and propsubmissions went up 22 percent from to 2009 and are up an additional 39 peto date in 2010.

High-profile research in the scieand engineering, of course, comprisebulk of sponsored research awards, busearchers in the School of Social Sciehave brought in record-breaking granstudy local elections; Houstonians tudes about the arts, education and hcare; and the advanced placement escores as predictors of college success

Yet another measure of Rices ging research and scholarship profile iFaculty Scholarly Productivity Indexleased by Academic Analytics, whichcalled Rice the most productive reseuniversity in Texas and among the toresearch universities in the country. the Patent Scorecard has named Ricesent portfolio the most impactful am

American research universities.Soon after the implementation o

V2C, Rice created the Office of Resecurrently headed by Vice ProvostResearch James Coleman, to oversee

growth of research at Rice and to mathe universitys $100,000,000 researchterprise. The role of the Office of Reseis to facilitate the ability of Rices fato excel at research and to ensure thabroader Rice community understandsimportant role that research, creativitynovation and scholarship play in gening the intellectual energy that makes such a special place.

Four years ago, President David Leebron launched the Vision for the SecoCentury (V2C), a 10-point strategy for Rices growth and advancement one of the premier research universities in the world. Today, as the univsity embarks on the countdown to its centennial, a lot has been accoplished under that plan that positions Rice well for its second hundred yea

VisionCheckupB Y C H R I S T O P H E R D O

A V2C Progress Report Part 1


17/52

In a recent assessment, the NatResearch Council, created in 1916 by

National Academy of Sciences, measthe quality and effectiveness of more 5,000 doctoral programs at 212 Ameruniversities. The report did not rankprograms or schools in numerical ordeinstead placed doctoral programs in rathat reflected the quality and effectiveof the programs based on criteria seemost important to faculty, students administrators. Rices doctoral progin history, bioengineering, political ence, materials science and applied phall scored in significantly high percen

when compared with similar doctoralgrams elsewhere, and other Rice doc

programs also fared well.To better accommodate student

graduate programs, Rice has incregraduate student housing by almospercent under the V2C. The Rice Vi

Apartments, located one block west of is a 137-unit garden-style complex that

vides affordable, family-friendly hofor graduate students. The complex, waugments the 112-unit garden-style Graduate Apartments just north of camis certified to Leadership in Energy Environmental Design standards doped by the U.S. Green Building Coun

Be sure to look in the next issue as we conour coverage of the ways that the V2C is ing Rice fulfill the promise of its first 100 and grow into a new century of possibil

Rice Magazine No. 8 20

Goal 2: We must equip our studentswith the knowledge, skills and val-

ues to make a distinctive impact onthe world.

Rices undergraduate students come tocampus well equipped to tackle the chal-lenges of obtaining a degree in Ricesdemanding academic environment, andonce here, they continue to excel. Butacademic excellence is only the outlineof the portrait of a Rice student. What de-fines and gives life to the features is theintense interest that Rice students takein the well-being of the world and thepeople living in it.

A perfect example is their exciting

and excited participation in Rice 360:Institute for Global Health Technologies,

which was established in 2007 by RebeccaRichards-Kortum, the Stanley C. MooreProfessor of Bioengineering and profes-sor of electrical and computer engineer-ing, in partnership with the Clinton GlobalInitiative. This initiative engages students ina setting that nurtures awareness of humanneeds and provides the means for them toaddress those needs in practical ways.

The student-created medical inven-tions coming out of the Rice 360 programare too numerous to detail but include adiagnostic Lab-in-a-Backpack; a hand-

cranked blood centrifuge; a low-cost,lightweight portable microscope; and low-power-consumption incubators and aera-tors for ill and premature infants. Thesedevices and others outfit medical provid-ers with essential equipment designed foruse in remote and underdeveloped regionsof the world. Since its establishment, Rice360 has been institutionalized at Rice as aminor in global health technologies.

loser to home, Rice students aresome of the most eager participants in

artnerships with Houston, particularlythrough the Center for Civic Engagement,

direct result of the V2Cs call for in-reased interaction with the city. Theenter coordinates a range of communityctivities through Leadership Rice, theenter for Civic Research and Design and

the Community Involvement Center. Last year, more than 2,000 students loggedin excess of 21,000 hours of communityservice with nearly 200 nonprofit part-ners throughout Houston and beyond.They participated in civic research andesign courses, mentored in local K12

schools, worked in homeless shelters, or-

anized cloth ing and food drives, plantedtrees, worked in Houston-area museumsnd hospitals, and participated in cul-

tural events and activities throughout theity. For all their unconventional efforts,

they earned Rice a place on the 2009Presidents Higher Education CommunityService Honor Roll, the highest federalrecognition a school can achieve for ser-

vice learning and civic engagement.

