Opening Doors INSIDE RICE SALLYPORT • the MAGAZINE of RICE UNIVERSITY • FALL 2004

The Magazine of Rice. University

Opening Doors INSIDE RICE SALLYPORT • THE MAGAZINE OF RICE UNIVERSITY • FALL 2004

2 President's Message • 3 Returned Addressed Departments 5 Through the Sallyport • 14 Students • 38 Arts 40 On the Bookshelf • 42 Who's Who • 47 Scoreboard

The new Boniuk 12 An enormous pool of 7 Center for the Study methane gas lies just and Advancement of beneath the ocean floor. Religious Tolerance Until now,scientists looks to establish a code thought that it had little ofreligious conduct. effect on the carbon cyde, 9 Fruit flies fly high aboard but they may be wrong. the International Space How do you encourage Station to help scientists 1 high-school students better understand to make the grade in genetic changes that science? A new training may occur in low-gravity program developed at environments. win The stars belong to everyone, but Rice helps students take ‘41F planetarium shows are available ownership ofscientific only to those who live near a concepts and principles. planetarium. That may change with a portable dome theater system developed at Rice. Do surveys alter the 11 perceptions ofthose who take them? Rice research suggests that surveys can subtly bias survey takers.

And you thought A digitization project mayonnaise was just 5 in conjunction with the for sandwiches: Rice Shoah Foundation's researchers discover Visual History Archive unusual attractive will aid researchers and properties ofcertain educators in overcoming emulsions,including prejudice, intolerance, mayonnaise, that are and bigotry. similar to properties of Kevlar. 18 A Conversation with 28 Opening Doors David W. Leebron and Y. Ping Sun Growing up poor and black in a small South An informal interview with Rice's new first Texas town before integration might have stymied family. are what Who they, and attracts them to Raymond Johnson. Instead, he became the first Rice and Houston? African American to graduate from Rice, and by Terry Shepard and Debra Thomas since then, he has quietly but persistently helped open doors for other people Features ofcolor. 24 Fondren and the Future by David D. Medina Electronic enhancements and reconfiguration of space will help re-create Fondren as a library for 32 Rice Twice the 21st century. An MBA can give you the tools to take you by Chuck Henry and Sara Lowman where you want to go. Eight alums who earned bachelor's degrees at Rice and returned for MBAs talk about the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management's MBA program.

by Ann S. Boor tl j Rice Sallyport All Things Great land Small) Fall 2004, Vol. 61, No. 1

By President David VV. Leebron Published by the Division of Public Affairs When Rice announced in December that I was coming as its seventh president, Terry Shepard, vice president several friends in the Northeast had an intriguing reaction: "Wow, Rice is a huge university!" Editor That misperception seems to spring from a number ofsources. It certainly suggests that Rice's rec- Christopher Dow accomplishments in teaching, learning, and research are wonderfully out of proportion to our ognized Creative Director numbers of faculty and students. It speaks well of you, Rice's graduates, and the enormous respect you Jeff Cox have earned for your alma mater. And admittedly, it may have something to do with the general sense in Art Director other parts of the country that everything in Texas is BIG. Chuck Thurmon We,of course, know that Rice's impact is great even though its numbers are relatively small. All our major competitors—from Stanford Editorial Staff David D. Medina '83, senior editor in the West to Duke in the East—are at least two to three times larger Dana Benson, associate editor than Rice;some ofthem—such as Princeton,Yale, and Harvard—have M. Yvonne Taylor, contributing editor been in existence hundreds ofyears longer. Among the 62 institutions Lindsay Dold, assistant editor Lorrie Lampson, production coordinator whose research eminence has earned membership in the prestigious Association of American Universities, only Caltech, which does not Design Staff Dean Mackey, senior designer attempt our breadth, is smaller than Jana Starr, designer Rice. Because of our Tommy LaVergne, photographer This does not, however, suggest that Rice is a great small uni- size, faculty and Jeff Fitlow, assistant photographer versity. That order of adjectives implies that there is a category—small students from The Rice University Board universities—within which our goal is to be great. That, of course, is different fields of Trustees E. William Barnett, chair; J. D. Bucky very limiting. constantly are Allshouse; D. Kent Anderson; Teveia Rather, we should think of Rice as a smallgreat university. The T. able to talk, share Rose Barnes; Alfredo Brener; Robert category here is great universities, a class in which Rice is able to com- Brockman; Albert Y. Chao; James W. information, and Crownover;Edward A.Dominguez; Bruce pete with the best in the nation, indeed, in the world. And while we be exposed to W. Dunlevie; James A. Elkins, III; Lynn will remain smaller than most of them, Rice also remains intent on, in Laverty Elsenhans; Douglas Lee Foshee; the words offounding president Edgar Odd Lovett,"setting no upper entirely different Karen 0. George; Susanne Glasscock; viewpoints. Carl E. Isgren; K. Terry Koonce; Cindy limit on its educational endeavor." J. Lindsay; Michael R. Lynch; Robert R. Indeed, our smallness can be an advantage. Because of our size, Maxfield; Steven L. Miller; M. Kenneth Shapiro; different fields constantly are able to talk, Oshman; Marc William N.Sick; faculty and students from L. E. Simmons share information, and be exposed to entirely different viewpoints. We are able to cross the lines of departments and interests, developing Administrative Officers We are small David W. Leebron, president; John great strengths in interdisciplinary fields,from bioengineering to the philosophy ofreligion. Hutchinson, interim vice president for enough to foster a true intellectual community. A very large university simply cannot do that in anything Student Affairs; Dean W. Currie, vice close to the same way. presidentfor Finance and Administration; is in Eric Johnson, vice president for This issue of Sallyport illustrates some ofthe manifold ways in which Rice, despite its small size, Resource Development; Eugene Levy, the class ofgreat universities. It profiles Rice's Jackie Robinson: mathematics PhD Raymond Johnson,who provost; Terry Shepard, vice presidentfor in 1964 became the first African American student at Rice. "I didn't feel uncomfortable," now-Profes- PublicAffairs,ScottW.Wise, vice president for Investmentsand treasurer,AnnWright, sor Johnson says. "I was in a small cocoon of maybe 30 graduate students." Elsewhere, we get a glimpse vice presidentfor Enrollment; Richard A. of eight diverse and accomplished alumni, all of whom chose Rice twice, once for their undergraduate Zansitis,general counsel. the people and the campus," degrees and again for their MBAs."I had a very comfortable feeling about All submissions to Sallyport are subject says Elizabeth Corneliuson, who now works in finance at Nissan's North American headquarters. "I liked to editing for length, clarity, accuracy, the smallness and the traditions." In Scoreboard, you will find Rice women's and Puerto Rico Olympic appropriateness, and fairness to third parties. track coach Victor Lopez, whose Owls dominate the Western Athletic Conference and have won NCAA titles in six different events. His students, he says, "are an extension of my family. . . . My mission is to Sallyport is published by the Division of make sure they graduate and become productive members of our society." Throughout the magazine Public Affairs ofRice University and is sent to university alumni,faculty, staff, graduate you will find examples of students and faculty who cross boundaries, from economics professor Suchan students, parents of undergraduates, and Chae's election to the South Korean National Assembly to the partnership of our Center for Education friends of the university. develop a training program for ninth- and Center for Biological and Environmental Nanotechnology to Editorial Offices grade teachers. Office of Publications—MS 95 In sum, Rice's reach is far greater than its size would suggest. Size does matter, but perhaps in this P.O. Box 1892 case in just the opposite way that people expect. Houston, Texas 77251-1892 Fax: 713-348-6751 E-mail: [email protected] I i Postmaster Send address changes to: Rice University Development Services—MS 80 P.O. Box 1892 Houston, TX 77251-1892

02004 RICE UNIVERSITY

2 Rice Sallyport Letters

Thanks for the Questions ought to maintain a museum of 1953-54, during a poliomyelitis 50 years. South Main has not obsolete computers so that scholars epidemic in Houston. been a wall between the institu- I was interested in the article in the future could recover mate- In summer 1953, Drs. Heb- tions but rather a passageway. in your winter issue about Di- rial from old discs and programs. I bel Hoff and Les Geddes of Baylor And as time goes on, even ear- ana Strassmann and the jour- have worked with manuscripts of and W. A. Spencer of the South- lier efforts may surface from the nal Feminist Economics. I was the 16th century that are as clear west Poliomyelitis Respiratory university's other departments trained as a chemical engineer today as when they were written Center approached Professor James as others are heard from. and know only a little econom- on sturdy rag paper. What will re- Waters, chair of Rice's electrical ics, but being a Rice gradu- searchers of the next century do engineering department, to solicit Robert Schwartz '50 ate, I do read, and I've often when the originals ofsome 20th- assistance with several medical elec- Houston, Texas had this thought when reading century Shakespeare exist on a stack tronics problems. One of these was someone's paper or article about of unreadable 5.25" floppies? a breath velocity sensor for use in More economics: How do they know a physiograph, a multichannel re- Architecture Stories we are always efficient in our Edward Doughtie cording system being developed by The winter Sallyport is quite use of resources? Since it wasn't Professor Emeritus ofEnglish Dr. Geddes for use in diagnosing Rice University impressive, especially with its my field, though, I just assumed patients stricken with polio. Stafford, Vermont focus on the new president that someone somewhere knew This breath velocity sensor the answer, and it had been em- pirically justified. But it hadn't! Thanks for raising the question. I'm a mathematical modeler "I have worked with manuscripts of the 16th century that are as clear today myself, but I always know the as when they were written on sturdy rag paper. What will researchers of the doing, and limits of what I'm I next century do when the originals of some 20th-century Shakespeare exist that to students, try to teach my on a stack of unreadable 5.25" floppies?" so they will be careful too. —Edward Doughtie

Bruce A. Finlayson '61 Rehn berg Professor of Chemical Engineering was developed as part of the re- David Leebron. Typical of re- University of Washington Early Medical Center Collaborations quirements for an MSEE,granted Seattle, Washington cent issues, it gives scant recog- in May of 1954, and the effort nition (if any) to the School of I noticed an article on page 7 of the was guided by my thesis adviser, Architecture. I assume your staff Saying the Past spring Sallyport mentioning that Professor Paul E. Pfeiffer. Should doesn't find it ofinterest, yet Rice University is now a member of you wish to examine this further, they might if they tried. Reading Christopher Dow's the Texas Medical Center. The first you may find a copy of the the- The article "Houston in piece, "Driving Us Crazy," in paragraph states: "Collaboration sis, dated May 1954 and titled Cite" is interesting and serves the winter Sallyport, I was re- in research and teaching between "An Investigation of a Condenser to show the direction of grow- minded of the time a few years Rice and the Texas Medical Center Microphone as a Pressure Trans- ing emphasis emanating within ago when I moved from my was first established in 1964. . .." ducer" by Robert Jay Schwartz, in the School of Architecture. old Atari to a new Powerbook. I would like to bring to your at- Fondren Library. Such concern is worthwhile, but With some difficulty, I managed tention that collaboration between This is simply to point out should be a separate course of to find help in Herman Brown Rice's Department of Electrical that Rice and the Texas Medical study with its own degree apart and get my files transferred. I Engineering and Baylor College of Center, through its various mem- from architecture. Call it "City/ then donated my Atari to Hu- Medicine's Department of Physiol- bers, have had collaborative ar- Regional Planning." bert Daugherty, saying that Rice ogy occurred 11 years earlier—in rangements dating back more than The recognition given to

Fall '04 3 RETURN ADDU

Sammy and Freshmen, 1942

the dean of design at Harvard Sallyport strives to cover all of No Coattails on the ratings assigned by some University stirred my memory. Rice's eight schools, 40 allied de- committee but on the long-term When I was a graduating senior, partments, and 40-odd centers In the forward to the fall issue of performance of its graduates. If the evaluation of my architectur- and institutes as regularly as Sallyport, Christopher Dow re- every Siwash alumnus we ever al education at Rice was that of we can. It is not always possible counts a conversation with an old encounter always performs above who that years after graduation, having learned much about pas- to frequently include items on a Institute alumnus opines the norm the current prestige of the school even the dimmest of us must sé architecture but not how to given school or department, but puts him in the position of riding ultimately conclude that Siwash be current or progressive. Hav- your lament at our lack ofrecent on the coattails of graduates one- deserves a lot of the credit. Fac- ing read about the achievements stories about architecture didn't third his age. While nearly every ulty, library, endowment, Nobel of Walter Gropius and Marcel agree with our memories. We Harvard was one of his other observations density, and all the rest are great Breuer and that surveyed our issuesfor architec- bringing them there to restruc- resonated strongly with me, espe- present-day criteria, but it's con- ture-related stories that have run ture the architecture program cially the one about how he prob- sistent excellence over time that in the past two years andfound along the lines of the Bauhaus, I ably would fail to be admitted if counts. And excellence is made up twofeatures that you may have decided to do my graduate stud- he were to try today, I must take of brains, imagination, flexibility, missed—"Building Skills" (spring ies there under those great men. issue with the coattail remark. and above all, energy. 2002), a coverfeature that looked Needless to say, it was the best No. I'm sorry, but the coat- Judging from Sallyport, Rice Architecture's thing I ever did. at the School of tails, if such there be, belong to undergraduates still have these in Gropius's definition of innovative approach to teach- old crocks like your guest and me, abundance. As long as the school architecture was that "it is the ing design and profiled several the products of Dr. Lovett's (and continues to shape this raw mate- housing of a function, and to do recentgraduates to seefirsthand Bray's and Weiser's and Ryon's rial as rigorously as it has in the so properly requires a thorough the kinds of work they are doing and L,ear's and McKillop's) Boot- past, coattails ain't in it. understanding of the function." in the real world, and 'Open- Camp-on-the Bayou oflong ago. That approach resulted in a so- ing the Door"(fall 2002), which I first set foot on the campus Perry B. Alers '45 Clinton, Maryland lution developed from inside looked at Americans with Dis- in 1942. The school was only 30 out. Obviously, that sort of abilities Act compliance issues years old, but it already was favor- regarded. "Rice? You evaluation differs from regional on campus. We also recently ran ably must smart!" was a not Correction concepts. a profile of architecture professor be -uncommon reaction, along with (to Of course, a number of 2003); be fair) William Cannady (spring The article "Class: International Rice graduates achieved highly "Wow! Uh,just where is Rice?" an article on Texas Architect Intrigue" in the spring issue successful projects, such as the That's not bad for a school whose magazinefeaturing the campus stated that "Jean Ashmore in the Astrodome. My hope is that alumni totaled maybe 2,000, were as one ofthe best places in Texas Office of Disability Services. . . Sallyport, in the future, will rec- only in their 30s and 40s, and (fall 2002); and two book reviews made the trip with [Will Conrad] ognize the School of Architec- typically still lived in or around in addition to the one you men- and stayed a few weeks to help ture as an important source for a Houston. They must have been tion—on Ephemeral City by the coordinate things and smooth his worthwhile professional pursuit. an impressive bunch. The bands editors ofCite (spring 2004) and way." Ashmore did not accom- In addition, in light of current had long stopped playing and the on The Campus Guide to Rice pany Will. In addition, the correct economic trends, it would be Depression blanketed the land, University by Rice architectural name of the office is the Office beneficial for the architecture but the fire they stoked and tend- historian Stephen Fox (summer of Disability Support Services, of curriculum to include a required ed was still visible from far away. But thanksfor reminding which Ashmore is director. Our basic business course; after all, 2002). Now, based on more than perhaps time to look apologies for any confusion these architecture is a business. us that it is 50 years' experience in the real errors may for another architecturefeature. world—well, Washington—I am have caused. R. H. Brogniez'40 —Editor more convinced than ever that Houston, Texas the prestige of a school rests not

4 Rice Sallyport THROUGH THE SALLYPORT

http://shoah.rice.edu/

"Just reading that 6 million people were murdered doesn't make as much of an impression as hearing someone describe what it was like to watch their mother get shot or their sister dragged away to a crematorium." —Gregory Kaplan

Holocaust Testimonies Live for Students million people were murdered an educational institution and doesn't make as much of an im- its ability to elevate this project The thousands of first-person testimonies of the Holo- pression as hearing someone de- to the world at large made this caust in the Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archive scribe what it was like to watch a socially redeeming endeavor movingly illustrate the dangers of intolerance. their mother get shot or their with multiple returns." sister dragged away to a crema- The grant provided three Compiled for educational use by homosexual survivors, Jeho- torium." Itanium processors—the highest to help overcome prejudice, vah's Witness survivors, politi- Such a rich and extensive end of HP's processing equip- intolerance, and bigotry, the cal prisoners, Sinti and Roma database lends itself to a variety ment. One of the computers archive soon will be more acces- survivors, survivors of eugenics of research topics, provided that is a workstation and the other sible for research and classroom policies, rescuers and aid pro- the technology is available to two are servers. Database size, use thanks to a $123,157 grant viders, liberators and liberation mine the resources efficiently, speed, and reliability all will be from Hewlett-Packard (HP)to witnesses, and participants in and the pilot project is serving improved. "If you're studying Rice University. war-crimes trials. as a test run for the technology. the role of music in concentra- Rice is one of three in- During the 2003-04 aca- "Dealing with digital video puts tion camps, for example, you stitutions given access to the demic year, the archive was used a very big burden on technol- would want as large a database foundation's complete digital in courses on anthropology, reli- ogy," says Geneva Henry, ex- as possible," says Charles Henry, video archive for a pilot project gious studies, German, and film ecutive director of Fondren's principal investigator for the HP involving Fondren Library. The studies. One was Introduction Digital Library Initiative. The grant and Rice's vice provost archives are indexed by subject to Judaism, taught by Gregory average testimony in the Visual and university librarian. "The matter, speakers, and a variety Kaplan, the Anna Smith Fine History Archive is two and a half high-end computers provided of other data. About 22,000 of Assistant Professor of Judaic hours long, so when one student by HP can facilitate such sophis- the 52,000 entries have been Studies. Kaplan's students used tried to download 100 testimo- ticated inquiries with faster and digitized, enabling Rice students the archives to learn what Jewish nies for a research project, the more comprehensive searches and faculty to search for specific culture in Europe was like prior computer system overloaded than previously available." He segments based on an extensive to and after World War II. Ka- and crashed. "We realized there noted that, although the human- set of keywords. The videotaped plan divided his class into small was a need for something more ities are not usually viewed as testimonies can be accessed groups of three or four students robust to support this project," technology-intensive, the Shoah through Rice's Internet2 con- and assigned each group a tes- Henry says, "so we applied for Foundation project and HP nection, a secure fiber-optic timony to view on a computer. the HP grant in hope of getting grant illustrate how interdepen- network provided by an inter- Students then gave presentations some extremely fast and reliable dent disciplines have become. national consortium of research about Jewish culture and its de- processors." Geneva Henry says that institutions and universities. struction based on their analysis HP traditionally awards once the Shoah Foundation's The archive's videotaped of the testimony, showing ex- grants to colleges of engineering digital video archive has been testimonies were given in 32 cerpts as an audio/visual aid. and computer science, but Rice's tested and improved at Rice and languages by people living in 56 "This approach really grant proposal for this humani- at the University of Southern countries. The foundation inter- moved the students because it ties-related project was "very California and Yale University, viewed people who lived under wasn't abstract," Kaplan says. highly rated," says Dan Marcek, these and other institutions will the rule of the Nazis or other "Actually hearing people who university relations manager for help make the database available Axis powers and experienced suffered through and survived HP."We saw a strong connec- to others in hope of educating the persecution and discrimina- the Holocaust deeply affected tion with the technology that the world about the dangers of tory policies of the Nazi regime. them in a way that written text HP wants people to use and the intolerance.• cannot because they could see preservation of this transient More than 90 percent of the —B. J. Almond interviewees are Jewish, but the the survivors' faces and hear data from the Holocaust. Rice's archive also includes testimony their voices. Just reading that 6 standing in the community as

Fall '04 5 THROUGH THE SALLYPORT

"I went to the store, bought a jar of mayonnaise, and tested it. I was curious to see if it showed the same negative normal stress, and it did."

