Rice University | Sallyport (Winter 2006)


Through the Sallyport :
	School of Continuing Studies Renamed for Susanne M. Glasscock In honor of what is believed to be the largest endowment gift ever made to a university continuing education program in the United States, the School of Continuing Studies has been renamed the Susanne M. Glasscock School of Continuing Studies.

	Rice Receives 2006 Good Brick Award, AIA 50 Year Award Renovation of the historic Wiess President’s House, 2 Sunset Boulevard, has earned Rice University its third Good Brick Award from the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance (GHPA).

	Touring Post-Quake Pakistan Northern Pakistan—devastated by a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in October—is vulnerable to even larger, more destructive quakes, according to a report released by a team of engineering experts, including Rice’s Ahmad Durrani. —Jade Boyd

	A New Model for Global Business While investing abroad once was fraught with red tape, most host governments today give foreign investors the red-carpet treatment. —Debra Thomas

	Micro or Macro: Determining Investments’ Impacts A Rice expert in performance metrics offers a model to help microfinance organizations objectively measure the impact of their investments. —Debra Thomas

	Premature Birth Rates Increases Asthma Risks A new study by university researchers shows a strong connection between premature birth and childhood asthma, as well as some surprising results. —Pam Sheridan

	Study Puts Risks of Making Nanotubes on Par with Wine-Making Using a method for assessing the premiums that companies pay for insurance, a team of scientists and insurance experts have concluded that the manufacturing processes for five near-market nanomaterials present fewer risks to the environment than some common industrial processes. —Jade Boyd

	Rice Researchers Gain New Insight Into Nanoscale Optics New research from Rice demonstrates an important analogy between electronics and optics that will enable light waves to be coupled efficiently to nanoscale structures and devices. —Jade Boyd

	Rice Mathematician Gets Handle on Centuries-Old Shape It has been almost 230 years since French general and mathematician Jean Meusnier’s study of soap film led to one of the fundamental mathematical examples in geometric optimization .—Jade Boyd

	Communicating Change Is Key to Success Why have so many companies failed in their efforts to undergo a significant change? The answer, according to a Rice researcher, lies in something that should be second nature to most corporations but often is surprisingly overlooked: communication. —Debra Thomas

	Race Less a Factor in Minority Mayoral Elections Race and ethnicity are still very much a part of American politics, but a new study suggests that, increasingly, voters are selecting candidates based on their job performance, not just their racial affiliation. —B. J. Almond

	“Americanization” May Hurt Black Immigrants’ Health While the health of all Americans has improved in the past century, the gap between whites and blacks actually has widened. And a new study of black immigrants to the United States reveals an even more disturbing pattern: living in white-majority nations actively damages the health of black people.

	Churches Influence Attitudes of New Americans Churches can have an important influence on the lives of many first- and second-generation Americans. A new study by Elaine Howard Ecklund, a postdoctoral fellow in sociology at Rice, however, also suggests that there are significant differences in attitudes between those who attend exclusively second-generation ethnic churches and those who attend multiethnic churches in their communities.

	Plea Bargain or Trial? Depends on the Job Market How justice is applied in criminal cases, such as drug trafficking, can depend on a number of obvious factors, including the severity of the crime, the costs involved in going to trial, and oftentimes the defendant’s gender and race. A factor that is completely unexpected, however, is the condition of the local labor market.

	The More We Know, the More We Can Learn Our ability to process and reason is important in learning, but as we get older, the knowledge and skills we acquire through experience and education become our best teachers. The more we know, in other words, the more easily we acquire new knowledge. —B. J. Almond

Through the Sallyport :