Goal 3:We must strengthen our grad-uate and postdoctoral programs.

raduate students are key to both re-

search and fostering the entry of newfaculty into higher education, and this

year, Rice has 2,272 of the worlds best.Demonstrating the universitys dedicationto graduate education, in 2007, Rice ap-ointed a dean to oversee graduate andostdoctoral studies and also recentlydded Ph.D. programs in sociology andrt history. Both are the only doctoralrograms in their fields in Houston.


Learn more about the Vision for the Second Ce

www.professor.rice.edu/professor/Vision



Six Rice students with the James A. Baker III Institute for PublicPolicys Energy Forum spent a month in the Boutmezguida regionof southern Morocco to help with a project that harvests potable

water from the fog that envelops parts of the Atlas Mountains. Thestudents were joined by Amy Myers Jaffe, a fellow in energy stud-ies at the Baker Institute and associate director of the Rice EnergyProgram; Ronald Soligo, professor of economics; and EugeniaGeorges, professor and chair of anthropology.

The project, developed by the Dar Si Hmad Foundation in Sidi Ifni,Morocco, utilizes a polyethylene mesh to capture tiny droplets of

water that then drip into collecting tubes that lead to a storage tank atthe bottom of the mountain. The sustainable project could theoreti-ally provide clean, safe water for people in the area.

Rices involvement in the project began this past spring inIntegrated Approaches to Sustainable Development, a class taught by

Jaffe. One of the guest lecturers was Jamila Bargach, the founder ofthe Dar Si Hmad Foundation, said Kevin Liu 10, who now works as

a research associate at the EnergyForum. She told us about an op-portunity to go to Morocco to

work with fog nets in water-poorareas. The goal of the trip was toexpose students to applying sus-tainable techniques learned froma course to real-world problems indeveloping countries.

Bargach graduated from Ricein 1998 with a Ph.D. in culturalanthropology. She started hernonprofit foundation to improvethe quality of life for some of themore impoverished communities

in and around Ifni. In addition toLiu, other Rice participants werejunior John Michael Nosek, ju-nior Rebecca Jaffe, senior MariluCorona, junior Alexandra Ernst,senior Noemie Levy and Joyce

Yao 10.Although the nets cannot supply enough water for a metropolitan

rea, they can make a real difference for rural families. At a cost of

roughly $1,000 to $1,500 to cover materials and maintenance fverage 10-year life span, they can provide anywhere from 21,000 liters of water per day for a village. The students also lo

into the possibility of harvesting water that accumulated on treespreading tarps on the ground beneath them. The idea stemmedbserving indicators of water accumulation on the vegetation, wcts as a natural fog collector.

The Rice students mis-sion included conductingackground research on theroject, completing the cal-ulations for the designs andocations of the nets, andeveloping the required in-

frastructure for a future Riceroup to finish the project

next summer. Determiningthe location to position the

nets will be especially impor-tant for maximizing the ef-ficiency of the nets in regardto the orientation, frequencyf fog, and wind speed andirection, Liu said. The re-ion also could benefit from

comprehensive survey ofnatural groundwater patternsreated by the fog.

The challenges of boththe science and engineering and cultural implementation are lnd the predestined conditions of geography and nature are havercome, Jaffe wrote on the Baker Institutes blog in the Houhronicle. A principal lesson of the Morocco experience, she ad

is that the solutions to such problems are not global at all. Theommunity-specific and require a deep knowledge of cultural,raphic and socio-political conditions.

Liu echoed Jaffes conclusion: Although we may think we kwhat is best for other countries, it is impossible for us to put oursin their shoes. A comprehensive survey needs to be done beforonstruction begins so we can get a feel for the situation. If youo and build without understanding the culture and the relationf the locals and what is socially acceptable you could do arm than good.

Franz B

Out of the

GOFSome rural Moroccans have to trekfor miles every day because theirarid environment doesnt provideenough drinking water. Or does it?

The goal ofthe trip was toexpose studentsto applyingsustainabletechniqueslearned from acourse to real-world problemsin developingcountries.

Kevin Liu


19/52

Students

Ground-penetrating radar can identify unm

burial sites. From left, graduate student

Minzoni, postdoctoral research associate

Wallace and Professor Dale Sawyer, review

results.