—Alberto Montesi

Hold the Mayo emulsions of oil and water. Emul- Institute for Standards and Tech- tive normal stresses—the interplay sions are combinations of two or nology was getting similar results between the tendency of droplets more liquids that do not mix, and with suspensions of carbon nano- to form collective structures at the What do mayonnaise and salad they are common in industrial set- tubes. A collaboration ensued and microscopic level and the macro- dressing have in common with tings like oil fields as well as in ev- we all began to feel more certain scopic behavior of emulsions in the types of plastics used to eryday foodstuffs like mayonnaise that the findings—though unusu- flow—will lead to novel develop- make bulletproof vests? Rice or vinaigrette salad dressing. In al—were correct." ments in the formulation of emul- scientists say its a little- oil and water, an emulsion is cre- The startling results led sions and other dispersed systems ated when tiny droplets of water Pasquali's group to expand its of practical relevance such as sus- understood attractive force become dispersed throughout the called "negative normal stress." ,,CA11110.14 oil. Pasquali, Montesi, and Pena found that negative normal stress First identified about 25 years was present in their oil and water negative normal stress is an ago, emulsions when the concentration attractive force that is created of water droplets was in a specific within fluids under certain condi- range. The research was published tions. Imagine, for example, two last spring in the academic journal glass plates that are stacked like a sandwich, with a thin layer of liquid between. If the bottom plate is held still and the top plate is moved quickly to one side, it sets the fluid in motion and creates forces within the fluid that, in turn, act on the glass. In simple fluids like water, this sliding motion creates Alejandro Pena sheds light on a lunchtime favorite, while Matteo Pasquali, left, and Alberto complementary forces that tend Montesi look on. to push the plate along in the direction that it was sliding. In experiments to some com- pensions of solids and foams." more complex fluids, like poly- monplace emulsions. "I went Pasquali adds that more mers, tension develops, creat- to the store, bought a jar of study is needed before practical ing forces that tend to push the mayonnaise, and tested it," says applications will become apparent. plates apart. Around 1980, it was Montesi. "I was curious to see if it "It's really too early to foresee the discovered that liquid crystalline Physical Review Letters. showed the same negative normal full range of useful applications polymers—the chief ingredients in "When I first saw the data, I stress, and it did." that might arise from this new ultrastrong fibers like Kevlar® and thought we had made a mistake," The findings open the door understanding of negative nor- Zylon8—create negative normal says Pasquali. "My students and to interesting research and devel- mal stress," he says. "Obviously, stress, or forces that tug the plates I joked that we must be the only opment opportunities regarding any application where there are together. lab that had ever had negative the underlying phenomena be- mixtures of oil and water—like Last year, Matteo Pasquali, normal stresses on two systems. hind negative normal stress, says petroleum production, food pro- Rice assistant professor in chemi- However, we double- and triple- Pena, now a senior research engi- cessing, and the like—could be cal engineering, and graduate checked, and the effect was still neer at Schlumberger."A better candidates." students Alberto Montesi and there. Then we heard that Erik understanding of the phenomena —Jade Boyd Alejandro Pena were testing Hobbie's group at the National that underlay the onset of nega-

6 Rice Sallyport THROUGH THE SALLYPORT

Herring Hall Overhaul

The exterior of Herring Hall may look the same as it did when it housed the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management, but work over the past two years has wrought many changes to the building's interior—and purpose.

The $5.78 million renovation "Advancing the cause of religious tolerance is surely one of the greatest challenges of our age," said then-president Malcolm Gillis, anchors the western end ofthe Hu- center, announcing the creation of the Boniuk Center for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance. The center was made manities Corridor, which includes possible by a gift from Dr. Milton Boniuk, second from left, and his wife, Laurie. Carol Quillen, right, associate professor of history, the Humanities Building, Rayzor will serve as the center's first director. Also pictured is Sidney Burrus, dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering. Hall, and Sewall Hall. Herring Hall had not been renovated since its construction in 1984. societies in all ages, where we find requires that we study religious Religious Tolerance Cesar Pelli, the building's original deep attachment to religious differences as these relate to other Focus of New both architect, reviewed and endorsed Center at Rice beliefs and causes and passionate spheres of human life," she ex- the Ray + Hollington design for commitments to justice and re- plained. "The Boniuk Center's the updating,which affected nearly spect for those with different be- work of promoting universal re- all ofthe Given the tenets formally ex- interior except for several liefs. The Boniuk Center will seek ligious tolerance will, therefore, support areas and the section that pressed by the world's major reli- lessons from this history." require the commitment and col- was the former business informa- gions, it might seem that religious Boniuk, an ophthalmologist laboration of many—religious and tion center. Part of the floor plan tolerance is a precept spread uni- and full-time clinical faculty mem- community leaders, politicians, was reconfigured to include a visual formly across faiths. One only has resource center, a sound booth, ber of the Department of Oph- and scholars from across the hu- to watch the evening news, how- seminar rooms, and business areas thalmology at Baylor College of manities and social sciences." ever, to see that, in practice, this for the English, art history, and Medicine, said he envisions a code The Boniuk Center will not is not always the case. In an effort linguistics departments as well as of religious tolerance that the have to look far for scholarly ex- to shed light on the situation, a for the Center for the Study of mainstream of all religions could pertise. It will be part of Rice's new center at Rice will strive to Cultures. embrace and accept. He looks School of Humanities, which is promote understanding through Faculty and staff moved into forward to seeing Rice students, home to some of the nation's Herring Hall in early January."The study of the sources of religious faculty, and staff members em- leading scholars of religion and renovated offices and their furnish- tolerance and intolerance. brace the code and hopes it will history whose work is directly ings are beautiful and elegant, and The Boniuk Center for the be adopted by other universities, concerned with the problems of the large windows are wonderful," Study and Advancement of Reli- religious congregations, and pub- persecution, religious extrem- said Hamid Naficy, chair of the gious Tolerance, which was for- DepartmentofArt History."Being lic and private preparatory schools ism, and the impact of religion on mally announced April 22, was located in a humanities building is made possible by a gift from Mil- a definite plus." ton Boniuk and his wife, Laurie. Gary Willi, dean of humanities, "Advancing the cause of religious says Herring Hall completes a "The Boniuk Center's work of promoting universal massive improvement project for tolerance is surely one of the tolerance will require the commitment the School ofHumanities initiated greatest challenges of our age," religious collaboration of many—religious and commu- by then-president Malcolm Gillis. noted Malcolm Gillis, president and "Thanks to the great efforts offor- at the time the new center was nity leaders, politicians, and scholars from across mer dean Gale Stokes, our newest established. "The Boniuk Center the humanities and social sciences." building is beautifully designed, will be concerned with tolerance —Carol Quillen with an upgraded room for the for all religions: the three Abra- art history slide collection,seminar hamic religions, Hinduism, Bud- space for the Center for the Study of dhism, and others." as well as major corporations and contemporary political processes Cultures,and additional work space The Boniuk Center has two labor organizations. "I hope that around the globe. They work co- for graduate students," he said. "I'm delighted that my colleagues primary aims: first, to create a in a short period of time," he said, operatively with scholars in other "there will be a dramatic change departments, such as political sci- in the departments of art history, scholarly archive of writings, doc- linguistics, and English can now in how people view religions." ence and sociology, where similar uments, and historical evidence of enjoy comfortable, modern space associate pro- research is being conducted.• religious tolerance; and second, Carol Quillen, like their colleagues in Rayzor Hall to establish and foster a code of fessor of history, who will serve as and the Humanities Building." religious conduct or tolerance. the Boniuk Center's first director, —Margot Dimond "Throughout history, religious noted that religious intolerance —Ellen Chang tolerance has been an elusive goal often reflects complex political for societies," Gillis said. "There and cultural situations. "A mean- are, however, examples of tolerant ingful commitment to tolerance

Fall '04 7 _ Charitable Remainder Unitrust:

A GIFT TO RICE THAT PAYS YOU BACK. Establishing a charitable remainder unitrust with Rice University offers you an opportunity to enjoy substantial financial and tax benefits while also making an important gift to Rice.

You AND THE UNIVERSITY CAN BOTH BENEFIT. FOR EXAMPLE A charitable trust may provide attractive opportunities: John and Jean Simon, both class of 1955 and • Ensure and often increase income from selected assets retired, wish to make a significant gift to Rice. They • Obtain an immediate and often generous income tax cannot make an outright gift of assets they need in charitable deduction their retirement so they establish a charitable remainder • Receive relieffrom capital gains taxes on highly unitrust with Rice. appreciated assets used to make the gift • Reduce onerous gift and estate taxes and probate costs • The Simons make an initial gift of $100,000 to • Make a significant gift to Rice fund the trust. • They receive a payout rate of 5 percent, providing How IT WORKS a first-year income of $5,000. Future income will vary with trust value. • A minimum gift of $100,000 to Rice is required to • Their unitrust generates an immediate charitable establish a charitable trust, with Rice Trust Inc. as income tax deduction of $43,824. trustee. Charitable trusts are most often funded with • They designate that the unitrust ultimately gifts ofcash, stocks, or bonds. However, gifts of real establish funds dedicated to support the library estate, artwork, or a closely held business may also be and residential colleges. considered as funding sources and evaluated on an individual basis. LET US WORK WITH YOU. • A charitable unitrust makes payments based on a fixed percentage of the trust's total assets, revalued annually. The staff of the Office of Gift Planning will Since the trust's assets may grow over time, the total be happy to provide individual gift illustrations or annual payment, though a fixed percentage, may grow information about charitable trusts. Please feel free to over the years of the life of the trust. contact us.

RICE UNIVERSITY • OFFICE OF GIFT PLANNING MS 81 • P.O. Box 1892• Houston, Texas 77251-1892 Geri Jacobs, ChFC, CLU, Associate Director, Gift Planning • 713-348-4617• [email protected] THROUGH THE SALLYPORT

"We'll be watching their courtship rituals, their running speed, how they fly. These are clues to genetic activity."

—Kate Beckingham

Flies in Space

Fruit flies are bug-eyed and spindly and they love rotten bananas. genes command a different set of The fact that space travel af- Following orders from their pin-sized brains, they can lay hundreds of proteins in space because low- fects genetic activity is not contro- eggs every day. But in a genetic research lab, at least, they can be good gravity tells them to," Beckingham versial. However,researchers can't yet predict which genes will be af- substitutes for humans. says,"many ofthese things could change. There's already evidence fected or precisely how gravity sig- that weightlessness alters genetic nals a gene to change its ways, and Genetically speaking, people and extension, human—genes. This is a expression." this is where the fruit fly can help. fruit flies—Drosophila melanogas- matter of much interest to NASA. In 1999, scientists grew hu- Beckingham's team will breed as ter—are surprisingly alike, explains During a typical space voyage, man kidney cells onboard the space many as nine generations of Dro- biologist Sharmila Bhattacharya of astronauts are exposed to a range shuttle. More than 1,000 ofthe sophila onboard the ISS, with some NASA's Ames Research Center. of gravitational forces. On a trip cells' genes behaved differently. 120 ffies per generation. Back on "About 61 percent ofknown hu- to Mars,for instance, an explorer Among other things, they pro- Earth, researchers can analyze the man disease genes have a recogniz- would weigh several gravities at duced extra vitamin D receptors. flies to see which genes were more able match in the genetic code of launch, zero gravities during the Surplus vitamin D receptors can active or less active. fruit ffies," she says,"and 50 per- long interplanetary cruise, several reduce the risk of prostate cancer in The flies will be contained cent offly protein sequences have more gravities descending to Mars, men. Perhaps that's inside a special habitat onboard the mammalian analogues." and 0.38 gravities while staying on ISS,so the researchers can monitor Because fruit flies reproduce the Red Planet. Beckingham and their behavior. "We'll be watching quickly, many generations can be their courtship rituals, their run- studied in a short time, and their ning speed, how they fly," Beck- genome has been completely ingham says. "These are dues to mapped. "Drosophila is being genetic activity." used as a genetic model for several The ffies also will spend human diseases," Bhattacharya some time spinning inside small says, "including Parkinson's and centrifuges that can be adjusted Huntington's." to simulate different levels of grav- They're about to become ge- ity. This will allow the scientists to netic models for astronauts too. explore Moon gravity (.17g) and Rice University's Kate Beck- Mars gravity to see how genetic ingham, professor of biochemistry expressions could change on those and cell biology, working with planets. Bhattacharya and Douglas Arm- One day many generations of strong at the University of Edin- humans, too, may live in space. If burgh, is planning to send fruit flies genetic changes accumulate from her colleagues are hoping to find a benefit ofspace ffight. to the International Space Station generation to generation—an un- out how genes will react to these Other changes are less posi- (ISS). The ffies will begin their known ofspace travel—settlers on gravitational changes and whether tive. Studies have shown that dis- journey as eggs, hatch en route, the moon or Mars might diverge they will express themselves in new ease-fighting cells in astronauts' and arrive at the space station in genetically from their Earth rela- or unexpected ways. immune systems don't attack larval form. Beckingham expects tives. Living on Mars really could "Genes 'express themselves' germs as ferociously as they do the baby flies to grow and breed, turn an Earthling into a Martian. by commanding cells to make pro- on Earth. If an astronaut gets sick producing the foundation of a Fruit flies could give us a preview teins," Beckingham says. There are in space, it might be harder to swarm that will orbit Earth for ofthat process, if it exists. about 50,000 different proteins in get well again. Astronauts' bones 90 days. That's not long for hu- Meanwhile, it's time to start the human body, and they do just weaken during long voyages, mans, but it is many generations packing ISS supply rockets with about everything from digesting and without lots ofexercise, their of fruit flies. bananas. Rotten,if you please.• food to clotting blood to healing muscles experience atrophy. "All of The purpose of their ex- wounds. Proteins are the build- these things are rooted in genetic periment is to discover how space —Tony Phillips ing blocks of cells and tissues. "If expression," Beckingham says. travel affects Drosophila—and by

Fall '04 9 THROUGH THE SALLYPOR'

http://earth.rice.edu/

Coming to a Dome Theater Near You

Fully immersive dome theaters—planetariums—are great venues for entertainment and education. But because of the complex technology such theaters employ, there are only about 40 planetariums nationwide. That makes access a problem for many people.

