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In the News
Bordeaux Named Associate Dean of EngineeringJanice Bordeaux is the new associate dean of program development at the George R. Brown School of Engineering. Bordeaux, adjunct associate professor in psychology, is a noted expert on learning and assessment in higher education. She joined the school of engineering in 1999 to oversee Rice’s response to sweeping changes in national engineering accreditation standards. In her new position, she will apply similar program development and evaluation methods to school-wide initiatives. Collaborating with faculty and students, Bordeaux has designed and implemented new methods of outcome-based program assessment in response to pioneering accreditation standards from ABET, the national accreditor for U.S. applied science, computing, engineering, and technology degree programs. Barron Tapped for New PostAndrew Barron has been appointed associate dean for industry interactions and technology transfer at the Wiess School of Natural Sciences. Barron, the Charles W. Duncan Jr.–Welch Professor of Chemistry and professor of materials science, is tasked with three primary goals: increasing industry awareness of the school, its faculty, and its students; increasing industry-sponsored research within the school; and promoting and fostering technology transfer. He will conduct a comprehensive review of ongoing research at the school to identify both immediate and long-term opportunities for collaboration and technology transfer. He’ll also coordinate with the directors of Rice’s academic institutes and centers, with industrial relations personnel in other Rice divisions, and with officials in the development and technology-transfer offices. Math Professor Wins Sloan FellowshipShelly Harvey, assistant professor of mathematics, has won a prestigious research fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. She is one of 116 young researchers in the nation selected to receive the award, which includes a two-year, $45,000 grant. The Sloan fellowships are among the most highly sought because the fellows are free to pursue whatever lines of research are of most interest to them. This year’s Sloan fellows came from the fields of physics, chemistry, computational and evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, and neuroscience at 55 of North America’s top research universities. Harvey’s work is characterized by the complex and inventive use of algebra, which she brings to bear in surprising ways on problems of central importance in topology. New Assistant Professor Wins Prestigious International AwardD. Michael Lindsay, a new faculty member in the Rice sociology department, recently placed first in the fourth Worldwide Competition for Junior Sociologists, for researchers younger than 35. The paper for which Lindsay won the award, “Liminal Organization in Elite Ranks: Linking Societal Power to Religious Faith,” was based on his dissertation research, which explores the role of religious conviction in the lives of societal leaders. Research involved interviews with more than 350 elites, all of whom are part of the evangelical movement. Lindsay, the author of several books, articles, and research reports, specializes in issues surrounding elites, religion, and culture. A Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude graduate of Baylor University, he earned a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he was a presidential scholar. He then earned an additional degree at the University of Oxford as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar before returning to Princeton for his doctoral studies, which he currently is completing as a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. In addition to his position as assistant professor of sociology, Lindsay also will serve as assistant director and faculty fellow at Rice’s Center on Race, Religion, and Urban Life. He will lead classes within his main interests of elites and leadership, sociology of culture, political sociology, sociology of religion, and social theory. Particle Physicist to Lead Major U.S. Contribution at CERNRice University physicist B. Paul Padley has been chosen to lead the scientific operations for the $40 million Endcap Muon System of particle detectors at the European Organization for Nuclear Research’s (CERN) Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Scheduled to begin operations next year, LHC is poised to become the most powerful particle accelerator in the world. Housed in a sprawling 27-kilometer ring of subterranean tunnels on the border between France and Switzerland, LHC will smash together beams of protons traveling at near light speed to recreate high-energy conditions that existed during the universe’s infancy. The physical scale of the project is matched by its human scale: the project team boasts 2,300 people from 159 scientific institutions. A goal of the project is to detect the rapid stream of muons that will be created in the LHC. Muons are short-lived particles that act much like electrons but are far more massive. Detection of muons is crucial at the LHC because muons will play a key role in unveiling the physics of the Higgs field and of supersymmetry, two of the collider’s primary goals. “Precise and reliable detection of muons is a notoriously difficult task at hadron colliders, but we must solve this problem at LHC if we are to adequately reconstruct the decay products of the Higgs