The beautiful thing aboutthis equipment is thatit can give us a readingof the location of thesegraves, and then we cando further research to try

to identify who the peo-ple are who may have

been buried in theselocations.

Rice Magazine No. 8

Akel Kahera

The physical sciences crossed paths with Texas cultural history when agroup of Rice University graduate students took the latest tools of geophysi-

cal science into a remote field at Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU) tosearch for unmarked graves in one of Texas few known slave cemeteries.

They are finding graves that we did not know existed, said Akel Kahera, associ-ate professor of architecture at PVAMU and director of the Texas Institute for thePreservation of History and Culture. And the beautiful thing about this equipmentis that it can give us a reading of the location of these graves, and then we can dofurther research to try to identify who the people are who may have been buried inthese locations.

This is the third year that Kahera has teamed with the students and instructorsfrom Rices Earth Science 515 course to search for unmarked graves in and around the

Wyatt Chapel Cemetery on the northern portion of the Prairie View campus.Prairie View, the second-oldest public institution of higher learning in Texas,

was founded in 1876 on 1,000 acres of land that had been part of Alta Vista, one ofTexas largest pre-Civil War plantations. Though there are no written records of a

slave burial ground for Alta Vista, oral histories and a few old headstones suggest thatthe area around the present-day Wyatthapel Cemetery served as the slave buri-l ground for both Alta Vista and Liendo,nother large plantation nearby.

The students use ground-penetratingradar, GPS and high-tech survey instru-ments to catalog and map suspectedraves. They then use the data to create a

sophisticated map that PVAMU research-rs can augment with archival and histori-al data.

One of the course instructors, DaleSawyer, professor of Earth science at Rice,said investigating the geology and geog-

raphy of the area can help reveal cluesbout the cemeterys history. Were inter-sted in the geology and the depth of thelay here to tell us something about where

we expect burials to be, Sawyer said. A dense layer of clay lies about three feetbelow the sand in the area, and because the clay is so difficult to dig by hand, mostburials were no deeper than 2 to 3 feet.

The courses lead instructor, Davin Wallace, postdoctoral research associate inEarth science at Rice, said the ground-penetrating radar lets the students see unusualfeatures down to about 10 feet. While the radar doesnt give a photographic imageof whats beneath the surface, a burial returns a signal that is different from featuressuch as tree roots or buried stumps. When a suspected grave is located, GPS is usedto get a rough fix on the location, and flags are placed for follow-up surveys withstate-of-the-art laser-ranging devices.

Kahera said the work of the Rice team is vitally important in the documentation

of the history of Wyatt Chapel Cemetery. We love this partnership, he said, and Ihope we can continue it.

Sawyer, Kahera and Wallace all credited Alison Henning, a former lecturer inEarth science, for much of the programs success. Henning founded and led theprogram at Rice during its first three years.

Jade Boyd

Watch a video clip of the radar survey:


History Meets Science at HistoricTexas Cemetery



As it turned out, the real China was the big-gest surprise, Chan said. So much of myexperience in Shanghai was characterizedby learning and new experiences fromacclimating to an international work envi-ronment to traveling by myself across China.

As a summer fellow through the Schoolof Social Sciences Gateway program, Chanspent his summer in Shanghai getting ataste of the real world by interviewing busi-ness and government leaders there. The

Jones College junior learned from J. P. Lopez96, human resources manager at DisneyPublishing; Gregory Pfleger Jr. 00, a foreignservice officer; Wang Qun, vice chairman of

Yum! Brands China; and Jose Villarreal, com-missioner general of USA Pavilion.

Every story is unique, and each personahas an individual set of ideals, beliefs andadvice, Chan said, but there was a com-mon lesson in each story: The world as weknow it is shrinking, and the global future isbound together.

That realization about the real world isjust what the Gateway Program intends forits students. The program offers social sci-nces majors the opportunity to explore ca-

reer paths now so they can transition moreasily out of academic life. Befitting of its

name, the program acts as a gateway fromstudent life to the real world.

On the flight back to Houston afterlmost four months abroad, I knew I waschanged person, Chan said. I returned

with hopes of sharing my experiences the seeds of creating my own future andventually, changing the world.

han was one of six students whospent their summers in China, New York,

D.C. or Houston under the Summer Felprogram, the newest of Gateways programs. The program offers stipendsocial sciences undergraduates who ide

unique uncompensated summer internin the U.S. or abroad to gain firsthandperience working full time while they rapport with accomplished alumni and

view leaders to discover the source of iration behind their achievements.