A past grant from NASA enabled The key to Immersive Rice researchers to work in con- Earth is replacing six separate junction with the Houston Mu- projectors with a small, portable seum of Natural Science(HMNS) system that employs a single to create the first full-dome multi- fish-eye projector to display im- media planetarium programs and mersive images on the inside of the first immersive theater in the the inflatable dome. Creating United States, the Burke Baker the system is a formidable chal- Planetarium. Unlike wide-screen lenge, but Reiff says a prototype LENTURYCENTURY theater systems, such as Cinerama, has been developed and tested. RICE that are designed to project film The Immersive Earth grant images into a viewer's periph- also will pay for the creation of CAMPAIGN eral vision, full-dome programs three new programs: Earth's combine traditional planetarium Wild Ride, which already is in Closes at $502.7 million! star field projections with digital production, Earth in the Bal- animation sequences that fully ance, and Earth in Peril. Carolyn immerse viewers in action on all Sumners, the project's co-di- The largest comprehensive campaign in the areas of a domed screen. rector and director of astron- history of Rice University has been a great Dubbed "Globe Theater," omy and youth education at technolo- HMNS as well as an adjunct success, closing $2.7 million beyond the the original full-dome gy uses six projectors to simulta- professor of physics and as- $500 million goal. Nearly 24,000 alumni gave neously display interlaced frames tronomy at Rice, has led in to Rice during the campaign—an impressive on the planetarium dome. "Our the development of content and strong statement of loyalty and pride. planetarium shows are truly im- for the new portable system. mersive because they present Her research indicates that In addition to support from alumni, many friends, images in front, behind, above, students are more engaged and on both sides of viewers' and more likely to master corporations, and foundations made faculty, staff, seats," says Patricia Reiff, pro- complex concepts after an in- gifts to fund: fessor of physics and astronomy teractive program using full- • 354 new undergraduate scholarships and director of the Rice Space dome projections—whether at Institute. "The public loved our a museum's planetarium or in and graduate fellowships early productions—Powers of a portable dome. Tony But- • 26 endowed faculty chairs Time, Force 5, and Night ofthe terfield, the museum's lead Titanic. They are great vehicles animator, is coordinating vi- • new and existing programs in schools to teach earth and space science. sual design. across campus Unfortunately, full-sized plan- Other participants in the etariums require six projectors, program include both the Carn- • construction and renovation of buildings working in concert with six dif- egie Museum of Natural History and facilities ferent computers." and Carnegie Mellon Univer- Reiff is the principal inves- sity in •the Rice Annual Fund that provides current Pittsburgh; the LodeStar tigator on Immersive Earth, a Planetarium in Albuquerque; the use dollars campus-wide NASA-funded partnership de- Oregon Museum of Science and signed to simplify the technol- Industry in Portland; the Loui- Rice students and faculty are now well positioned ogy needed to project full-dome siana Arts and Science Center in to carry forward Rice's commitment to excellence images. The five-year, $3.1 Baton Rouge; the Smithsonian's in academics and research. million project brings together National Museum of Natural museums, universities, and en- History in Washington, D.C.; Thank you to all who made this happen! tertainment companies to create Sky-Skan Inc.; Homerun Pic- fully immersive planetarium pro- tures Inc.; and iMove Inc.• Rice University • Office of Development — MS 81 grams that can be shown across —Jade Boyd PO. Box 1892 • Houston, TX 77251-1892 the country inside inflatable, 713-348-4600 • giving.rice.edu classroom-sized domes.

10 Rice Sallyport "There is considerable debate in marketing research circles regarding whether customers are engaged by or irritated by surveys and what causes one or the other reaction."

—Paul M. Dholakia

Surveying Surveys phone survey ofcustomer satisfac- The fact that surveys engage is consistent with the notion that tion with the firm and its products, customers is well known,so what's participation in a survey induces a new here? "There is consider- judgment that the person other- The most important results of while an identical customer group, serving as the control, did not able debate in marketing research wise would not form," Dholakia surveys may lie in the asking, participate in any research. Both circles regarding whether custom- says. A second possibility is that not the answers, according groups were then withheld from ers are engaged by or irritated by being chosen to participate in a to research by Paul M. all of the firm's targeted market- surveys and what causes one or survey makes customers feel spe- Dholakia, assistant professor cial and increases their attachment of management at Rice's Jesse to the firm. A third possibility is that both these processes work H. Jones Graduate School of together."We are now conduct- Management. ing research," Dholakia says,"to better understand which ofthese With colleague Vicki G. Morwitz possibilities explains the differences of New York University, Dholakia that we found." researched how surveys influence Dholakia points out that it is customer behavior. What they possible that the customer's level found, he says, is "astonishing." of satisfaction determines the sub- Dholakia and Morwitz sequent customer relationship. wanted to test whether the process "If this is the case," he says, "then of measuring customers' opinions highly satisfied customers should with a survey causes significant ing, and their behaviors and profit- the other reaction," Dholakia says. become more loyal, purchase changes in the customers' sub- ability were tracked over a period "We go beyond this discussion to more, and become more profitable sequent behaviors. "More than of one year following the survey. demonstrate that participation in as a result ofsurvey participation." 70 years ago, physicist Werner "The differences between a firm-sponsored survey not only On the other hand, dissatisfied Heisenberg formulated the Un- the two groups were astonish- influences how customersfeel customers could become less loyal, certainty Principle, which recog- ing," Dholakia says."Our analyses about the firm afterward but how purchase less, and become less nizes that the very act of making showed that survey participants they behave over a long period of profitable after the survey. a scientific observation funda- were more than three times as time. Our research suggests that "An alternate possibility is mentally changes the object be- likely to open new accounts with Heisenberg's principle seems to that everyone, regardless of their ing observed," Dholakia says. "In the firm, less than half as likely to apply to financial-service customers level of satisfaction, becomes organizational psychology, there defect from it, and had a profit- just as well as it does to electrons more loyal, purchases more, and is a concept called the Hawthorne ability profile that was significantly of carbon or hydrogen. becomes more profitable after the Effect, which says that obtrusively better than the nonparticipant A number of alternative ex- survey," Dholakia says. "More observing workers makes them control group. And these differ- planations can account for the research is needed to determine more productive." ences in behavior toward the firm researchers' findings. One possibil- which of these happens. One The researchers conducted a persisted—survey participants con- ity is that survey participation may thing is for sure: Participating in field experiment involving custom- tinued to open new accounts at a have made the customer's evalu- a survey will affect the customer ers of a large financial services firm faster rate and to defect at a slower ation of the firm more available relationship."• in the United States. One group rate than nonparticipants, even a when deciding how to behave on —Karen English ofcustomers participated in a tele- year afterward." subsequent occasions. "This idea

Fall '04 11 THROUGH THE SALLYPORT

"Somewhere between 2 trillion and 20 trillion tons of methane in gas hydrates lie on the outer edges of the continents, just beneath the ocean floor."

—Gerald Dickens

Unearthing a More Complex molecules become trapped inside an icelike the cycle via volcanic activity and erosion Carbon Cycle lattice of water crystals. and is passed between the three realms be- Hydrates can become unstable, how- fore returning to the earth in sediments. As humankind pumps more and more carbon ever. They dissolve when exposed to seawa- "In this context, once carbon enters into the atmosphere, those studying global ter without gas, and they can melt rapidly, the earth, even if it's a few feet below the climate change are becoming increasingly releasing their methane gas when tempera- surface, it's gone from the picture com- interested in the fate and consequences of all tures increase or pressure decreases. There pletely and no longer figures in the cycle," that extra carbon. is growing evidence that significant amounts Dickens says. "But now we're finding that of carbon are added to and removed from the hydrate reservoir isn't a stable system. At the same time, new findings about poorly hydrates all the time. These findings ne- Instead, it acts like an enormous capacitor, understood compounds called clathrate hy- cessitate a change in the way scientists charging and discharging variable amounts drates—icelike substances formed by water, have historically thought about the carbon of methane constantly in response to factors methane, and other gases and located just that we don't yet understand." beneath the ocean floor—show that science The frailty of gas hydrates has led Dick- and others to theorize that has long oversimplified the processes of car- The frailty of ens even minor changes in ocean temperatures and currents bon cycling on Earth. gas hydrates "Somewhere between 2 trillion and 20 could trigger a massive release of methane— has led Dickens trillion tons of methane in gas hydrates lie a major greenhouse gas—from the world's and others to on the outer edges of the continents, just oceans. Evidence for this comes from the theorize that beneath the ocean floor," says Gerald Dick- fossil record. Due to the chemical processes ens, associate professor of earth science at even minor involved in hydrate formation, the carbon Rice. "This enormous pool of methane may changes in ocean that is deposited in hydrates contains a dis- contain more carbon than all the world's temperatures proportionately low amount of the isotope oil, coal, and natural gas reserves combined, and currents carbon-13. In prior work, but the real surprise is that carbon that goes could trigger a Dickens and colleagues studied the geologic record and found car- there doesn't get locked away for eons. In massive release fact, significant volumes of carbon are al- bon samples that were notably lacking in of methane— ways entering and leaving these hydrate res- carbon-13 during a 10,000-year period in a major ervoirs via several processes, each of which the late Paleocene epoch, about 55 mil- greenhouse is poorly quantified." lion years ago. The period was marked by Hydrates are formed by natural bio- gas—from the a worldwide temperature increase of 4 to logical and geological processes occurring world's oceans. 8 degrees Celsius, leading Dickens to con- in deep-sea sediments. Organic matter pro- clude that this and other global carbon duced in surface water or on land accumu- isotope anomalies may document times of greatly enhanced methane lates on the sea floor, and bacteria infiltrate cycle—the process by which carbon moves output from marine sediments. these muddy sediments, digest the organic across Earth's surface and through the en- matter, and release methane gas. Under the vironment. —Jade Boyd right set of conditions—a narrow range of Traditionally, the carbon cycle has cold temperatures, moderate pressures, and been viewed as comprising the ocean, atmo- high concentrations of gas—the methane sphere, and biosphere. Carbon slowly enters

12 Rice Sallyport The Science of Teaching

Debbie Cobb, standing at left, teaches a lesson on electricity conductors with the assistance of Rhoniese Simpson, standing at center. The instructors are two of the teachers in the Model Science Lab at Lee High School.

CBEN and the Center for One component of the Debbie Cobb, a teacher is best. They have to subtly lead training program developed to from Sam Houston High School, the discussion and provide Education help urban teachers their address this situation is the pH says that, after teaching for 25 input at the right time, allowing learn to engage students in Model Science Lab at Lee High years, she realized for the first students to come to a conclusion scientific concepts. School. In its second year at the time that students come to they can back up by evidence col- high school level, the pH class with preconceived lected through their own investi- Through the slender glass win- Lab takes teachers out notions of the scien- gations. When these conclusions dows of a high-school classroom of their home high tific concepts she's are compared to scientifically door, students can be seen sitting school for one trying to teach. accepted explanations, students in neat rows, taking notes. The year and teaches "Kids don't then take ownership over the class appears to be in order and them new ways to care about our concepts they've learned and under control, so it would seem convey informa- ideas or what proven right or wrong. that these teenagers must really tion to students the book tells Rhoniese Simpson, from be learning. But take a closer while improving them," she says. Westside High School, says this look—not all of them are. Most their own science "They just learn method differs from traditional are merely retaining the informa- knowledge. "The main what we tell them for teaching by eliciting students' tion for the teacher's test and goal of this program," the test, and they never ideas and making those the start- then forgetting it soon after. Harcombe says, "is really believe it to be ing point, rather than books and To model more effective to convert teach- true." notes. At first glance, it might teaching methods while address- ers from deliver- Harcombe seem that this type of teaching low test scores and high ing lectures and says the pH Lab ing would be much harder, but drop-out rates, Rice's Center for canned labs and gives teachers Simpson says it actually makes Education and Center for Bio- show them how the opportu- class time easier on the teach- logical and Environmental Nano- to help students nity to try new er. "It takes more effort and technology(CBEN) have joined truly understand ways to impart thought outside of the classroom forces with the Houston Indepen- the material." information in to come up with ideas that will dent School District(HISD) to The program an engaging way. get the kids excited about the develop a new training program demonstrates various They start by asking the subject," she says. "It's harder in -grade science teachers. for ninth teaching models so artiiho. students what their class for the students—not neces- Elnora Harcombe, associate direc- teachers can see why thoughts are on a sarily the teacher—because the tor of the Center for Education, their traditional particular scien- students are the ones coming up says the program targets these methods are in- tific concept. Al- with opinions and ways to back teachers because of the nature of effective. They lowing students them up." the ninth-grade integrated physics observe other to talk about Harcombe says these sen- and chemistry class. teachers, sit in what they think timents come from almost all In this class, students learn on classes at Rice, gives them own- teachers who have been through basic concepts later built on by and go on field ership over the the training program, and that higher science classes. However, trips. "Teachers begin information. is borne out by practical results. there is a high failure rate in this to pay attention to other Harcombe knows Now in its 13th year at the course, often due to the fact that ways of engaging their students it can be hard for most teach- middle school level, the program it is taught by teachers who do in the material," Harcombe says. ers at first. Things will get a little has had an almost perfect teacher not have the experience needed "They see that what they've been disorderly—students might even retention rate of95 percent.• to properly engage students in doing all along hasn't been work- argue—so teachers have to let the material. ing as well as they thought." go of the idea that a quiet class —Lindsey Fielder

Fall '04 13 Student Awards Rice students again have earned a number of prestigious awards that allow them to pursue scholarship in the humanities and sciences.

Tim Perkins Ryan Giles

Four 2004 graduates will study will be investigating the interac- Perkins says. "They could provide or work abroad through the tion of tobacco use and genetic incentive for locals to preserve the of bird may cause Fulbright Scholars Program: background in the progression habitat, or they bladder cancer. disturbances that possibly have Steven Parker, Tanvir Hussain, Davenport Pollock earned a destructive impact on the bird Sirish Kishore, and Marie! a Fulbright Teaching Fellowship populations." Davenport Pollock. that will take her to France, where Jeff Bishop will be looking she will teach English to high at electricity programs using re- Parker, who received his master's school students in Versailles. newable energy in Botswana and degree in trombone performance, Martha Jeong also was Uganda. He wants to examine will be studying at the Staatliche awarded a Fulbright Fellowship the socio-cultural, technical, and Hochschule fir Musik in Tross- but declined the award to pursue organizational factors that led to ingen, Germany. He will work other opportunities. the demise of each country's pilot on experimental techniques for When Tim Perkins was electricity program. the trombone,including singing 11 years old, he "I find the or- while playing, vocalizing tech- spent an entire ganizational factors niques, mute experimentation, family trip to a the most interesting and incorporating dance, theater, park identify- because there has and video into performances. ing birds and has been no way set up Parker also will examine why clas- been hooked on to replace parts in sical music is so much more suc- bird-watching ever the system," Bishop cessful in Germany than in the since. This sum- says. "I hope to United States. mer, he'll turn his find out why these Hussain received a Fulbright weekend hobby systems have failed to the United Kingdom, where into a full-fledged in the past and how he will be studying for a master's research opportu- to avoid the prob- of science in social epidemiology nity. Perkins was lems in the future." at University College London. A one of three 2004 Bishop said relatively new field, social epide- graduating seniors he became inter- Caroline Shaw miology involves the study of how at Rice to receive a ested in renewable social conditions like race, gender, $22,000 Watson Fellowship. The "green" energy two years ago income, and religion affect health students each will use the stipend when he worked as an intern for outcomes. "This program is one to travel outside the United States a Rice alumnus. He plans to give of the first ofits kind in the entire to conduct independent study his findings to contacts in foreign world, and I will be among the projects. governments that he met through first 15 in the world to receive Perkins will study pres- his intern position. such a degree," he explains. After ent-day bird extinction in Latin Meanwhile, Caroline Shaw receiving his master's, Hussain America. He plans to follow vari- will travel to France, England, will pursue an MD/PhD at Co- ous threatened species to identify and Italy to study various garden lumbia University. the factors that play a direct role styles and concepts. She plans to Kishore will be studying in in the sustainability struggle. compose music for a string quar- Barcelona with an interdisciplin- "I will also look at the im- tet based on the aesthetics she ary and multinational group. He pact offoreign bird-watchers," experiences.

14 Rice Sallyport s s S

http://www.ruf.rice.edu/-pbk/

Phi Beta Kappa Election Recognizes Students' Academic Achievements

The Rice chapter of Phi Beta Kappa gained new members when 66 students were initiated into the organization in May.

Election to Phi Beta Kappa is a significant honor recognizing outstanding achievement in the liberal arts and sciences. To be considered, a student at Rice must have completed at least 90 semester hours in courses that reflect the pursuit of learning for its own sake, rather than focus on the development of particular professional skills. At least 10 of these qualifying courses must be chosen from outside the division in which the student's major lies. A list of members intiated into the organization in 2004 can be viewed at http://www.rufrice.edu/-pbk/.