particle,” Padley says. “Most exciting of all, we may be able to shed light on the mysterious dark matter that pervades the universe.” Fund Created to Honor Former Rice Engineering ProfessorThe Paul R. Paslay Endowed Excellence Fund has been created for tenured and tenure-track faculty in mechanical engineering and materials science to seek funds for innovative projects that enhance existing programs in the department or jump-start new ones and to enhance student learning. Proposals that build community are of high interest. The fund was established by Al Hirshberg ’82 and his wife, Suzy ’84, to honor the professor who strongly influenced the course of Hirshberg’s life. Paslay, a former adjunct professor at Rice, also was a consultant whose clients included ExxonMobil. The professor encouraged Hirshberg to pursue an internship at the company, where he still works today. Si Bestowed High Honor in PhysicsQimiao Si has been elected a fellow of the American Physical Society (APS). The honor is one of the highest academic achievements in physics, because no more than one-half of 1 percent of APS members can be elected to fellowship. In electing Si, APS cited his “sustained contributions to the theory of heavy fermion and disordered metals, especially their quantum criticality.” Si, professor of physics and astronomy, specializes in theoretical condensed matter physics. His major contributions have been in the area of strongly correlated electron systems, including magnetic heavy fermion metals, high-temperature superconductors, and mesoscopic and disordered electronic systems. He is particularly well known for his theory of quantum criticality, which concerns the physics of matter undergoing transitions from one quantum state to another. The theory has received extensive support from experiments in heavy fermion metals. Si has published more than 70 scientific articles and given more than 140 invited talks. He also serves on the advisory editorial board of the Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. He currently is organizing the 2007 International Conference on Strongly Correlated Electron Systems, the 16th of a flagship annual conference series in this area. Stallmann Receives Fromm CommissionShepherd School of Music composer Kurt Stallmann has been named one of 14 national recipients of a $10,000 Fromm commission, one of the most highly sought honors in contemporary composition. The Fromm Music Foundation at Harvard University announced the annual commissions last fall. The commissions represent one of the principal ways the foundation seeks to strengthen composition and to bring contemporary concert music closer to the public. Stallmann, the Lynette S. Autrey Assistant Professor of Composition and Theory and director of Rice Electronic Music Labs, specializes in electro–acoustic compositions, and his work has been performed throughout the United States and Europe. Most recently, he premiered SONA: Sounds of Houston: Wind, Rain, and Trains, a multimedia work that combines music for string quartet with live computer processing, video of East Coast trains with the sounds of Gulf Coast trains, computer generated sounds using falling rain as rhythmic models, and natural wind, including a special appearance by Hurricane Rita. This full-scale performance was held in December at DiverseWorks ArtSpace with his collaborators, the Enso String Quartet and filmmaker Alfred Guzzetti. The work was made possible through the support of DiverseWorks and an individual artist grant from the Cultural Arts Council of Houston and Harris County. His compositions have been performed by the New Millennium Ensemble, Speculum Musicae, Mendelssohn String Quartet, and the Cleveland New Music Associates and have appeared as part of the Boston Conservatory Performance Series, NuClassix concert series, the Composer in Red Sneaker Series, and at various festivals in Europe. His current commission, a new work for electronics and the New World Trio, a chamber ensemble in Hartford, Connecticut, premiered in April. Chapman, Marfin to Lead InstituteRice University has named Walter Chapman director of the Energy and Environmental Systems Institute (EESI) and Gary Marfin executive director. Chapman, who joined the Rice faculty in 1990 from Shell Development Company, was named the first holder of the William W. Akers Chair of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. EESI organizes interdisciplinary research, education, and community outreach activities. More than 100 Rice faculty members are affiliated with the institute, which is committed to advancing the understanding of energy and environmental issues and encouraging development of related technologies and informed policymaking in the public and private sectors. Chapman was director of Rice’s Center for Chemical Processing Technology prior to becoming director of EESI. His research focuses on the properties and interfacial structures of complex fluids, such as those used in plastics, paints, coatings, and films. He also studies the properties of systems like natural gas hydrates and asphaltenes, which are of broad interest to the oil and gas industry. He is widely recognized in the chemical engineering and chemical physics communities for his contributions in the areas of molecular modeling and simulation, and he is equally well-known in the industrial community for developing the statistical associated fluid theory, a widely adopted set of equations that allow chemists, chemical