For McMurtry College senior Enstinthe summer fellowship was a glimpse intfuture. I have had the chance to see easpect of inpatient psychiatry patient interacting with patients, attending gactivities and family meetings, and woon behind-the-scenes social work taskssaid of her internship with Bellevue HoCenter in New York. This has been a

eye-opening experience, and I am serioconsidering becoming a psychiatrist.Under Gateways International Amb

dor program, students receive a stipendguidance in making contacts and conduinterviews, prepare reports, and make sentations upon their return.

The Social Sciences UndergradResearch Enterprise program funds pendent research projects for studentsprovides course credit. In the past yethe program, students explored the rophysicians in genetic testing, studied sumethods of school bond elections, leaabout subprime mortgages and looked

gional subcultures of the United States.

After spending more than a decade learning spoken and written Chinese,Chris Chan thought he was ready for a summer in China. Throughout his life,he had taken many trips to visit family in Hong Kong and kept abreast of hap-

penings in mainland China. He knew hed face some unexpected challengesas he interned at the World Expo in Shanghai, but he felt fortunate to be trav-eling to a place in which he could assimilate quickly and well.

Gatewayto the Real World

Chris Chan celebrates his Gateway Summer Fellowship at Mount Hua, one of the five sacred mountains of China.

Learn more about the Gateway Program:

socialsciencesgateway.rice.e

The program offers social sciences majors the opportunity to explore career pnow so they can transition more easily out of academic life. Befitting of its nathe program acts as a gateway from student life to the real world.

The final prong of the Gateway prois the social sciences internship, in wstudents earn course credit while workiusinesses, hospitals and government aies, both in the United States and ab

Rice students have recently interned such companies and nonprofits as Universal, American Civil Liberties UnMerrill Lynch and the Childrens Assessenter.

Jessica



Students

Millers first model was built from off-the-shelf parts and encased in a rugged plasticshell that he created with a 3-D printer atRices Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen(OEDK). Light to power the 1,000-timesmagnification microscope comes from atop-mounted LED flashlight. He has sincereplaced the microscopes plastic casing withaluminum for better stability.

In tests, the portable, battery-operatedfluorescence microscope, which costs $240,stacks up nicely against devices that retailfor as much as $40,000 in diagnosing signs

of tuberculosis. Miller and colleagues atthe Methodist Hospital Research Institute(TMHRI) analyzed samples from 19 patientssuspected of having TB, an infectious dis-ease that usually attacks the lungs and canbe fatal if not treated. The Global Focus mi-croscope performed just as well as the labsreference-standard fluorescence microscope.The team reported similar findings were ob-tained in 98.4 percent of the samples tested.The research was published online in thejournal PloS ONE.

The Global Focus microscope won this years Hershel M. Rich Invention Award, which is presented annually by Rice

Engineering Alumni to a Rice faculty mem-ber or student who has developed an origi-nal invention. It was the first undergraduateproject to win the award.

Miller, who graduated from Rice witha degree in bioengineering, works as amedical device designer for Thoratec, a SanFrancisco company that makes ventricularassist devices. Part time, he continues work-ing to commercialize the microscope in a

way that will ensure its cost remainsfor users in developing countries. HeRice have contracted with a medical deonsultant, 3rd Stone Design, to produc

microscopes that are currently undergfield-tests.

Co-authors of the paper include lum Gregory Davis 09; Maria Oden,

fessor in the practice of engineering at nd director of the OEDK; Mark Pierc

research scientist and lecturer in bioneering at Rice; Randall Olsen, a MethHospital pathologist and TMHRI s

tist; and Mohamad Razavi, Abolfazl FMorteza Ghazanfari, Farid AbdolrahShahin Pourazar and Fatemeh Sakf the Pasteur Institute of Iran. The ram was supported by a grant from

Howard Hughes Medical Institute throthe Precollege and Undergraduate SciEducation Program.

Mike W

Read the paper:


Learn more about Rice 360: Institute for GlobaHealth Technologies

rice360.rice.edu

ho Knew:

ricewhoknew.info/13

Compact Microscopea Marvel

Andrew Miller 09, working with Rice 360: Institute for GlobalHealth Technologies, created the 2.5-pound instrument, dubbed theGlobal Focus microscope, as his senior design project. His goal was to make an inexpensive, portable and highly capable microscopethat could be used in clinics in developing countries that have lim-ited access to lab equipment and lack electricity.