"I'll be spending most of my parents, is given to the Rice stu- time taking photos and sketch- dent who received the most votes ing," she notes. "It's the kind of for a Watson nomination but did project with no right or wrong not receive the award. Like the way to complete it. This project Watson Fellowship, the Zeff gives is very seasonal, though, with the the recipient $22,000 to travel gardens each blooming at a cer- outside the United States for one tain time." year to work on a research project. A composer since she was After spending five months 10 years old, Shaw said a great in Portugal, Giles will travel to masterpiece isn't her objective for the Cape Verde Islands for three this project. "The point is to be months to learn the language alone for 12 months and figure and study cultural differences in myself out as a musician, as well as various holidays. "I want to learn a composer," she says. "I haven't how the Portuguese culture was been able to write music in a long adopted in different colonies time, and I'm excited to find a along the voyage," Giles says. "I'll system and motivation in look at how colonization changed which to write." the culture and how that's played In July, Ryan out in postcolonial times." Giles '04 began a year From Cape Verde, he'll following the foot- travel to South Africa to study the steps of the Spanish legacy left by Da Gama outside explorer Vasco Da the colonial boundaries. Moving Gama. on to Mozambique, he will com- As a recipient of pare the degree of adaptation and the Roy and Hazel Zeff rejection between Maputo and Memorial Fellowship, Mozambique islands. Giles will Giles started his journey in end his trip in Goa on the west Portugal, where he will stay for coast of India. He plans to inves- five months to learn about the tigate the Goan trend to promote culture. That experience will serve the Portuguese heritage to draw as his point ofreference as he tourism. looks for evidence of Portuguese "I've always been interested influence in Cape Verde, Mozam- in colonial expansion, particularly bique, and Goa,India. Spanish and Portuguese," he says. The Zeff Fellowship was "I really hope to understand the established in 2002 by Stephen people I've read about for so long Zeff, the Herbert S. Autrey Pro- and fill in the blanks with a sense fessor of Accounting at the Jesse of who these people are."• Jeff Bishop H. Jones Graduate School of Management. The fellowship, — Reported by Linsdey Fielder which is named in honor of Zeff's

Fall '04 15 STUDENTS

Students in the News

From left to right, front row: Linda Lee, Venmathy Rajarathinam, Stephanie Lin; middle row: Amit Mistry, Elizabeth McDonald, Tamar Losleben, Jessica Kaminsky, Amy Askins, Cheryl Matherly; back row: Jurek Rokicki, Patrick Frantz

Students See Globalization The Owls were among 55 she explains. "The GTLS just gives at the 2004 Redefining Invest- in Action student delegates from five con- me a better perspective on how ment Strategy Education (RISE) tinents, seven countries, and 12 everything works and the totally Symposium with the performance Last spring, nine Rice students universities who took a 10-day trip different approaches they take." of their student-managed invest- to Singapore and Japan. There, The Global Leadership ment portfolio. The M.A. Wright got a lesson on how some they met and networked with, Technology Symposium was orig- Fund won the "blend" category companies are facing the among others, representatives of inally developed by Arizona State with the highest risk-adjusted challenges of globalization when the Singapore Economic Develop- University in partnership with return for 2003 at the fourth annual RISE they participated in the 2004 ment Board, who discussed the the University of Waikato in New Symposium, the largest U.S.—Singapore Free Trade Agree- Zealand, RMIT University in student investment conference in Global Leadership Technology ment and Singapore's economy; Australia, and Rice. It has evolved North America, held in April in Symposium (GTLS), a program the dean ofengineering at Nan- into a program for multiple uni- Dayton, Ohio. designed to prepare engineering, yang Technological University, versities from many countries. The Rice team competed against computer science, business, where they toured research labs; This was Rice's second year to teams from about 100 and researchers at NEC,the big- participate. The 2004 student del- other universities for the top technology, and architecture gest phone supplier in Japan. They egates from Rice were Kaminsky, honors in one offour investment students for real-world also toured such sites as the wafer Rajarathinam, Linda Lee, Tamar management-style categories: leadership in the 21st century. fabrication facilities at ST Micro- Losleben, Stephanie Lin, Jurek value, growth, blend, and hybrid electronics, one ofthe top semi- Rolcicki, Amy Askin, Amit Mistry, (portfolios that are allowed to sell Businesses and governments conductor suppliers in the world, and Liz McDonald. Co-director securities short). Using a combi- around the world are more inter- and the Nissan auto factory in of the program Patrick Frantz also nation of equities and fixed-independent than ever before, and (Varna, Japan. accompained the students.• come securities, the Wright Fund globalization has changed the The symposium gave stu- reported a 2003 return of 18.10 rules of leadership and manage- dents a glimpse of real-world issues percent, or 8.72 percent on a risk- ment and introduced new chal- that go beyond what can be found Jones School Students adjusted basis (annual return/ lenges to the mix—differences in in books on leadership, says senior Take Honors monthly standard deviation). cultural norms, communication Jessica Kaminsky. She learned to Representing the Jones styles, work ethics, and more. look at the bigger picture, noting, Students from the Jesse H. Jones School's Wright Fund team were "Globalization defines the "These days 'leadership' means Jeff Kirkham, the fund's chief Graduate School of Management industries in which these students 'global leadership'—it's practically operating officer; Adam Michael, are making their mark, winning will work after they graduate," one word." chief investment officer; Brian says Cheryl Matherly, assistant Venmathy Rajarathinam, a honors at an investment strategy Quattrucci, chief operating of- dean ofstudent affairs and direc- senior in civil engineering, says she conference and at a finance case ficer; Antonio Zuniga, a fall 2003 tor of international opportunities. saw that America and Asia need to winner of the "Best Wright Fund competition. "Effectively working in a multi- be able to understand one another, Team" award; and Jill Foote, cultural work place is not an op- their cultures. "It's lecturer in management and fac- their goals, and Four second-year students of tion but a requirement." vital to the success ofa company," ulty adviser to the Wright Fund. the Jones School scored a win

16 Rice Sallyport "Globalization defines the industries in which these students will work after they graduate. Effectively working in a multicultural work place is not an option but a requirement."

—Cheryl Matherly

This is the second time in four Impact Awards Honor Students Henning is a member of a covers all areas of sexuality was years the Wright Fund has won Who Made a Mark at Rice group of women scientists who spearheaded by Muallem and a top honors at RISE. A Rice meet to discuss the issues of group of students who partici- young women in the sciences. A team won at the 2001 inaugural Rice students have a history pated in Leadership Rice. The site conference. young mother and a successful serves all students, regardless of of giving of themselves for the Modeled after the World scientist, she also is involved in sex, gender, sexual orientation, or Economic Forum, RISE con- betterment of the university numerous educational and earth level of sexual activity. nects investment students and community, and since 1997, the science outreach activities, such as Vela has been involved in a acting as a faculty with Wall Street profes- Women's Resource Center has coordinator of the Girl mentoring program at Wharton sionals in interactive discussions. Scout Science Day hosted annu- Elementary for four years. She has recognized such people with the It is co-sponsored by the New ally at Rice. guided girls at the school through York Stock Exchange, the Wall Impact Awards. King has conducted research developmental milestones and has Street Journal, CNBC,Deutsche on women's issues such as female shown countless other Rice stu- are given annually to Asset Management, and the The awards leadership in organizations and dents how to combine the roles of women who demon- University of Dayton School of men and work—family balance programs friend, protector, and teacher. service to the campus and Business Administration. strate in the workplace. She shares her Slater has served as a role Another team of four Jones School students earned honors in April with its second-place win at the Rolanette and Berdon Award recipients work to make a positive impact by raising awareness of Lawrence Finance Case Com- women's issues and serving as role models in the empowerment of women. petition held at the Freeman School of Business at Tulane University. The Harvard Business School case covered a merger community,show involvement knowledge of these issues by serv- model for young women,and in and acquisition situation and as- and participation in student life ing as a mentor to younger female doing so she has demonstrated in- set purchase agreement. Teams and activities at Rice and beyond, undergraduate students who also telligence, levelheadedness, grace, were given five hours to work it, work to make a positive impact are studying these fields. and charm. Nally is a dedicated followed by a 30-minute presen- by raising awareness of women's Smithers organized a con- member of Students Organized tation and question-and-answer issues, and serve as role models in ference on women in leadership, Against Rape and is an active vol- session. the empowerment of women. which was attended by more unteer at the Houston Women's The Rice MBA team—Dilip Graduate student recipients than 200 people and also raised Center.• Bhojwani, Jon Donnel, Jorge were Alison Henning, Eden King, enough money to generate en- — Reported by Jennifer Evans and Murillo, and Tanay Shah—won Under- dowed scholarships for future and Tammy Smithers. Loren Wilkerson the $3,000 prize, the second graduate recipients were Gaia women leaders. consecutive year for a Rice team Muallem, Monica Vela, Mary A website—www. www.ruf. to do so.• Slater, and Laura Nally. rice.eduRrsex/index.html—that

Fall '04 17 PIP ii h .••••/ Y. P "Have lieu met them?" By Terry Shepard and Debra Thomas "What are Meg like?"

Naturally enough, inquiring minds want to know about new Rice president David W. Leebron and his wife, Y. Ping Sun. The couple hopes to meet as many people in the Rice and Houston communities as possible in the near future. In the meantime, you are invited to join in Sallyport's introductory conversation with them.

0 You were both obviously attracted to law, but independently of each other. What about it appealed to each of you?

PING When I was at Princeton, I went to the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. I had an opportunity to do an externship, and I thought I would go to work for a law firm and see what lawyers do. I saw how lawyers put transactions together,international transactions, mainly. One of the partners of the firm spoke excellent Japanese and Chinese and was able to become a bridge between different cultures to help the Japanese and Chinese understand the American legal system and how transactions are done here. I thought, that's a good thing. That's what I would like to do—to be a bridge between China and the U.S.

DAVID Sometimes I define a law student as somebody who faints at the sight of blood or mathematical equations. I was in the former category. What attracted me to law was really the public policy aspect of it. It's a profession and a discipline engaged with people and their welfare and their ambitions. I was really interested in a profession that was actively concerned about people looking for ways to advance their lives. It's funny, in some ways, that although my career did not go in that direction, I probably underestimated at the time the significance of law as a public policy tool.

18 Rice Sallyport ,oy Tommy LaVergne

Your career did go in that direction in certain ways. Your academic interests have included international law and trade and privacy, and you've co-written a textbook on human rights.

DAVID Well, I tend to be a person who, intellectually, doesn't settle down very easily. Another thing that attracted me to law is that it is not a narrow discipline. Sometimes people in the rest of academia think of law as narrow, but it's not. It's engaged with a lot of intellectual disciplines and a wide range of human endeavors. If you look at what I majored in as an undergraduate, you'll see that I wanted to explore different areas of knowledge. So I took half a major in biochemistry and half a major in German history and another half a major in the history of science. Obviously, I was not a major in math. The same thing attracts me to Rice—being involved in a wide range of inquiry about the world.

0 In the 7th through 12th grades, you were educated in a Quaker school. How did that shape the person you are now?

DAVID In a number of ways. It probably did shape me politically to some extent, not in a sense of making me antiwar, although that's one thing that Quakers stand for. Rather, there's a whole spirit of openness and lack of hierarchy in the Quaker religion and a real concern for others and their welfare. I actually have come to regard that as the fundamental thing that philosophically separates human beings: Either you are concerned about the welfare of others who are not related to you or you aren't. That's how the world divides to some extent. And Quakers,I always thought, were really quite firmly on one side of that—very socially conscious. It wasn't so much that the education was religious; rather it embodied an attitude—a kind of humanism,openness, and nonorthodoxy.

0 What was your early education, Ping?

first PING In China,I went to a boarding school, where I learned English. And then in 1977,I was among the group of students after the Cultural Revolution who took the national exam for college. One out of 100 students who took the exam could go to some sort of college. I was lucky, I went to Beijing Languages University, but I hadn't graduated before I came to Princeton. I applied to Princeton from that college.

Fall '04 19 O And how did it come to be Princeton?

"You don't want to have PING I sent letters out to about 10 different universities, but eventually I a sense of authorities only applied to Princeton and Yale because they offered scholarships to foreign on high deciding which students. I was fortunate enough to get into Princeton. They not only gave me a issues and interests full scholarship, but also sent an air ticket on Pan Am. are legitimate and which aren't. I do think O What led you to stay and to become a U.S. citizen? that we used to have institutions that defined gam) When I came,I thought, I will be here for four years and after that I their mission other than will go back to China. And then, my junior year, I realized that there is graduate by making the most school. So, I thought, OK, I'll go to graduate school. In between, I met David. amount of money or I then thought, even if I'm not going back to China permanently, I can still do securing the greatest some work that could promote understanding between the two countries. So audience." that's why I decided to go to law school and then work at an international law firm. -DAVID W. LEEBRON O Your household now includes two beautiful young children, Daniel and Merissa. Ping, you obviously had a fast-track career. How did you weigh career considerations against starting a family or,for that matter, moving to Houston?

PING Balancing a legal career and family provided interesting challenges. After we had children, I found I needed to cut back somewhat,and I later took on a different role in the firm. I have been working at a law firm for almost 16 years and found it rewarding. Even though I won't be working at a law firm here in Houston, I am really excited about this opportunity. One of my priorities coming to Rice is to help David do community outreach, to get to know the faculty and staff and students, and to get involved with the Houston community,including the Chinese community.I also would like to be able to reach out to the international community; there are quite a number of consulates here in Houston. I know Rice is well known, but we need to broaden people's knowledge about Rice. One way to do it is to reach out to the international community and promote Rice even further so that more international students will choose to come to Rice. Initially,I will need to spend time helping Daniel and Merissa adapt to the new environment. Houston seems to be a great place to raise young children.

O David, your career took a turn, too.You clerked with a distinguished federal judge and practiced law for a while, but you fairly quickly chose to become an academic. Why?

DAVID It was coincidence in some ways. After law school, I wanted to clerk for the best judge I could west of the Mississippi, so I applied to one judge who especially interested me. Happily, I got the clerkship and went out to Los Angeles; unfortunately, she promptly resigned. So, I needed something to do in L.A., and I ended up teaching at UCLA for a semester. Then I traveled around the world and went back to New York and practiced for a couple of years with a great firm. But I just did not enjoy the daily tasks that comprised law practice. And I had enjoyed the teaching I did at UCLA.I like spending my time thinking about issues and puzzling through questions. It seemed like a pretty attractive thing to do.

O Over the last decade,at least,it has been said that university presidents are no longer public intellectuals, that we don't have the great university presidents of yore taking a stand on the public issues of the day. Do you foresee yourself becoming such a public intellectual?

DAVID That's a very hard question. The job has changed. The demands have changed: the demands on one's

20 Rice Sallyport time, the demands for resources, and the need to raise funds from a wide variety of sources. And there is, frankly, behavior by some on emotional issues that sometimes reflects a misunderstanding of what these institutions should be about. Some alumni get angry because the president has said this or that or because this department has done this or that. They sometimes make these quick judgments about institutions. The president becomes very identified with the institution. And therefore, I think the presidents and others became very cautious about issues that they speak on. Because, quite rightly, they don't want to sacrifice the institutional interests to their own points of view. I suspect—I hope—I will find some number of issues that I think are important,that I would be willing to speak out on, in appropriate circumstances. But my first obligation is going to be to the university. I do think it's a loss. I think we need university leaders speaking out on some of the fundamental issues that we face, even if their views are unpopular with some members of the broad university community.

0 It's also harder because the media itself has become more polarized—the "you're with us or you're against us"attitude has become more pervasive. Meanwhile,there's a theory that celebrity—coverage of people's private lives—pushes out discussion of public issues because it's so much more interesting to most people.

There's some truth to that, but you don't want to have a sense of authorities on high deciding which issues and interests are legitimate and which aren't. I do think that we used to have institutions that defined their mission other than by making the most amount of money or securing the greatest audience. But many of these institutions—take network news—are in the entertainment business now, and success is measured by audience share. I don't think that was as true in earlier generations.

0 Do you worry that universities are somewhat subject to these same forces, where success is measured by donations or by the number of applicants?

DAVID I do worry. I worry that others have devised metrics for measuring universities and that universities have started to act as though those are the metrics that define their success. I think it's a huge risk. The role of educational institutions as public institutions—in the sense of contributing to the public welfare, not whether they are publicly owned—has been diminished. There are many great things about these institutions being so intensely competitive, but there are many things that are not so great about this competition as well.

Fall '04 21 O Of course, having asked you about the personal versus the public, here we are asking you about the personal. David, you have spent most of your life in Philadelphia and New York, with a brief sojourn to Los Angeles. Ping, you were born in Shanghai,raised in Tianjin, and went to school in Beijing, all huge cities. Is"city people" an accurate description of you? Or do you like to go off to the country and watch birds?

DAVID Well, we like to go to France during the summer, and we like to rent a house in the countryside there. But as a place to live, I think it would have been hard to persuade us to go to some place other than a big city. I think cities just offer certain things. New York has an amazing intensity to it, which was hard for us to give up, but we also found so much in Houston that really attracted us. And I think that the diversity is part of it also. Since our family has its own internal diversity, that environment is very important to us, and it's important to how we want to see our children grow up. One of the first things I said to the search committee was, I don't know anything about Houston, but if it doesn't have a vibrant Asian or Chinese community, I'm just not going to be willing to talk about it. So they introduced us right away to the right people to talk to. You know, you can get that sometimes in places that aren't cities, but you get it more easily in big cities. And there's a certain cultural life. Even if you don't use it, it's nice to know it's there and other people are using it, that it's part of their lives. Then there are things that we like to buy, from special types of wine to a very good cheese; we need to learn where to do that in Houston. And we were very concerned about finding Breyer's mint chocolate chip ice cream, but we finally did.

O Other than eating mint chocolate chip ice cream, what do you like to do for fun?

CMIll Travel.

DAVID Yes, we like to travel. We like to do a little bit of skiing each year. Occasionally we like to go to a movie. We love good food, Still, on my most recent birthday, the last thing I needed was another meal, so we went out to see the Lord of the Rings because we don't often get to see movies without our kids. Most of the time that we have available is taken up by our kids. I loved to walk around in New York City, occasionally do a little shopping. We go to a reasonable number of cultural things. We just have such busy schedules. That's why we're so dull.

O In a previous interview,the Thresher asked,if you could have been something else, what would you have been? And you answered,a pop musician. There was speculation afterward whether this would be Mick Jagger or Frank Sinatra. Do you want to clarify that for us?

22 Rice Sallyport DAVID I don't know. I think in some ways that I'm just not a natural performer, but I wish I could be. Some of this could go back to a different era, perhaps a different relationship with people who produced music. Great musicians produce—not only in terms of the "One of my priorities music but also the lyrics—in essence, modern poetry. coming to Rice is to help I think my wish is not to be a kind of a hard rocker but some- David do community one like Paul Simon or even a less successful name,like Don McLean. outreach,to get to know What I appreciate is a certain quality of artistry. A more daring the faculty and staff example would be something like Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." I and students,and to think people who can communicate through music have an incredible get involved with the talent of communication that reaches beyond most others. Now,a lot Houston community, of music out there is garbage—the same songs of frustrated love. including the Chinese But there are people who get some different, interesting ideas in the community?' music.

-Y. PING SUN 0 Ping, what would your fantasy life be if you were doing something completely different?

PING Ambassador.

C) To China?

PING Possibly. Ever since I was little, I have been fascinated with diplomatic relationships.

O Why? How does a small child even become aware of diplomacy?

PING I grew up reading books. My hero was Chou En-lai, the premier of China. I saw how skillful he was in dealing with foreign relations.

O So who's your hero now?

PING My hero now? You mean,in addition to David? That's a good question. Throughout my childhood and even now,I would have to say my grandmother had a big influence on me. Just the way she taught me to be a good person, to do good things for the people around me, the importance of family. On a personal level, she's one of my heroes. Of course, I've always admired Jackie Kennedy, how she dealt with very difficult situations. I guess I'm a little bit biased because I went to law school with Caroline Kennedy; we were in the same class.