engineers, physicists, and others to make precise predictions about the behavior of liquid solutions of solvents and polymers. Marfin, who joined Rice in August 2004 as program director of the Shell Center for Sustainability, also is an instructor at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management. Prior to joining Rice, Marfin worked in the oil and gas industry for more than 20 years. Marfin was a founding member and treasurer of the Business Council for Sustainable Development for the Gulf Coast, a broad-based partnership that included business leaders from the United States and Mexico. He is a former board member of the Houston chapter of the Asia Society, an active member of the Greater Houston Partnership, and a board member of the Houston World Affairs Council, which he chaired in 2001–02. Halas, West Honored By YWCAThe YWCA of Houston has named Naomi Halas and Jennifer West as 2005 Outstanding Women of Achievement in Science and Technology. Halas, the Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of chemistry, and West, the Isabel C. Cameron Professor of Bioengineering and professor in chemical and biomolecular engineering, were jointly honored by the YWCA for their contributions to research and development in the field of nanotechnology. Halas, a world-renowned leader in the field of nanophotonics, is the inventor of metal nanoshells—engineered nanoparticles that have unique optical properties of wide interest in optics, biomedicine, materials science, and other disciplines. (See “Researchers Create New Nanoparticle” on page 11.) West, director of Rice’s Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering, is a recognized leader in the local bioscience community. The two are collaborating on other biomedical applications for nanoshells, including a drug delivery system and a handheld device that paramedics may one day use to perform rapid whole-blood immunoassays in the ambulance or on the battlefield. New Director Named to Lead News OfficeB. J. Almond has been named the new director of Rice’s Office of News and Media Relations at Rice University, and he tapped science editor Jade Boyd to succeed him as associate director. Almond came to Rice as associate director of the office in 2000 after 18 years in progressively more responsible positions in media relations, news writing, and publications for Baylor College of Medicine. Boyd joined Rice in 2002, coming from InternetWeek in Manhasset, N.Y. His experience includes reporting and editing for the Bryan-College Station Eagle and United Press International and public relations work, as well as two years as a research assistant at Texas A&M University. Byrd Joins Rice General Counsel’s OfficeVeta Byrd has joined the Rice University Office of the General Counsel as assistant general counsel. She comes to Rice from Vinson and Elkins, where her legal practice was primarily in corporate and transactional law, representing clients in complex transnational matters, such as mergers, acquisitions, international finance, and real estate. She served for several months in 2004 as a volunteer in the investment and strategy group of a microfinance institution in Quito, Ecuador, helping low-income entrepreneurs obtain microfinancing for their businesses. Before attending law school, Byrd also worked at Goldman Sachs and Company on regulatory compliance issues. Byrd is very active in the Houston community, including at such organizations as the Houston Bar Association, the Bonita House of Hope, and the African American Art Advisory Association at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Information Technology’s Chee Takes Home Employee AwardArnold Chee, a support specialist in the Division of Information Technology (IT), recently received Rice’s Distinguished Employee Award. In eight-and-a-half years at Rice, Chee has held several positions with IT. Most recently, he has been helping resolve the problems of computer users across campus. Though his time is not devoted to any one department, Chee works closely with departments that experience recurring problems. Focke Earns Library AwardAmanda York Focke, assistant head of special collections, is the winner of the Shapiro Library-Staff Innovation Award. This monetary award comes from an endowed fund set up by the estate of Beth Shapiro. It is designed to recognize a member of the Fondren Library staff who has developed an innovative program to provide library services or who has shown exemplary service to the university community. Alum Reiland Appointed Head of Jones School Alumni AffairsPamela L. Reiland ’82 returns to the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management as director of alumni affairs. Former president of the Jones School Alumni Association, Reiland was on the school’s Alumni Board from 1982–86. She also has significant alumni and development experience through her work on educational boards and alumni activities for River Oaks Baptist School, Rice University, and Duke University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in Spanish and was recognized for outstanding volunteer service. As director of alumni affairs, Reiland will be responsible for designing and implementing alumni programs and activities that effectively develop, promote, and nurture relationships between the Jones School and its alumni. Reiland has more than 22 years of corporate finance experience, primarily in the oil service industry. Most recently, she was vice president of finance at Willbros