A compact microscope invented at Rice University may be small, but its scope is macro.

In tests, the portable,battery-operated

fluorescence microscope,which costs $240, stacksup nicely against devicesthat retail for as much as

$40,000 in diagnosing signsof tuberculosis.

Andrew Miller



In

some ways, the 100-year milestone marks Rice becom-ing a mature university, even though we are one ofthe youngest members of the Association of AmericanUniversities. To put this in some perspective, this past

summer I visited the University of Leipzig shortly after it celebratedits 600th anniversary. The University of Bologna was founded 922

years ago. Although Rice has changed constantly during its com-paratively brief history, after nearly a century it also has establishedits own strong sense of identity.

We are a small university not because we were founded to besmall (we werent) or because we havent had time to grow (wehave). Rather, we choose to be comparatively small because thathas become an important part of our identity, distinctiveness andsuccess. Similarly, our distinctive commitment to undergraduateeducation is not a mere reflection of our youth, but an essential

and I dare say immutable part of our values the values that havetaken hold and guided us even as the Rice Institute evolved into the

very different university that is the Rice of today.And yet, that gelling of identity ought not be taken to mean

we are done changing and growing and here I do not mean inthe sense of numbers of students. Insofar as a university is aboutboth the creation and dissemination of knowledge, it can no moresucceed by simply staying the same than can any other enterprisein our competitive, ever-changing world. So a century mark is atime to pause, to take note of what we have become, achievedand contributed, and then to turn our attention to the future andcontemplate how best to achieve our evolving aspirations.

Just try to imagine Rice without the changes of, say, the lastthird of a century or so. That would mean no separate School ofSocial Sciences, no Jones Graduate School of Business, no ShepherdSchool of Music, no Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, noDepartment of Bioengineering, and little diversity in our studentbody or faculty. Our student body has changed enormously, fromone in which nearly all the students were white and from Texas toone in which there is no majority ethnic or racial group and thathails from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. Of course, thereare some things that have changed for which a sense of regret may

e understandable, such as the end of free tuition in the 196During our history, we have reached many forks in the road.

the 1960s and even later, we might have chosen to become primily a university for science and engineering. That is certainly wheur early strengths lay. But instead, we embarked upon a path ecome an ever more wide-ranging university offering a broad

ray of academic disciplines.Our School of Social Sciences, and its increasing importance n

nly to the university but to the city of Houston, reflects the lastiimpact of that decision. More students today major in the social snces than in any other school. Our faculty is deeply engaged wrange of questions that span the local to the international. Th

study the details of city life and race relations and build theoreal models of political systems both here in the United States abroad. They seek to understand the workings of ancient societ

s well as the future of our own. Our students pursue their owresearch in the social sciences literally all around the globe.

In this issue we announce the formation of the Kinder Institufor Urban Research, which should help propel to greater achievment not only the social sciences at Rice, but also multiple othschools and departments whose professors also work on urbroblems. It will be an invaluable resource for the city of Houstnd, equally, a link between Rice and the great urban centers

the world. Thirty years of experience in researching the city Houston through the Houston Area Survey will now benefit, aenefit from, the study of other global cities. A century ago R

was envisioned to be an intellectual beacon for Houston. I cannverstate my gratitude to Rich and Nancy Kinder for their visind generosity in making possible this new venture in support

the vital relationship between our university and its home city.This is in fact the kind of exciting new enterprise that has ch

cterized 98 years of distinguished history at Rice. I am confidethat many more such advancements lie ahead. So, when we gathtogether two years from now for the Centennial Celebration, w

will observe not only the achievements that lie behind us, but tnew heights that are to come.

Presidents CO LUMN

On October 12, we officially launched a countdown to Rice Universitys 100tanniversary celebration that will culminate on October 12, 2012. This leads totwo broad questions: Whats the importance of a university centennial, an

what are the principle things that characterize Rices near century of history

By David W. Leebron

on Rices Past and Future

Reflections

Our student body has changed enormously, from one in which nearly all the students were white and from Texas

one in which there is no majority ethnic or racial group and that hails from all 50 states and more than 80 countrie



A festive mood complemented President DavidLeebrons optimistic outlook for the university ashe assessed Rices past, present and future at a

town hall held on Rice Day the anniversary of the universitys formal dedication Oct. 12, 1912.