O David, your hero? as a result, has DAVID Hero is a word I am very cautious about using. It's used a lot for political purposes and, because I almost lost its meaning. Somebody alive or dead? For me, it would probably be Abraham Lincoln, partly have the same birthday. And partly because he set the nation in a very different and important direction—a direction speech, he ended up giving his life for. He also was a great leader and a superb politician. He gave the world's best even though it was only 272 words.

your time. O Many people will be happy to hear that you admire short speeches. Thank you very much for

Fail '04 23 How Will Rice Proceed? By Charles Henry The library at Rice University will evolve in the coming decade, bridg- Vice Provost and ing the complex academic needs ofthe present with a future we are Fondren University Librarian just beginning to understand. Today, new areas of research, breathtak- and ing advancements in technology, and an equally astonishing growth and the in scholarly resources can rightfully claim the Gutenberg revolution as Sara Lowman Director of Fondren Library precedent. Fondren is on the cusp of a transformational epoch, with Future and Associate University an opportunity to create a 21st-century library that is vibrant, flexible, Librarian and attuned to a swiftly changing world. Our goal remains identical to the earlier library project: to construct a preeminent academic support environment that sustains the most advanced research and intellectual productivity of any institution of higher learning. Obviously, building renovation and a number ofinterrelated services and programs lie ahead. Preparations for those have begun with the construction of the new off-site Library Service Center, which Of the many features of Rice University that have remained familiar over opened in January. The center provides space for the ongoing transfer the years,two are the importance of printed books and journals as salient oflesser -used library materials, so that Fondren always will have ad- mediums of scholarly exchange and the idea that a library is central to the equate space to evolve. educational experience.Those still hold true, buttoday,the way educational But that evolution will not be simple. Originally, the univer- material is disseminated and the role of the library are undergoing dramatic sity planned to raze the existing library building and construct in its place a new structure that would incorporate the increased digital change, and Fondren Library is at a crossroads. library resources the university needs in addition to all of the defin- ing concepts identified in the 1992 planning study. The plan to re- The most recent planning study for the enhancement of Fondren place the existing library has been revised, but the guiding concepts Library and information resources at Rice, undertaken in 1992,iden- that emerged in the planning process have been preserved and will tified a variety of desired elements that were perceived as enriching be realized within the existing library and its off-site Library Service the intellectual environment at the university. These included consoli- Center. In addition, many important enhancements are under way or dating traditional library services and programs, implementing inno- planned for the next four years. vative and more widely deployed uses of technology for information The concept and costing study for this project are now ready to delivery and knowledge management, balancing on-site collections begin. The project team includes architects from Shepley Bulfinch with remote storage ofless -used books and journals, creating a more Richardson and Abbott, Bailey Architects and Linbeck Construction easily navigated building, and configuring flexible study spaces with Inc., as well as stafffrom Fondren Library and the Office of Facilities, better seating and reading areas that emphasize the collaborative and Engineering, and Planning. The Rice Board of Trustees approved this social nature oflearning. concept and costing proposal at its May 2004 meeting, and further Many of these goals remain crucial as Fondren Library looks to planning and construction will follow in 2004 and 2005. move into the future, but at the same time, much has changed in the world of the library since 1992. Most obvious is the explosion of the World Wide Web. In the last seven years, literally hundreds of mil- Inside Fondren lions of Web pages have been created, thousands of online journals have appeared, and the National Science Foundation has invested Library renovations will be phased and will initially focus on the first, millions in digital library projects across the sciences and humani- second, and sixth floors. One of the most visible alterations will be a ties. Some disciplines are now completely dependent on electronic "main street" through the center of the first floor of Fondren. This resources for research and teaching. Internet access is nearly ubiqui- concept has been an element in all recent library planning studies. tous. Tens of thousands ofindependent academic projects are increas- Creating a new entrance on the west side of Fondren with an open ingly linked through national registries and digital catalogs. Emerging corridor connecting to the present eastern doors will help improve areas of research augur extraordinary advances in our understanding sight lines to key services and allow us to consolidate some services. of the world: Bioinformatics, nanotechnology, and molecular com- It also will aesthetically connect the first floor with the mezzanine to puting are all prominent examples of Rice's academic strength. These improve patron orientation and direction finding and help accommo- compelling scientific advances also portend new ways of organizing, date the high volume ofstudent traffic along the west-side axis that managing, and delivering information—basic elements of the tradi- connects the colleges with the science and engineering buildings. tional library. Relocating circulation/reserves to the newly created western During the past several years, campus leaders have come to un- building entrance will enhance library service points. The space oc- derstand more deeply that the virtual spaces at Rice provide means by cupied by the circulation/reserves staff needs to be updated and re- which the academic community can meet, exchange ideas, collabo- located to accommodate new functions, such as electronic reserves rate on projects, read and compose assignments, conduct research, processing and the housing of additional format materials(DVD, CD- and build digital repositories that reflect new understandings. ROM),as well as to address other changes in staff duties. Consolidat- Like the campus of bricks and mortar it complements and ex- ing the information desk with the circulation/reserves not only will tends, the digital environment requires a unifying architecture and allow greater efficiency in staffing but will provide 24-hour access. must be secure, easy to navigate, and dedicated to intellectual de- The library also will be attuning itself to particular Rice needs. velopment of the highest order. Rice must plan for and manage its The Asian Studies Program, for example, has been enhanced with a digital environment with the same meticulous care and sensitivity number of new faculty in areas of specialization such as Japanese his- accorded its renowned physical plant of academic buildings, colleges, tory and Indian religious studies, resulting in increased interest from and green spaces."No upward limit" should apply equally to our students. Faculty members have expressed the need for a space where virtual dimension, as it did nearly 100 years ago to the new institute special language materials and computers could be located for the when it broke ground. study of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Tibetan, and other Asian Ian-

24 Rice Sallyport guages, and in response, we are tentatively create rooms for individual and group study. Educational Technology Research and As- planning an Asian Studies Alcove for the Creating an open space with views of sessment Center, a component of the ERC Reference Room on the first floor. campus on the sixth floor is another high- that provides expertise on the evaluation of The creation of a coffee shop/cyber light. This space would be furnished as a classroom technology at Rice and across the cafe also is planned for a new pavilion area, reading room, with comfortable chairs and nation, is another facet that would improve which will be located along the western ex- data ports. Setting aside an area dedicated with a more accessible location. terior of the building. This area will act as a to the Graduate Student Association would Network upgrades and the expansion of social and intellectual place to read, study, give graduate students a place to meet, re- wireless coverage on campus are needed. A use technology, talk with friends and col- cruit future graduate students, and share well-managed and maintained network is crit- leagues, or take a break. Although history information pertinent to their interests. ical for the delivery ofinformation, collabora- has shown many examples of how coffee, The library project team also will evalu- tion, and secure data storage and retrieval in intellectual thought, and socializing go ate other possible renovations as part of the the coming years. This would include wider hand-in-hand, coffee service in libraries is study, including furniture upgrades, remod- deployment of Rice's wireless network. a relatively new trend, contradicting the eling of staff areas, facilities issues, and other library's traditional image. library service-point modifications. All these enhancements will help re-create Improvements to the Woodson Research Fondren Libraryasa libraryforthe 21stcentury and Center include relocating the doorway and External Enhancements allow further growth for information technology's replacing several small rooms to reveal activ- increasing importance in the university's ity in the research center and the collections Several projects relating to the enhance- housed within. A glass-paneled door will be ment of the digital library at Rice also are educational and research endeavors.At the same installed to the reception area to give a more planned as part of this study. One proposal time, they will serve to maintain the library as welcoming feel for scholars and students us- is to use the former Business Information a focal point for academic activities and as an ing the facility, and exhibit cases will be placed Center space in Herring Hall for Digital Li- indispensable information center and archive near the entrance. Some of the other features ideal, with brary Services. This open space is for Rice's future. that will be incorporated into the center are minimal refurbishment, as a digital library new bookshelves, equipment, and furniture service center. Computer equipment from and modernized fire safety. less-used Owlnet labs could be more pro- Enhanced study rooms are planned. Stu- ductively placed in this area, and the Elec- dents have requested flexibly designed collab- tronic Resources Center(ERC), currently orative spaces in the library, with a variety of housed in the basement of Fondren, could technology to accommodate the social nature more visibly serve the Rice campus as a mul- oflearning, and the library sees the need to timedia production and teaching center. The

Fall '04 25 .tv ,s RA v., At —tor ,. Y3IOND After a PhDJOHNSON in Math. PONDERS FUTURE 3fashe. Law 4 -4..,Degree Ill, Ph... bvlim rex 1,1.0,.1 '4 ,1 oil Icon fr. Prt , K' in rosearrh. .I. ry'r: I. T 11 A t • rt",1 R..c hot r wont n...n f.. do most. 4. • a.1 a fm‘r If, h, - NW,- fr. .1mr tO 1 P big sritoo/ Ivcdone the rn.., r All it J.,•,,,:: r ,,s „ ,• i,... t ErdMdall:, after a fr., ifff V.e'N'T lb oh ,..... nd Phi, I mtgtv go k.s .7bout ‘UPZF his somd11.te Rice SaHYPort ui.tle ot Rice By David D. Medina , allot 1 Johmon said ke --ta• ..., ,.: 4, ..11., Li 41:on& it o-rc..- I'do)ot!tsrs 4T41:4. •• It, 4: r''''s” Ihd forty years ago, when Raymond Johnson '69 first stepped on the campus, little did he know that someday he would be considered a trailblazer, a historic figure in the annals of the university.

ven today, Johnson, a modest and mild-mannered math professor, appears a bit bewildered by all the attention he's received lately, which includes meeting with students, faculty, and staff and giving a talk in the Grand Hall of the Rice Memorial Center about his student days at Rice. But while Johnson may hardly consider himself a Epioneer, what he did forever changed the composition of the university's student body: In 1964, he became the first African American to be admitted to Rice, thus paving the way for other minorities to follow in his footsteps. "When I was at Rice, I never thought about being the first black student," Johnson says. "All I wanted to do was to get in and work." He entered as a graduate student, worked with the single-mindedness of a monk, and in five years, received his PhD in mathematics. Since then, Johnson has taught math at the University of Maryland. As a thank you for his historic act, Rice recently paid Johnson a tribute attended by more than 200 people. Among them was Rice professor of computational and applied mathematics Richard Tapia, who praised Johnson for "being a pioneer at a time when a pioneer was needed." "Raymond played the same role in integrating Rice as Jackie Robinson did in integrating major league baseball," Tapia adds. "Like Robinson, Johnson had to be extremely good, he had to succeed and he couldn't be a person who would turn everybody off. Johnson was perfect. Had it not been for him, Rice may not have successfully integrated." Living in a segregated world that was undergoing change was nothing new to Johnson. Born in 1943, he grew up in the small South Texas town of Alice, where blacks, Hispanics, and whites lived in separate neighborhoods and went to schools defined by skin color. Everything public—restaurants, movie theaters, and buses—was divided along color lines with the intention of making blacks less visible. Johnson remembers having to sit in the balcony of the theater and being required to sit in the back of the bus. All attempts to make him feel less worthy did not work on Johnson, perhaps because the warmth of his family protected him. Johnson never knew his father but was raised by his mother, Johnnie Virginia Johnson, who was a housemaid for the town's white families. His maternal grandmother, Virginia Pleasant Johnson Thompson, and her second husband, Benjamin Thompson, a preacher, also helped in rearing Johnson.

Opposite page, top: Raymond Johnson at the University of Texas at Austin, where he did his undergraduate work from 1960 to 1963. Lower left: a Houston Post article highlights Johnson's admission to Rice in 1964. Lower middle: Johnson as a child. Top of page, left: Johnson's junior high shool portrait. Middle: His early tenure at the University of Maryland in the late 1970s.

27 It was his stepgrandfather—Johnson refers to him as his grandfa- told a black student that he was welcome to take his class, but that his grade ther—who taught Johnson to read and do math at an early age. By the time would start with a C and would go down from there. Johnson also remem- Johnson was old enough to go to school, he was moved up two grades. He bers that Moore once walked out of a lecture when he found out that the attended a small wood-frame school for blacks that had two classrooms, speaker was black. each containing four grade levels. Walking to school everyday, Johnson Obviously, Johnson was upset by these discriminatory acts, but he knew passed a new elementary school that was for white students only. that his best weapon to move ahead was to study hard. At the University But the way Johnson speaks of his past, there seems to be no resentment of Texas, Johnson concentrated on applied mathematics and was immedi- of attending a poor school that used old tattered books. In fact, he thinks ately recognized as an exceptional student. He was so advanced, in fact, that because the school was so small, with only five students per grade, he that among the several courses he took from H. B. Curtis, who had taught received special attention from the teachers. "I do not feel my education was Johnson's high school math teacher, O'Rear, were special self-study calculus shortchanged," he says. "The teachers knew who you were, and I think they courses. had a very good sense of what you could do." "I owe a lot of my success in mathematics to Dr. Curtis," says Johnson. "I The African American community in Alice was too small to have its own received guidance from him from my entry into the university until I went high school, so black students were bussed 28 miles to an all-black school off to graduate school." Curtis was a Rice alumnus, and he recommended in Kingsville. Fortunately for Johnson, one year before he entered the ninth that Johnson attend Rice. grade, the 1954 Supreme Court When Johnson graduated decision of Brown vs. the Board from UT in 1963, Rice was of Education pronounced that still an all-white school, but school segregation was unconsti- the board of trustees had been tutional. Although many schools successful in changing the por- across the country and a few in tion of the original Rice char- Texas defied the Supreme Court ter that stated, in part, that the decision, the Alice school board university should "educate the abided, and Johnson was able to white inhabitants of Houston attend Alice High School. and Texas." Johnson applied Fortune struck again for and was accepted. James Doug-

"When I was at Rice, I never thought about heing the first Mach student," Johnson says. "AN wanted to tlo was to pet in antl work. I,

Johnson in 1957, when Russia signaled its technological superiority to the las was head of the mathematics department at the time, and he reviewed world by launching the Sputnik satellite. The event galvanized the Unit- Johnson's application. "Raymond had a very boring transcript," Douglas ed States to catch up to its cold war enemy through a push to train more says facetiously. "He had nothing but As." Douglas adds that all the faculty students in mathematics and science. Alice High School, like other high in the department supported the decision to admit Johnson. schools in the country, scrambled to meet the challenge and implemented In 1963, Johnson boarded a Greyhound bus and headed to Houston. He math enrichment classes before school started each day. Johnson was among spent the summer at Rice living in Baker College while he attended a "boot the 10 students selected for the program. camp" for graduate students. The intention was to prepare graduate students Until then, Johnson had not thought about attending college. "My goal for the coming academic year and for them to find roommates to share at the time was to get out of Alice," he says, "and for blacks to get out of off-campus living accommodations. Johnson found two white students to Alice meant joining the army." But his math teacher, Larry O'Rear, and his room with him: Robert Boner, who left Rice after a year to attend Notre counselor, Stan Brooks, encouraged Johnson to apply to college. Since he Dame, and Jeff Lewis '66. The three moved into an apartment on North had skipped two grades, however, they advised him to take an extra year to MacGregor Drive. study for the SAT. For a while though, it seemed as if Rice would not integrate at all. In fall The plan worked, and Johnson won a National Merit Scholarship to 1963, two alumni sued the university and managed to uphold the original attend the University of Texas at Austin. He also earned enough Advance intent ofthe charter until a fresh ruling was made."Jim Crow may have seen Placement credits to allow him to finish his undergraduate studies in three its twilight," Johnson says, "but there were plenty of people who wanted to years. With scholarship in hand, Johnson still needed money for traveling keep the sun up just a little while longer." expenses. He borrowed it from his aunt's employer and made his way to Even though Johnson could not be admitted as a student, the admin- Austin. The city was still considered small back then, but the tall buildings istration found a way to circumvent the ruling by hiring him as a research astonished Johnson. "I had never seen a big city," he says. assistant. His title and duties were in name only because Johnson spent most Though the city may have been different from anything Johnson had of his first year auditing classes and getting ready for the following year. seen, the social environment was all too familiar: Segregation refused to disappear. "It was a strange world," Johnson recalls. "I was stuck between Top,right: Johnson and his integration and segregation. While the classrooms were integrated, the mother,Johnnie VirginiaJohnson, stand in front of their first dormitories, campus athletics, restaurants, and pretty much everything else house in Alice, Texas, dressed for were strictly segregated." Easter. Lower right:The Williams Adams High School yearbook Even some classrooms were not immune to racist behavior. Johnson shows the top 10 graduating seniors from 1959. Johnson is remembers that a world-renowned mathematician, Robert L. Moore, once pictured in the back row, second from the right.