USA Inc. Prior to joining Willbros, she held senior executive positions in finance, accounting, and administration at TransCoastal Marine Services and the Galveston–Houston Company. Laura Hubbard Named Director of Marketing Communications for Jones Graduate SchoolLaura Hubbard has been named the new director of marketing communications for the Jones School. Hubbard was selected for the position following an extensive search. For the past two years, she has served as director of operations and marketing for the Jones School Executive Education and MBA for Executives programs. She has been instrumental in the development of new marketing strategies for Executive Education and the MBA for Executives that have enhanced the visibility and attendance of both programs. In addition to her Jones School experience, Hubbard has more than 20 years of senior management experience in marketing and communications in major health care institutions and advertising agencies. She also owned her own marketing and public relations firm. Hubbard brings extensive marketing experience as well as a strong sense of client service to the Jones School that will assist in propelling the school’s image, brand, and message. She is looking forward to meeting with department directors, students, alumni, faculty, and staff to gather their opinions and perspectives on promoting the Rice MBA. Hubbard expressed great enthusiasm about assuming this position “in an environment that I enjoy and with people I know and respect.” Jones School dean William Glick stated “Laura has been an integral part of our marketing team for the past two years, and we know that she will be a strong contributor to the strength of the Rice MBA in her new role.” Hubbard holds a BA in communications from the University of Houston. Cecilia Alatriz Tobar Appointed Director of Development for Jones Graduate SchoolCecilia Alatriz Tobar has been named the new director of development for the Jones School. Prior to joining the Jones School, Tobar had been the Rice director of development for the East Coast, a position she began in 2000. Her experience with Rice as a major gift officer will be invaluable for the Jones School. Tobar has strong relationships with Jones School supporters and has raised major funds in the past for various Jones School programs as well as many other programs for Rice University. She has been very successful in matching university priorities and funding opportunities with donors’ philanthropic investment wishes. Tobar will be focused on Jones School funding priorities for recruiting top talent through scholarships, endowed professorships, and new programs. Prior to joining Rice, Tobar had more than 12 years of successful experience in development, marketing, and public relations, including two years with the University of St. Thomas and nine years with Houston Public Television in various development roles. Tobar got a fast start in understanding the aspirations of the Rice MBA community by attending several of the strategic planning focus sessions with different stakeholder groups.“Working with Dean William Glick, alumni, and the Jones School community and its supporters will be a wonderful experience,” Tobar said. “Dean Glick’s global approach to adding top student talent and exceptional faculty while engaging the Houston business community echoes President David Leebron’s perspective on the growth of the university overall and reaching out to Houston—I’m very excited to be a part of the opportunity!” Tobar is a certified fund raising executive and holds a degree in communications from the Universidad Technológica (formerly INACAP) in Santiago, Chile. Faculty, Staff Earn Kudos from GSAThe Graduate Student Association has announced the winners of the 2006 GSA Awards. The awards encourage and recognize outstanding service to graduate student life and education at Rice. The winners include: Faculty Teaching/Mentoring Award: Jordan Konisky, vice provost for research and graduate studies and professor of biochemistry and cell biology; and Brett Ashley Leeds, associate professor of political science. Faculty/Staff Service Award: Douglas Schuler, associate professor of management; and Maria Maldonado, custodial services, facilities, engineering, and planning. Robert Lowry Patten Award: Sushant Madhukul Dutta, mechanical engineering and materials science; Aramis Martinez, physics; Kadim Tasdemir, electrical and computer engineering; and Ahmad Khoshnevis, electrical and computer engineering. GSA Service Award: Cristina Hoffman, chemistry; and Angela Noel Hvitved, biochemistry and cell biology. Women’s Resource Center Hands Out AwardsThe Women’s Resource Center has announced the recipients of the 2006 IMPACT Awards. The awards recognize individuals on campus who demonstrate service to the campus and community, demonstrate involvement and participation in student life and activities at Rice and beyond, work to make a positive impact by raising awareness of women’s issues affecting the community, and serve as a role model in the empowerment of women. The faculty and staff winners are Janet Braam, biochemistry and cell biology; Russell Barnes, equal employment/affirmative action; and Glynda Cumby, Hanszen College coordinator. The graduate student winner is Amber Raley, psychology. The undergraduate student winners are Amanda Cruess, Baker College; Russell Schafer, Baker College; and Althea Tupper, Hanszen College. |
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