Were in good shape, Leebron said as he focused on Rices fi-nancial situation, contributions to society, community, campus andupcoming Centennial Celebration, and weve reached a point in the

Vision for the Second Century where we have achieved most of ourinfrastructure and expansion goals.

n the revenue front, Leebron noted that the endowment hasrisen in value and that the Centennial Campaign is two-thirds ofthe way toward its $1 billion goal. (See Centennial Campaignon Page 3.) About one-fourth of the money raised for the cam-paign has gone toward new buildings and the physical plant. Allof that construction, Leebron said, has been on time and on orunder budget.

Support for the Rice Annual Fund dropped somewhat this year,but Leebron expressed hope that the campaign goal of raising anannual amount of $8.2 million for the Annual Fund by fiscal year2013 will be reached. The Annual Fund is an increasingly impor-tant source of revenue, he said, because it supports scholarshipsand student life.

Although the 30 percent expansion of the undergraduate stu-dent body and an increase in tuition have yielded an increase inundergraduate tuition revenue since fiscal year 2005, Rice also in-creased funding for financial aid when the economic slump createdmore need. We take a lot of pride in the economic diversity of ourstudents, Leebron said. We remain need-blind and committed toeducational opportunities for students regardless of financial need.

Rices revenues did get a boost from sponsored research, whichwas up more than 12 percent to $98.5 million in FY10. Stimulusfunding accounted for $6.7 million. This dramatic increase reflects

what our faculty are able to accomplish, Leebron said, and whatour research contributes to the world.

Leebron spoke at length about the contributions that Ricemakes to the education of outstanding students and to the

etterment of our world, and he cited the 25th anniversary the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the buckyball at Rice. Thremarkable achievement has had an impact on everything froancer treatments to energy to manufacturing and continues

symbolize Rices capacity to change the world. Another exampis the Houston Area Survey, the nations longest-running in-depstudy of any metropolitan area in the United States. Leebron anoted the extraordinary research contributions of Rice studen

whose low-cost portable microscope and salad spinner centrifugfor example, enable delivery of better health care to the poorregions of the world.

Leebron commended the efforts of the Rice Art Committeeincrease campus vibrancy and beauty with new art pieces graing the BioScience Research Collaborative, Raymond and SusBrochstein Pavilion, and other Rice buildings and open spaces.

With $800 million in board-approved construction projenearly completed, an entering class size that is now 30 percearger than in 2004, broader engagement with the city of Houston enhanced research mission and a larger international presen

Leebron said Rice can take pride in having achieved many of V2C goals. He said that Rice will move forward with three ninitiatives identified by the faculty: bioscience and human heanergy and the environment, and international programs. (S

Provost Appoints Task Forces for Three New Initiatives, Page ?The best is yet to come, Leebron said, and although he m

ave been speaking in general terms about the universitys futue also meant right then, in the here and now. Even before

final words echoed through the hall, the MOB, accompanied heerleaders and Sammy the Owl, made a surprise appearance o

stage, performing their trademark Louie, Louie, to help launch t

fficial countdown to the universitys 2012 Centennial CelebratioShepherd School graduate students Alex Pride and J

Northman performed a special trumpet fanfare composed for tccasion by Marie Speziale, professor of trumpet and chair of brand the cheerleaders led the audience in a 10, 9, 8 countdo

that ended with Celebrate Rice! They then tossed centennT-shirts into the crowd, and the MOB took over the stage and hthe crowd dancing while blue and gray balloons displaying tentennial mark rained from above.

Learn more and see a slideshow of the Centennial Celebration kickoff: ricemagazine.info/68

Town Hall Launches Countdown to 2012 Centennial Celebration



Belief in

God is amistake, animpoverished

view ofthe world.Faith is adelusion.Richard Dawkins

Evolutionary biologist and author of The God Delusion1

If God brought aboutour existence for a

purpose, then themost important kindof knowledge tohave is knowledgeof God and of whatHe intends for us. Is

creation in that broadsense consistent withevolution? The answeris absolutely not.

Phillip E. Johnson

Jefferson E. Peyser Professor of Law, Emeritus, the University of California

at Berkeley and author of Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds2

Science



THE DIALOG IS IN THE DATA

Its unfortunate that the extremes on sides get the most media play, Ecksaid. The public ends up thinking evne whos a scientist is a rabid atheisourse there certainly are atheists in scie

ut I can count on fewer than the finf one hand the number of scientists

interviewed at top universities who havsame kind of views Richard Dawkins h

n the other hand, scientists often tthat every religious person is a fundameist completely against science. I know

rice magazine issue 8

Documents