28 Rice Sallyport .tirf 4. 4.• AI t,• • A.16 rmt''.144;1_44.•..4 tir ,1 0 .•Ar04:i4.1. r} S4X/•1 •1:0 <0 • 4.3.ck,x),.t.)-4,:r4.11: 0-> • • e.:x.-tri-q1-41.....ts-ari 4, • • 4, .0-st-I1 If+ ,oz -4, •• ••a•ix,,c.,,, •. • •s•Ir-41.itt..`, • • .-n."-C,• Ds aDs.:1•41:s41.:40,1D, •• 1,41, rs-• .,te. e-t1+11.-Iccatirt•rk, 1^A'..*47 '-147,1176*iyAa. • Ci I ti r" .r.elift10*),4"/ 11,4/, •/Ivo r, • • .0

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• 1•;%.1,-(1.-'1,1/.11.vq`4.04b••• * 4:4 •4.." 14 wr. ..! .. 4.. Ato.,:a071t, 4 "There was no doubt in my mind that they were going to win the lawsuit, so I stayed," Johnson says. Rice did manage to change the admissions policy, and Johnson was officially admitted in 1964 as the university's first African American student. Although he was one of a kind at Rice, Johnson was accepted as an equal in the small mathematics department and quickly made several friends. "I didn't feel uncomfortable," he says. "I was in a small cocoon of maybe 30 graduate students." Johnson was elegant, well mannered, intelligent, and an excellent student, Douglas says. "Nobody in his right mind would have objected to this man under any circumstances." Douglas recalls that Johnson had a particular habit of going into his office, asking a question, and leaving when Doug- las couldn't produce an answer fast enough."I learned to stand between him and the door whenever he came into my office," Douglas laughs. "He was one of the brightest students I ever had." Frank Jones, a Noah Harding Professor of Mathematics, remembers that restaurants were complying with the law, formed student groups from Rice he liked everything about Johnson and that he was "excellent and wonder- and Texas Southern University to have sit-ins at targeted local restaurants. ful, honest and humble." The two became lifelong friends and continue to Johnson joined the group and visited several eateries. "Sometimes we got keep in touch. kicked out," he says, "and sometimes we actually got to eat." Being a black student at Rice was not a problem, Johnson recalls. The It was at a sit-in that Johnson met his future wife, Claudette, a sociology problem lay off campus, where the world, he says, "was still half integrated major at Texas Southern University. In 1967, when Douglas decided to leave and half segregated, and there was a tug-of-war between the two." While Rice and teach at the University of Chicago, Johnson and Claudette left Johnson was living in the apartment on MacGregor Drive with his two with him. The couple loved Chicago, and they were trying to spend as much white roommates, an old UT friend, Howard Jefferson, who was black time as possible there, but Douglas finally told his student,"Don't you think and teaching high school in Houston, would often visit him. One day the it's time to graduate?" apartment manager approached Johnson and said neighbors were concerned Johnson finished his dissertation, "A Priori Estimates and Unique Con- about his black friend visiting the apartment all the time. tinuation Theorems for Second Order Parabolic Equations," in 1968 and

"Jim Crow may have seen its twilight," Johnson says,"Hut there were plenty vi people who wanted to keep the sun up just a little while longer. 59

-It that is the case," Johnson responded, "then the neighbors should be returned to Houston to defend it. Since Rice graduates students only once a concerned about me." The manager replied: "Oh, no, you're okay. You're year, Johnson did not receive his degree until a year later. By then, Douglas a Puerto Rican." A few days later Johnson had a similar conversation with once again had been instrumental in shaping Johnson's career by helping another apartment manager, who told him,"You're okay. You're a Hindu." him get a teaching post at the University of Maryland. Johnson now laughs off the matter by saying that's how he became the There, true to form,Johnson was a trailblazer, becoming the school's first first Puerto Rican Hindu, but he didn't find it amusing at the time. He and African American professor. He spent two years on leave at Howard Univer- his roommates moved to another apartment in a racially mixed neighbor- sity before becoming a full professor at UM in 1980. He served as chairman hood near what is now known as the Museum District. Jefferson, his Afri- of the UM mathematics department from 1991 to 1996. career, Johnson his "I can American friend, also moved in with them. Throughout his never lost desire to help others. with "We cooked together, we played sports together," says Jefferson of his worked very hard—and some success—on issues of minority recruit- instrumental in helping the roommates. "We didn't know that they were white, and they didn't know ment," he says. He was first African American doctorates in mathematics from UM. that we were black." Jefferson later became president of the Houston chapter women to receive who have a burning desire to improve John- of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He also Like most people humanity, a sense offailure grew to admire Johnson for his intelligence and compassion. "Raymond's a son seems to be plagued by that more could have been done "Racism is like a modern Hydra," he explains. "We cut off genius, but you wouldn't know it from his demeanor. He's a very good per- to fight racism. but it grew two or four more. It's now practicing new son who cares a lot for people, especially the underprivileged." one head in the '60s, far better society today, but I'm afraid it's simply not true The underprivileged, mainly the blacks in Houston, were still being ways. We have a reached Dr. King's dream of a world where we are not judged segregated in public accommodations even though the 1964 Civil Rights that we have skin but by the content of our character." Act had just passed. Nancy Stooksberry Cole '64, wanting to make sure that by the color of our Johnson, however, does offer hope. "Racism may be a Hydra, but even the Hydra was killed," he says."Whether you are black, white, Asian, Puerto Rican, or Hindu, take on racism where you see it. Take on these problems one at a time. Open the doors one at a time. I know it is hard. I've been Opposite page, top: Johnson strolls the Rice campus before there." leaving to teach at the University of Chicago in 1967. Bot- Johnson was there to open the doors at Rice and UM,and because of it, tom: He returns to campus around Christmas of 1992 for a the world is more colorful at both universities. 00 Sunday morning walk through the Academic Quad.

Fall '04 31 RICE Eight alumni share personal stories behind their decision to return for an MBA.

By Ann S. Boor

32 Rice Sallyport Although their reasons are as var- ied as their backgrounds, alumni often choose Rice twice once for an undergraduate degree and again for an MBA. For some, the decision to earn a graduate business degree has been on the radar as far back as freshman year. For others, the homecom- ing to campus is the result of new interests, directions, and opportunities. Eight alumni recently talked about their second time around at Rice and where the road has led from there.

Fall '04 33 James S. Turley BA,Economics and Managerial Studies, 1977 MS in Accounting, 1978

Ask Jim Turley when he developed his intense focus on ethics and integrity, and he will say that it started his first Elizabeth Corneliuson day at Rice. BA,Economics and Managerial Studies, 2000 "You realize you are operating under an honor system," he MBA,2004 says. "I can still recite what I wrote on every exam and paper. You sign that statement, and it means something." When Elizabeth Corneliuson started her job at ABC after To Turley, the importance of character can never be earning a bachelor's degree, reviewing the Hollywood overstated. That is why values are such a huge part ofthe or- trades became as important as reading the Wall Street ganization he leads. Turley is chair and chiefexecutive officer Journal. of Ernst & Young. A Rice professor originally suggested he interview at that accounting firm, and Turley built his career "I worked in the business affairs and legal department there. From the Houston office, he moved up the ranks by at ABC in Los Angeles, negotiating contracts for ac- way ofSt. Louis,Cleveland, Minneapolis, and ultimately,New tors, producers, and directors of prime-time television York. His original assignment in New York was to lead the shows," she says."The talk ofthe office was Hollywood tristate area,which also includes New Jersey and Connecticut. gossip,so we'd skim through the trades every morning Then,in 2001,Turley was asked to lead the firm. He assumed to know what was going on." the additional title of CEO in 2003. As part of her job, Corneliuson attended ABC "I work with a great team in a great organization. We press parties to meet the prime-time actors up close have 105,000 people in 130 countries, with $14 billion in and personal. "They seem larger than life on screen. revenue," says Turley, who travels the majority of the time. So it was fun," she admits, "to see them in person and "I have an office and flat in London, but go up and start a conversation with it seems like I'm hardly ever there or in someone like Jennifer Garner or San- "Unlike most places, New York." dra Bullock." No matter what city he wakes up in, when Corneliuson liked her job, but I get to Turley spends his time with the Ernst & she always knew she would go back Houston, I rent a Young teams who serve the clients, with to business school when the timing clients themselves, and with car. I like to visit the the investors felt right. "I applied at a few differ- and investor representatives. "I want to ent places," she says, "but I liked the campus. I have great make sure we are focusing on the right people at Rice, loved the faculty and memories, especially things on a daily basis," he says,"and that new building,and had a great undergrad we have the right processes internally and of how involved and experience. I figured I would have the the right focus on the market." same quality experience in grad school, available the faculty The bottom line for Turley is having and I was excited about the idea of was, both inside and the best people deliver the best products to being back in Houston." the marketplace and,in the process,create outside of class." It was the academics and swim team a growing,sustaining organization."Ernst that originally brought Corneliuson, —James S. Turley & Young," he notes, "has a culture that a California native, to Houston and celebrates people who respectone another, Rice. "My parents had heard about who have high integrity, and who place Rice's great academic program. And teamwork high in their priorities." I'm a swimmer and wanted a college with a strong swim Turley's commitments at the Ernst & Young Houston team," she says. "When I came on a recruiting trip, I office and his service on the Jesse H.Jones Graduate School of had a very comfortable feeling about the people and Management Council ofOverseers frequently bring him back traditions. the campus. I liked the smallness and the to Houston. "Unlike most places, when I get to Houston, had the I didn't know anyone in Houston, but I just I rent a car," Turley says. "I like to visit the campus. I have sense that I would fit." great memories,especially of how involved and available the Corneliuson is back Now armed with an MBA, faculty was, both inside and outside of class." position at Nis- in Los Angeles in a corporate finance Turley realized early on that he was not just taught ac- "There are a lot san's North American headquarters. counting rules at Rice but how to think about those rules, "It's a big global of benefits to this job," she claims. to understand why they exist, and to apply them in different exposed to and a lot company with many areas to be circumstances. With all the changes taking place in his profes- my goals is to get of different places to go. One of sion and the great changes he has seen in business over the and I should have that into a management position, past few years, he is reminded often ofwhy those early lessons opportunity here." were so important. As for giving up the benefit of hobnobbing at Hollywood press parties, "That's not a problem," she says. "My friend still works for ABC!"

34 Rice Sallyport Felix Dawson BA,Economics, 1990 MS in Accounting, 1991

The road from Rice led to Baltimore for Felix Dawson. The road to Rice was a lot shorter. In fact, it was about Susan Shantz Fargason two blocks. BA, Mathematical Economic Analysis, 1999 Dawson grew up in the tree-lined neighborhood of South- BA, French, 1999 ampton in the shadow of Rice University. Proximity wasn't MBA,2003 the only thing influencing his affinity for Rice—both of his parents were Rice graduates. After spending a year abroad Susan Fargason joined Boston Consulting Group in Dallas following high school, Dawson moved on campus and be- after earning a BA at Rice. She figured project work would take gan studying civil engineering. But, he says, "it didn't be the best way to determine what she wanted to do with too long to realize I was more interested in business, so I her career. switched to economics." Once he made that transition, Dawson became aware "I spent the majority of my time on a project for a packaged ofa combined program offered at the time that would allow goodscompany working with their brand manager,"she says. him to get his bachelor's and master's degrees in five years. "I discovered that is what I wanted to be. I also determined "I knew I wanted to get an advanced degree. I felt it would that in order to be in brand, you have to have an MBA." be necessary to my career progression," he explains. "Why To Fargason,the MBA background is necessary because not do it in one fell swoop?" running a brand is just like running a business."If you think After earning both degrees, Dawson went to work for ofrunning a business like a wheel," she explains,"the brand Arthur Andersen as a management consultant. "I was there manager is the hub and all the other departments are like for seven years," he says,"primarily starting an energy trading spokes. You have a variety of partners in the company who consulting practice inside Arthur Ander- don't report to you, but the brand team sen." That experience was the next step still coordinates and gives direction. You RICE in Dawson's education. "I was exposed need to understand what's going on." to different management concepts, the During the summer between hertwo way different companies work, and how years ofbusiness school,Fargason worked organizations behave," he recalls. for Kellogg's in Chicago, a position she Ready to build on his education and landed at a campusinterview. She assisted experience,in 1997,Dawson joined Gold- with the launches of Special K Bars and man Sachs in Baltimore. "It was a good Frosted Flakes and Fruit Loops cereal and match," he says. "They were opening a milk bars."The Special K bar launched in trading company, and I had the energy July,and the cereal bars were scheduled to background." Goldman Sachs wasstarting launch the following February,"Fargason a joint venture with Constellation Energy says. "So that summer I experienced all to start a wholesale energy commodity aspects oflaunching a new product into trading and marketing company, which the marketplace." Dawson ultimately joined. Constellation The experience confirmed Fargason's has grown into one ofthe nation's largest desire to build her career in brand."I got wholesale power sellers."Even though I'm to try it and see that it was a right fit," she in Baltimore,I stayconnected to Rice,"says says. Her business experience thatsummer Dawson. "Constellation recruits heavily and before graduate school had made a at Rice. We have a number of alums up here, so we opened big difference."A lot ofthe MBA learning is in talking about been in or and the door to new graduates. Everyone can see the quality of situations you have seen how you would handle now" graduates is consistent." it better or differently What sets the Rice MBA program apart in his book, After earning an MBA,Fargason was offered a position State Motor Oil in But her Dawson explains, is the unique focus on energy capabilities in brand at Quaker Houston. alum,accepted a job in New York, and that his company does not find at other schools. Constella- husband, also a Rice interviewing there immediately after they tion recruits at MIT,Harvard, Wharton,and the University Fargason began accepted a position with Cadbury-Adams of Chicago."But at Rice you find a number ofstudents who moved.She finally manager for Trident and Trident White already understand the industry," he points out. "You will as assistant brand "I'm learning all the things you need to know notfind that at schools in the Northeast. When students have chewing gum. brand," she says. "There's a team of us completed the type ofenergy derivative course work offered to be successful in brand. We work on operations, marketing, and all at Rice, they have a unique edge in my line of work." on that supply chain." And for those in a business as competitive and evolu- aspects of the her team currently are busy working on tionary as energy, Dawson stresses, "You need to be ahead Fargason and launches for 2005. While she cannot of the pack." several new product divulge what they are,she is excited about the products and their impact on an already very successful brand.

Fall '04 35 Angela Minas BA, Managerial Studies, 1986 MBA, 1987

As senior vice president with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Angela Minas spends Debra Bates about half her time in the United Kingdom and the other BA, Economics and Managerial Studies, 1977 MBA, 1979 half in the United States. SAIC is a Fortune 500 company that provides science, Debra Bates holds the distinction of being a member of the engineering, and management consulting and professional first class of the Jones School. "I would like to tell you it information technology services to government and com- merce."My role," says Minas,"is to build our global con- was part of a long thought-out strategy, but that wasn't the sulting business in the commercial arena, which is a new case," she confesses. area for us." In fact, Bates never gave the pursuit of an MBA much Minas adds that her focus is on building relationships thought. She already was well into her senior year, thinking with companiesin the oil and gas,utility, telecommunication, about graduating and evaluating job prospects, when she and pharmaceutical industries, as well as with the United decided to apply. Kingdom public sector. "We're looking at industries where Bates heard the dean ofthe Jones School talk about his science and engineering are the key elements," she says. vision for the program. "I liked what he was saying about his It's a busy and exciting time for Minas."On a typical plans for the curriculum," she says. As promised, the MBA day,if there is such a thing," she says,"I might field 50 dif- program provided Bates a real-world approach to education. ferent requests, meet with clients, get involved in business "Theory is nice.But we needed the grounding that comesfrom development or practice management activities, hire new real business experience,"she asserts."All the professors had it." staff, interface with senior management, or tell our story The facultyeven included President George to analysts." H.W. Bush, who taughtthe course in inter- Prior to joining SAIC,Minas worked national relations that Bates took. for 10 years at Arthur Andersen,originally After earning an MBA,Bates worked helping to set up its oil and gas consulting for a public utilities company that was in a practice. Earlier in her career, while she diversification mode. She was responsible was still in school, Minas worked with for valuing companies in different indus- Jones School adjunct professor David tries. She later joined a small company as Ross to provide analysis on oil companies its most senior financial person. As the and merger and acquisition support for company rapidly grew, her responsibilities large investment banks. Ross's venture broadened.At the age of28,Bates held the evolved into the Sterling Consulting position ofchief financial officer. "I had a Group, and Minas spent several years staffof25 people,including three control- with the firm, handling strategic and lers, reporting to me," she says. management consulting work for major Heeding her entrepreneurial spirit, oil companies. Bates launched several ventures and devel- Minas often draws on what she oped a strong background in real estate. learned at the Jones School. Early on,she Her client base included prominent real found herself leveraging the accounting estate developers like Doke International. and financial skills she had acquired. As Bates worked on hotel acquisitions, stra- the years passed, Minas went back to the tegic plan development, and raising equity and debt capital lessons she learned about management and organizational for Dolce. "It was very successful," she says. "They lured me development. "Some consider these the softer skills," she away from my own company to become head ofacquisitions. says. "But once you get into management, you really draw A few years later, I was promoted to CFO." on them." Doke International owns and manages conference and Although she hadn'tinitially considered an MBA,Minas resort destinations in North America and Western Europe. made the decision to pursue the degree after taking business It is a leader within this niche ofthe hospitality industry. "It's and accounting classes as an undergrad. It's a decision that a fun and fascinating company," says Bates."We have 4,000 continues to pay dividends for her. She credits the Jones employees and 5,000 rooms in Western Europe and North School with sharpening those "soft" skills and instilling their America.We buy,reposition, and run hotel conference centers value. "At the end of the day, they probably differentiate and resorts. It's a big enterprise." those who are able to get into management and those who As CFO, Bates manages the finances of the company, are superintelligent technical people," she says. provides investment oversight, arranges debt and equity So much of what Minas does now—the team build- capital, and is involved in acquisitions. International business ing and related activities—are things she learned during is a big part of her job, and she has a focus on international her MBA experience. "Before that, most of what I did was currency and hedging currency exposure overseas. "When individual work," she says. "Teamwork, which is what our I was working on my MBA,I specialized in finance and in- business is about, is very different." ternational business. Finance was a clear requirement for the type ofjob I wanted," she explains. "The international part was just something I wanted to be involved in, but it turned out to be a real advantage. I had no idea I would work and travel all over the world."

36 Rice Sallyport R. Chris Kreidler BA, Economics and Managerial Studies, 1985 MBA, 1987

When PepsiCo recruited him to manage transactions in the buying and selling of companies for its Pizza Hut Henry Chen it was an opportunity he division, Chris Kreidler decided BA, Economics, 2000 couldn't refuse. MD/MBA, Class of2005 PepsiCo was looking outside the company to find someone who didn't necessarily know a lot about the restaurant busi- Inspired by his physician parents, Henry Chen always ness but who knew how to complete transactions. wanted to be a doctor. So when he declared economics Kreidler had developed and honed his transaction as his major at Rice, more than a few people thought his expertise working with the renowned financier T. Boone decision unusual. Pickens. "I was hired by his company out ofRice. It was the first time Pickens's company, Mesa, hired someone out of "My interest in economics really started in my senior year school," says Kreidler, who started as a financial analyst and in high school," says Chen."I had a wonderful,charismatic worked his way up to the executive ranks of Mesa Limited teacher who got me very interested in the subject. Somehow Partnership. With the opportunity presented by PepsiCo,he it just made sense to me that I would take more classes in could form his own team, run it reasonably autonomously, college." and if he did it right, probably generate more cash flow Chen credits the flexibility of Rice and the diversity of than the operating company."That sounded like a very fun its classes with enabling him to pursue both goals. "I could job," he says. take the required science classes without being the expected Kreidler developed the processes and built a team of biochemistry major," he explains. "I was able to take all the about 30 people who worked on domestic and, eventually, classes I enjoyed and get a broad education that included international transactions. "After a few music, literature, and economics." During his junior year,Chen began years, the international division asked "I found out that RICE me to join them,so I moved to London researching medicalschools. While he was Rice was one of to handle business development on the visiting with his adviser, he learned about European continent," he says. That role the few schools in an opportunity that appealed to him. "I found out that Rice was one of the few was followed by a move to international the country that division headquarters in Dallas, where schoolsin the country that offered a com- offered a com- Kreidler headed international mergers and bined MD/MBA program," he recalls. acquisitions and international treasury. bined MD/MBA "I knew I was going to medical school, Kreidler was but I had developed a strong interest In November 2003, program. Medicine named senior vice president of mergers in business during my undergraduate changing and acquisitions and treasurer of Yum! is a studies, and I didn't want to lose it. As Brands—the parent company of Pizza business, and the it turned out, everything I wanted—my Taco Bell, ICFC, Long John Silver, top choice for medical school and the Hut, combined degree and A&W All American Foods. Kreidler opportunity to get my MBA—was in has traveled to six continents—everywhere gives you an extra my backyard." The program separates MD course but Antarctica—visiting their stores."We edge." have more than 33,000 stores in more work from MBA course work. Chen than 100 countries," he says, "and we —Henry Chen completed two years of medical school, are opening around 1,000 stores a year spent the next 18 months at the Jones internationally." School,and then returned to complete his medical studies at Kreidler appreciates the opportunities a global com- Baylor. While he has technically completed his MBA studies, in 2005. pany affords him to see different parts ofthe world and the he will be awarded both degrees convinced that the number of students par- ways business is conducted. "Traveling around the world, Chen is program will steadily increase "Medicine almost every day," he says,"I see situations I've never seen ticipating in the and the combined degree gives you before." is a changing business, he points out. "Whether you're in private A big part ofthe job is thinking creatively and finding an extra edge," in a hospital, you need to know how solutions. Kreidler credits Rice instructors with teaching practice or working teamwork and have an understanding of finance, him that the process for solving a problem must be created to foster marketing skills." before the problem itself can be solved. He also learned to accounting, and ambitious program is a perfect fit for Chen. "I open his mind. "I got this from all instructors, across all This degree will help me handle my future disciplines," Kreidler says. know the combined "But on a broader level, the program is It's a lesson Kreidler remembers in his travels. Among practice," he says. students to be physician leaders because we're his favorite places to visit are Beijing and Shanghai. "Their preparing manage people and communicate effectively. growth is tremendous," he observes. "You just pick up on learning how to could be any happier." their enthusiasm." On the other side of the world, Prague I don't think I and Warsaw are just two of the places in Eastern Europe showing tremendous entrepreneurialism. "You can feel the spirit and their desire to grow their economy and succeed," he says. It's a spirit Kreidler understands.

Fall '04 37 Through a Glass Lightly

Fresnel lenses, developed by physicist Augustin Jean Fresnel in the ever so slightly in response project. The curtain and its 18th century, were a boon to lighthouses because their concentric to the gallery's air-condition- transparent material didn't re- ing system. The plastic Fresnel ally feel like an object; it was an ridges allowed light to be transmitted greater distances. ovals would glitter, glisten, and optical phenomenon that acti- gleam, calling to mind an effer- vated the gallery and changed vescing wall of bubbles or a skin perceptions of its space. Today, Fresnel lenses come verted the stereotypical white of scales removed from some Looking at Shotz's piece in handy plastic sheets that picket fence by covering the massive specimen. The effect made you want to dive into it people use for magnifying text. pickets with mirroring Plexi- was spectacular. Up close, the and experience what it would be Larger models are available, glas. The fence was visible when distorted interior of the gallery like to be surrounded by it. The but if Google is anything to go viewed at an oblique angle or could be seen in the thousands artist wonders the same thing by, people seem to use them from a distance, but as you of small ovals, causing an opti- and continues to work with primarily for their destructive moved closer, it became an al- Fresnel's innovation, exploring power. Big Fresnel lenses can different ways to use the lenses focus the power of the sun and in other environments. do cool things like melt asphalt. Shotz works in a range of Alyson Shotz and a team media, including painting that of assistants hand-cut 18,000 uses layers of resin over vividly plastic Fresnel lenses into ovals colored, organically abstract of varying sizes for The Shape images that are collaged as well ofSpace, her installation at Rice as painted in oil, gouache, and Gallery. It was the fourth instal- ink. There is a mandala-like lation in the gallery's Summer centrality to her compositions Window series that presents that is reminiscent of multicol- window-oriented works during ored Rorschach blots, and the the summer months when the different layers of resin lend exhibition space is closed. their own optical aspect to the I don't think Shotz has work. destroyed any parking lots, but Shotz has a great talent for she has a history of playing with straightforward, seemingly un- light, reflection, and percep- complicated ideas that become tions. In a 1997 performance illusion to kick in as the striking visual experiences, piece, Untitled (Reflective Mim- most invisible barrier that dis- cal far seemed to leap transforming her materials into icry), Shotz used mirrors to torted space, optically merging wall forward, to your works that resonate far beyond cover a body suit. She attached the pickets and the grass. right up retinas. It was like a 3-D movie their origins. It is work that other mirrors to wires that ex- For the Rice Gallery proj- except 3-D movies usually have rewards its viewers, conjuring tended out and away from her ect, Shotz's thousands of pains- something creepy and scary like strong responses and providing body. The mirrors fractured her takingly cut ovals were stapled the Crea- ture from the stunning visuals that dazzle and figure in space, visually inter- together to create a massive Black Lagoon. Shotz's 3-D was make us question how and what mingling it with its surround- curtain more than 40 feet wide pretty and sparkly and we see. um ings. and 14 feet high. The labor- fantastic, and you wanted to She induced a similar phe- intensive, iridescent spectacle reach out and touch it, unlike —Kelly Klaasmeyer nomenon in 2003 with Mirror hung behind the windowed wall the Creature. Fence. In the 138-foot-long of Rice Gallery in baroquely The Shape ofSpace is a par- outdoor installation, she sub- undulating curves that moved ticularly apt title for Shotz's

38 Rice Sallyport Under The Radar: 41st Rice Student Art Exhibition Under the Radar: 22 April - 8 May 2004

The 41st Rice Student •t-. Art Exhibition r hi A n

The music is tense and digital photograph Wordsearch them in lush, almost hyperreal read Pallas's artist statement, statement, color. An Osaka schoolgirl on a which says, "According to envi- anticipatory. On the TV screen, (2004). In her artist's Liang reveals that,"What started train, a mother and child walking ronmental activists, running the a series of men and women as a simple color study in my col- out of a crowd into the Australian outer loop surrounding Rice Uni- exchange looks of surprise, or photography class has turned sun—Suzuki's subjects are caught versity at rush hour measured in nervousness, fear, and into somewhat of an obsession." unawares, frozen in the act of go- inhaled carcinogenic particles is incredulity, hair frozen in an Over the course of three ing somewhere. She isolates and equivalent to smoking a pack of extracts rich moments from the cigarettes." Yikes. You imagine amber of hairspray, makeup years Liang created an alphabet found objects. She looked banal and everyday. jogging on Pallas's treadmill and so thick it forms a cosmetic from for things that resembled letter Josef Sifuentes's subjects churning smoke into you lungs. exoskeleton. They are soap shapes and then photographed directly confront the viewer. Si- Decathlete/artist Ryan Har- opera stars. them until she had a version of fuentes paints portraits of people lan had his own take on athletics every letter. But she didn't cap- from the Rice community. He and art. His sculpture Incomplete Colin Elliot strung together a col- ture just any objects; Liang upped has a strong sense of color and Whole(2003) used a graduated lection of wordless "meaningful the difficultly level for herself by paints well-modeled figures with series offorms that called to mind glances" from American daytime requiring that they also be bright a slightly expressionist, sculp- track hurdles. They started with a stars and Mexican telenovella thespians. His resulting video My Drama Is Your Drama(2003) "According to environmental activists, running the outer loop was one of the standouts in Un- surrounding Rice University at rush hour measured in inhaled der the Radar: The 41st Rice equivalent to smoking a pack of Student Art Exhibition, this year's carcinogenic particles is cigarettes." installment of the annual event —Jason Pallas's Treadmill: That's Bad for You that showcases the work of graduating visual arts majors. yellow. A safety-yellow rubber tural feel. A woman with braids small block and moved to invert- Elliot, working with fellow boot became an "L," the cup of is rendered in the foreground of ed u-shapes. Harlan crafted his student Andrew Hamblin, cre- a mustard colored bra became a one work; behind her is a spare, modernist-looking objects from ated his witty video by extracting "C." "Over the past three years," flattened, and almost surreal land- wood and painted them a dark, chosen and re-presenting carefully Liang confesses,"I have searched, scape. At the horizon line, an purple-tinged hue. He displayed scenes. The array of reaction shots accumulated, purchased, and bor- ocher-colored mobile home sits his sculpture on a mirror-topped becomes exponentially more lu- rowed countless yellow objects." bracketed by palm trees. Sifuent- pedestal. The forms reflected dicrous as one cheesy overacting She took her alphabet and es's eye for telling detail includes a themselves and the piece changed star seemingly looks to another arranged the letters in a seemingly hot water heater tank set up out- when viewed from different an- and another and another. . . . The randomly ordered grid. But if side the trailer. Sifuentes received gles—levitating like stair steps or receding into space repetitive audio track, performed you look long enough, the letters the Mavis C. Pitman Memorial concentrically your of view. by Mogwai, actually was used in begin to click, and you can pick Prize in Studio Art from the De- depending on point From television to one of the soap operas. out scattered words. Liang's pho- partment of Visual Arts. daytime and Under the Radar Hilary Wilder was the guest tographs are an intriguing collec- A rickety secondhand tread- track field, presented works as diverse and curator for this year's student ex- tion ofimages that also happen to mill was drafted into service for as the students who hibition. Wilder is a critical studies operate as text. Jason Pallas's Treadmill: That's individual and artist resident at the Glassell The straight photographs Badfor You (2004). Pallas wall- created them.• School of Art, The Museum of of Atsushi Suzuki were extremely papered the treadmill's belt with —Kelly Klaasmeyer Fine Arts, Houston. She present- strong. Suzuki has a fantastic eye cigarette packs. It looks like a ed the Director's Choice Award for street scenes and captures pretty straightforward comment to Christine Liang for Liang's on health and fitness until you

Fall '04 39 ON THE BOOKSHELF

Jeffery Paine explains the phenomenon of "Tibet chic" in Hollywood as "topping someone who boasts, 'Stephen Spielberg said to me ...' by confiding, 'As the Dalai Lama told me personally...."

Charting "Tibetan turn as a Buddhist leader includes Buddhism in tales of his heavy drinking and the West womanizing and recounts how he crossed paths with such offbeat figures as Alan Ginsberg. How did Tibetan Buddhism, a Book III describes two fas- once little-known religion in a cinating followers of Buddhism. little-known country, win over Diane Perry was an English- the West? woman who transformed herself through Trungpa's teachings into That is the question posed by Tenzin Palmo and mediated alone Jetsunma Jeffery Paine '66 in his entertain- in a cave for 12 years. from Brooklyn ing, absorbing, and easily read was a lama who Western book, Re-enchantment: Tibetan was the first woman to be recognized as a Buddhism Comes to the West(W.W. reincarnated Bud- dhist figure. Norton & Company,2004). Hollywood's Paine notes that just a few de- well-known followers of cades ago,"had you ransacked the Buddhism, including actors Richard Gere West, you would have located only the holy city of Llasa. She re- his joie de vivre, his emotional and Steven Seagal, also are part two Tibetan Buddhist centers, counted her adventure and what warmth, and his ability to con- of Paine's examination of the one in Scotland, the other in Ver- she found there in her book, My nect. Ultimately, though, he was religion's emergence in the mont." But in the United States Journey to Llasa. limited by his inability to master West. He explains the today, most large American cit- "As she traveled up and English. Trungpa, meanwhile, is phenomenon of"Tibet chic" in ies are home to Buddhist centers, down that vast land, where often described in a chapter aptly titled Hollywood as "topping someone who with eight in Washington, D.C., no foreigner had set foot previ- "Playboy of the Gods." He iden- boasts,'Stephen Spielberg about 25 in Boston, and 40 in ously," Paine writes, "she was tified with America and spoke its said to me ...' by confiding,'As New York, and the religion keeps kind of an ambassador of modern slang, and in little more than a the Dalai Lama told me doubling its numbers faster than consciousness to an earlier age of decade starting in 1970, he estab- personally ..." any other, with Tibetan Buddhism religion." lished nearly 100 Tibetan centers Paine closes out Re-enchant- being the fastest-growing form. By 1959 Tibet was occupied in the United States, sold books ment with a look at how ordinary Paine divides his reflection by China, and foreigners could no by the thousands, and gave talks Americans become Buddhists. Though on Buddhism into five "books," longer cross the border to re- that filled lecture halls. lacking the glitz, glam- our, and each telling the stories offascinat- port about Tibet's religion to the While Lama Yeshe believed intrigue of the previ- ing figures who helped transform outside world. That became the that the essence of Tibetan Bud- ous sections, it is an interesting the Western attitude toward Tibet role oflamas, and Paine describes dhism could make itself at home glimpse into the religious quest and its religion from ignorance two of them in Book II. Lama in the modern world, Trungpa that some people take. to acceptance and who have con- Yeshe and Chogyam Trungpa, had a much different view. He It also helps answer the au- tributed to Buddhism's staying though studies in contrast, were believed that he could not stand thor's premise by taking Tibetan power. charismatic and gifted stewards of outside modernity with a pure Buddhism out of the hands of its In Book I, Alexandra Da- the ancient religion who adapted idea ofreligion and hope to af- Western trailblazers and placing it vid-Neel comes to life. A French to Western life and were able to fect change. So he disposed of in the context of Western culture woman who in the early 1900s translate the teachings of Tibetan his lama's robes and allowed no as a whole.• —Dana Benson made suicidal journeys through Buddhism for American followers. outward sign of his religious posi- the mountains of Tibet, she be- Paine explains that Yeshe tion. The entertaining section of came the first Westerner to enter attracted Westerners through Re-enchantment that describes his

40 Rice Sallyport ON THE BOOKSHELF

Cultures at Odds Booknotes Polarization seems to be the order of the day, nationally as well as The Acquisition of as a State internationally and socially as well as politically. Spanish Second Language: of the Science, edited by Rafael Salaberry, associate professor of Spanish at Rice, and Barbara Lafford (Georgetown University Press, 2003)

On the domestic front, few examination of the ways mem- Animal Rites: American Culture, the Discourse of Species, and Posthumanist camps in America are as much at bers use their opposition to the Theory, edited by Cary E. Wolfe, the Bruce and Elizabeth Dunlevie Professor of English at Rice (University of Chicago Press, 2003) odds as Christian conservatives other side to define themselves and gays and lesbians. What so- and their place in culture and The Art of Dove Bradshaw: Nature, Change, and Indeterminacy, by Thomas cial and cultural attitudes drive society. McEvilley, distinguished lecturer of art history at Rice (Mark Batty, 2003) Linneman's re- the two sides, what are the issues, Much of Beneath a Northern Sky: A Short History of the Gettysburg Campaign, by and how do members of each search is based on interviews Steven E. Woodworth '87 (Scholarly Resources, 2003) side view themselves and mem- with members of both groups Bioethics and Moral Content: National Traditions of Health Care Morality, in the two cities. His decision to bers of the opposition? These by H. Tristram Engelhardt Jr., professor of philosophy at Rice, and Lisa M wasn't easy. are some of the questions that follow this course Rasmussen (Dordrecht: Kluwer, 2003) Thomas J. Linneman '90, an as- "I was concerned that if I asked sociate professor ofsociology at the respondents to talk about Book Clubs: Women and the Uses of Reading in Everyday Life, Elizabeth Long, associate professor of Rice hostile and hospitable aspects sociology at (University of Chicago Press, the College of William and Mary, 2003) explores in his study, Weathering of their climates, I would com- Change: Gays, Lesbians, Chris- mit a grave mistake," Linneman Dictatorship, State Planning, and Social Theory in the German Democratic tian Conservatives, and Everyday writes. "This fear quickly abated Republic, by Peter C. Caldwell, professor of history and German and Slavic studies at Rice (Cambridge University Press, 2003) Hostilities(New York University as I began conducting the in- Press, 2003). terviews. The respondents were Earth's Climate and Orbital Eccentricity: the Marine Isotope Stage 11 Linneman's ground for the more than willing to tackle these Question, edited by Andra W. Droxler, associate professor of earth science study was two cities at opposite difficult questions, and the im- (American Geophysical Union, 2003) ends of Washington: Seattle, mediacy with which they often Engineering a Compiler, by Keith D. Cooper, professor of computer science known for its liberalism, and responded signaled that these and electrical and computer engineering, and Linda Torczon, research Spokane, its conservative cousin were issues about which they scientist in computer science and executive director of the Center for to the east. He begins by look- often thought." Direct quotes Research on Parallel Computation, both at Rice (Morgan Kaufmann, 2003) of ing at the general cultural and from these interviews fill much Selling the Marshall Plan, by John Bledsoe Bonds '62, assistant professor of political climates that exist in the the text and provide fascinating history at The Citadel (Praeger Publishers, 2002) two cities as measured by general reading, often revealing underly- The Shape of Ancient Thought, by Thomas McEvilley, distinguished lecturer attitudes that bolster the re- perceptions of media attention ing of art history at Rice (Allworth Press, 2002) to the issues, public opinion, and spondents' stated beliefs. political activism and power. He Linneman skillfully culls The Sourcebook of Parallel Computing, by Ken Kennedy, University Professor, the Ann and John Doerr Professor in Computational Engineering, and then turns to more personal im- the threads of these attitudes to professor in electrical and computer engineering; and Linda Torczon, research the warp and woof of his pressions, such as identification weave scientist in computer science and executive director of the Center for study. "I con- with one of the Research on Parallel Computation, both at Rice, et al.(Morgan Kaufmann, points of view tinually tried 2002) and individual to remind myself of the big The Specter of Democracy, by Dick Howard '65(Columbia University Press, levels of comfort 2002) in expressing that picture," he identity within Weathering writes. "This Spory o kyrtyke literacka w Dwudziestoleciu miedzywojennym, by Dariusz “ar, and I a,h ian, lecturer in German and Slavic studies at Rice (Universitas, the social context project address- Skarczewski, Craclow, 2002) of each com- Cheang es two central sociological Harvard, by Ombretta Frau, lecturer in Italian at Rice (Milan: munity. Finally, Chrntran onsr,int ire, Taccuino di he examines questions: How Mondadori, 2002) and Everyday liostiln do people per- strategies—both This Day in North American Indian History, by Philip Constantin '78(DaCapo- conventional ac- ceive the worlds Perseus, 2002) around them, tivism and what I Lonnentan Time Series Analysis, by Yoosoon Chang, associate professor of economics, he calls everyday and how do they and Joon Park, professor of economics, both at Rice (Korea, 2002) activism—that try to change affiliates of each these worlds?" Unprincipled Virtue: An Inquiry into Moral Agency, by Nomy Arpaly, assistant (Oxford Press, 2002) faction use to The result is a professor of philosophy at Rice University valuable addition change the social Whose Water?, by John N. Leedom '43(Nesbett Heights, 2002) climate and make it more to sociological Witold Gombrowicz, by Ewa M. Thompson, professor of Slavic studies at hospitable toward their cause. literature on a topic of growing Rice (Twayne Publishers, 2002) Throughout, Linneman does not public attention. simply observe how members —Christopher Dow think about themselves and their group; far more interesting is his

Fall '04 41 121112...— "Given my experience, I thought I could really have some impact and role in shaping the future of Korea. This kind of opportunity does not come every day."

—Suchan Chae

changes to Chae Hopes to Affect Change for Chae's enthusiasm in the current welfare and health systems also may be Koreans Through Assembly Position learning about North Korea's economy makes him "one of the necessary. While running for office, Suchan Chae carries with him the experience of an economist and best qualified experts on North Korea," adds Park. "He will be Chae learned about the concerns an underlying desire to help his countrymen in his new role as a making superb contributions to of South Koreans as they dis- member of South Korea's legislature. the Korean National Assembly cussed issues such as traffic, the with his invaluable knowledge and environment, development, and experiences on Korean economy salaries. "It was a good oppor- The Rice associate professor of er top decisionmakers about the and North Korea, which are the tunity to get to know them," he economics was elected in April to a Asian economic crisis. In 2001, two most important problems the says. "It was a very moving expe- four-year term in the Korean Na- Kim invited Chae and Rice presi- nation faces now." rience. I hope I can do something tional Assembly. Chae ran in the dent Malcolm Gillis, who also The Uri Party has placed an for them." Jeonju Deokjin district as a mem- provided counsel during the crisis, emphasis on economic issues as Chae, who earned his bach- ber of the Uri Party, which gained back to Korea to express his ap- well as on judicial and press reform. elor's and master's degree from control ofthe assembly by captur- preciation and hear their views on It supports rapprochement with South Korean universities and ing 152 ofits 299 seats. "Given the economic outlook. North Korea and greater inde- his PhD from the University of my experience, I thought I could In 2003, Chae took a six- pendence from the United States. Pennsylvania, says he also wants really have some impact and role month leave from Rice to help The party was formed only a year to bridge the gap between the in shaping the future of Korea," the Korean government make the and a half ago when it split from younger and older generations, he says. "This kind of opportunity transition under its new president, the Millennium Democratic Party, whose backgrounds and upbring- does not come every day." Roh Moo Hyun. He was one of the then-ruling party that sup- ings vary widely. For instance, the But the opportunity did not a three-member Korean delega- ported the impeachment ofRoh older generation tends to take less just fall into his lap. tion representing then presidentfor alleged illegal campaigning, for granted because they grew up Chae, who has taught micro- elect Roh at the World Economic incompetence, and economic mis- during poor economic conditions economics, regulatory economics, Forum in Davos, Switzerland, management. Roh was reinstated in and experienced the 1950-53 Ko- and game theory to undergradu- in January 2003, and he was a May and joined the Uri Party. rean War. They also played a role ate and graduate students at Rice, member of the Advisory Com- Chae describes Korea, which in restructuring and advancing has focused much of his research mittee on Peaceful Unification has the fourth-largest economy in the country to its current pow- on the Korean economy and of Korea from October 2001 to Asia, as a country with a promis- erful industrial and trade status. North Korean development. He June 2003. ing future that turned itself into However, the current generation has written numerous journal arti- "Suchan is an outstanding a global economic powerhouse grew up during a period of pros- cles and spoken at conferences on expert on Korean economy and in recent decades after a period perity of Korea, giving them a dif- the topic of North Korean devel- on North Korea," says economics of poverty. He says that during ferent perspective than their more opment, and he also has written professor Joon Park. "Since the Korea's transition from an indus- cautious and conservative elders. on that subject and on economic beginning of the financial crisis, trial-based economy to one that Chae's expertise on the issues in columns, letters, and ar- Suchan has been advising, infor- is knowledge-based, the country economy and other issues certain- ticles that have appeared in news- mally but actively, the Korean needs solid institutional reforms ly give him the potential to be an papers worldwide. government on various economic and groundwork to maintain its outstanding legislator. But Chae In addition, he has worked issues. From this experience, technology industry. Its leaders possesses the other ingredient extensively with Korea's top he has obtained good working also need to prepare for demo- necessary to reach that potential: policymakers for several years. In knowledge of the Korean econo- graphic changes as the population The will to improve the future for 1997-98, Chae traveled to Korea my and become well connected to continues to age, while still main- Korea and its people.• the key players in Korean political taining its low birth rate of 1.1 to advise former South Korean —Ellen Chang president Kim Dae Jung and oth- circles." percent. Legal and institutional

42 Rice Sallyport also has earned the Excel- Teaching Awards and lence in Teaching honor; and Joel Wolfe, associate professor of his- John Hutchinson—a devotee of tory, another 2003 winner of the the Socratic teaching method— Superior Teaching Prize. estimates that he asks up to 30 questions during each class, and no one in the room—least of all For professors who have dem- Hutchinson—knows what direc- onstrated outstanding service to tion the day's lesson will take. graduate student education, the The method must be work- Rice Graduate Student Asso- ing because the chemistry profes- ciation anually awards its Faculty sor has been recognized with the Teaching/Mentoring Award. The John Hutchinson Barbara Ostdiek Mikki Hebl 2004 George R. Brown Prize for honor, which includes a $1,500 Excellence in Teaching, Rice's prize funded through the Office most prestigious teaching award. ofthe President, was awarded to "To teach Socratically, the Rebekah Drezek,the Stanley C. the national fraternity whose Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of first thing you have to do is to Moore Assistant Professor in Bio- members were the top students Management Teaching Excellence relinquish control," Hutchinson engineering and assistant professor in their graduating classes. The Award for the second time. Win- says. "I typically start lectures with in elecrical and computer engineer- award is designed to recognize ners are voted on by alumni who a blank blackboard or transparency, ing, and John Boles, the William young faculty and is open only to graduated two and five years ago. and I don't write anything down P. Hobby Professor of History. assistant professors. Her goal is to allow students to until a student has spoken it." gain an understanding ofthe fun- Hutchinson said one of the damental concepts of macroeco- main goals of his class is to teach This year, the Charles W. Duncan John Anderson, the W. Maurice nomics and international finance students to become indepen- Award for Outstanding Academic Ewing Chair in Oceanography, by coupling difficult analytical dent learners. To that end, the Achievement was awarded to is the winner of the 2004 Presi- techniques with the "big picture" questions he asks are not based Lydia Kavraki, associate pro- dential Award for Mentoring. context. on rote memorization. Instead, fessor of computer science and Anderson has taken students on students are expected to read to bioengineering. The award recog- more than 20 scientific cruises in class and be prepared to think on nizes outstanding achievement in the Antarctic Ocean and countless Joan Strassmann, professor of their feet. both scholarship and teaching and more in the Gulf of Mexico. But ecology and evolutionary biol- The $6,500 Brown Prize is includes a $5,000 prize. the things that Anderson does in ogy, and Benjamin Lee, profes- voted on by alumni who gradu- the lab, around the office, and at sor of anthropology, have been ated two and five years ago. scientific meetings mean just as selected as 2004 Guggenheim Hutchinson received a Brown Mark Embree, assistant profes- much or more to students than Fellows. Guggenheim Fellowships Prize for Excellence in Teaching sor of computational and ap- experiences at sea. The award, are among the most competitive in 1997, and he earned the Su- plied mathematics, who joined which includes a $2,000 prize, awards in academia, partly because perior Teaching Award in 1994, the Rice faculty just two years was established in 2003 by Rice the funding carries very few re- 1996, and 1998. ago, received the Phi Beta Kappa president Malcolm Gillis to rec- strictions and partly because ofthe Teaching Prize for 2004. The ognize outstanding achievement wide range of disciplines covered. prize, which includes a $2,000 in mentoring students. Particular Strassmann will study the Six faculty members were hon- award, is given annually by the emphasis is given to candidates impact of specific genes on inter- ored this year with the George Rice chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, who have promoted diversity by actions among social amoebae. R. Brown Award for Superior mentoring women and underrep- Genes that may influence the way Teaching. Voted on by alumni resented minorities. the amoebae behave toward family who graduated two and five and nonfamily members have been years ago, the honor carries a identified, and Strassmann will $2,000 prize. Mikki Hebl is one of 15 higher- systematically evaluate what role The prizes went to education faculty members in they play in the social dynamic of James Brown, profes- Texas selected to be a 2004 the colony. sor of economics; Brian Piper Professor. Nominated for The fellowship will enable Gibson, assistant profes- the award by two students, Hebl Lee to write the second volume sor of kinesiology, who was chosen in recognition of of a collaborative project with also earned the award in superior teaching at the college/ Edward LiPuma, chair ofthe an- 2003; Mikki Hebl, the university level. She will receive thropology department at the Radoslav Tsanoff Associ- a $5,000 honorarium from the University of Miami. They have ate Professor of Psychology, Minnie Stevens Piper Founda- been studying the globalization who has received a teaching tion, which supports charitable, offinancial risk and derivatives, award in each of her last six years scientific, and educational en- and now Lee plans to focus on the at Rice, including the Brown deavors in Texas. emergence of new derivatives in a Prize for Excellence in Teach- George R. Brown Superior Teaching more cultural way.• from top ing; Lynne Huffer, professor of Award-winners: clockwise left: Joel Wolfe, Elizabeth Long, Associate Professor of Manage- — Reported by B. J. Almond, Jade French studies; Elizabeth Long, Gibson, James Brown, and Brian ment and Statistics Barbara Boyd, Ellen Chang, and Debra Thomas professor of sociology, who has Lynne Huffer. Mikki Hebl is pictured Ostdiek has been awarded the won the award for her fifth time in the upper right corner of the page.

Fall '04 43 VVHO'S WHO

— Naomi Halas — Jeffrey Hartgerink — Lydia Kavraki — Douglas Natelson — Marcia O'Malley In the News — Richard Tapia — Alvin Tarlov — Stephen Baker — John Polking Anne Schnoebelen Madeleine Alcover Alicia Bradley -- Karen Oster Laura Ling Hsu Edie Carlson Siva Kumari Brett Ashley Leeds Ken Nipe Nancy Elliott

Halas Group Wins $5M Award Halas's collaborators are Pe- have a tendency to align together the development of pioneering from DOD ter Nordlander, professor of phys- into long, collagen-like chains. So robotics-engineered methods for ics and astronomy and in electrical far, they have succeeded in creat- the study of biomolecular motion, and computer engineering; Jason ing nanoscale structures that are biomolecular interactions, protein A team of Rice researchers has Hather, assistant professor of made amino acids folding, and drug discovery. won a Department of Defense from the same physics and astronomy and of collagen and that have the same Kavraki develops mathemati- (DOD)grant to invent next- as chemistry; Bruce Johnson,senior triple-helical structure of collagen. cal algorithms and programming generation tools for the modern faculty fellow in chemistry; Jeffrey managed to form techniques that can be used to di- bioengineer and life scientist that They've also Hartgerink, assistant professor these strands into larger fibrils of rect the movement of robots. By will rapidly identify proteins and of chemistry; Cecilia Clementi, drawing analogies between robots viruses in incredibly minute detail. collagen. the Norman Hackerman—Welch allow Hart- and molecules, she has adapted Lead by principal investiga- The grant will Young Investigator Assistant Pro- gerink's group to focus on refin- her robotics approaches to devel- tor Naomi Halas, the Stanley fessor of Chemistry; Kevin Kelly, ing the methods it already has op next-generation protein-mod- C. Moore Professor in Electrical software assistant professor in electrical and developed and attempt to form eling that accounts for and Computer Engineering, the movement of computer engineering; Robert large macroscopic structures out the molecules when team plans to use the $5 million they interact with Raphael, the N.T. Law Assistant of the fibrils. In addition, the each other. This grant to develop a multimodality dynamic Professor in Bioengineering, and group already is working with re- biomolecular-modeling spectroscope for nanoscale opti- Gennady software can be used by Shvets, assistant profes- searchers in the United Kingdom biomedi- cal imaging of the structure and sor of physics at the University of cal researchers to analyze recep- who are conducting tests to find function of peptides, proteins, and Texas. tor—ligand interactions, protein out how well adult stem-cell cul- viruses in their native environ- folding, protein docking, and tures grow in gels of the synthetic ments. The tools will be applied drug design. collagen fibrils. in the emerging field of plasmon- Chemistry's Hartgerink Earns AIMBE serves as an um- The Searle grant, available to based nanophotonics, which can Coveted Searle Grant brella group for the field of medi- selected academic institutions to focus light far below the diffrac- cal and biological engineering and support the independent research tion limit of conventional optics aims to promote awareness of the Rice chemist Jeffrey Hartgerink of outstanding young faculty, is and has the potential to resolve field and monitor public policy on is on the hunt for a beauty worth $80,000 per year for the protein structure at the single- related issues. Its fellows represent secret. The assistant professor of next three years. The program molecule level. The research also the top 2 percent of professionals chemistry recently was awarded was established in 1980 to sup- will enable the development of in the field of medical and bio- a coveted Searle Scholar grant to port research in medicine, chemis- new tools with exceedingly broad logical engineering. help fund his next three years of try, and the biological sciences. applications, ranging from molec- studies into methods of preparing ular-level diagnosis of disease to synthetic collagen. chemical detection and biodetec- Collagen is one of the pri- Natelson Receives Prestigious Kavraki Elected AIMBE Fellow Sloan Research Fellowship tion for homeland security. mary components of skin, muscle, The project builds on the and other bodily tissues—even infrastructure of the Rice Labo- bone. Yet chemists cannot syn- Lydia Kavraki, associate profes- Douglas Natelson, assistant ratory for Nanophotonics. New thesize natural collagen because sor ofcomputer science and bio- professor of physics and graduate courses will be devel- it contains about 10 times the engineering, has been elected to astronomy and in electrical and oped that address the theoreti- amount of amino acids than can the American Institute for Medi- computer engineering, has been cal and experimental aspects of be strung together using today's cal and Biological Engineering awarded a prestigious Sloan nanoscale instrument component state-of-the-art methods. (AIMBE)College of Fellows. Research Fellowship. design and fabrication and, even- Hartgerink's research group Kavraki's membership rec- The fellowship carries with it tually, instrument use for life is trying to synthesize much ognizes her contributions in a grant of $40,000, which may be scientists. shorter chains of amino acids that bioinformatics and,in particular, used in a largely unrestricted man-

44 Rice Sallyport Lydia Kavraki Marcia O'Malley Alvin Tarlov John Polking Anne Schnoebelen

ner, so fellows are free to pursue director of the Mechatronics Tapia Collects Multiple Honors Tarlov a Leader in Enhancing Texas Education for All Children whatever lines of research are of and Haptic Interfaces Lab, use of ro- most interest to them. which studies the Rice mathematician Richard virtual and Natelson's research is aimed botic devices in Tapia, who is nationally known Alvin Tarlov, the Sid Richardson at better understanding the phys- environments. and remote for his efforts to recruit underrep- Taylor and Robert H. Ray ics of electronic conduction at The term "haptic" refers Senior Fellow in resented minorities into science Health Policy the nanometer scale. His work is to the perception of touch, at the James A. Baker III Insti- and engineering, has collected a of fundamental importance for and a lot of the lab's work in- tute for Public Policy, has been series of honors from across the engineers and nanotechnologists volves the design and testing honored with the 2004 Jeannette nation. interested in developing ever- of force-feedback systems that Watson Texas Parents as Teachers Tapia, the Noah Harding smaller computer components allow people to "feel" their Advocacy Award for his leadership Professor of Computational and based on molecular electronics. environment while they are in in children's education issues. Applied Mathematics, received It also could play a role in devel- virtual reality. For example, As executive director ofthe an honorary degree from Carn- oping hypersensitive detectors for a user pushing against a wall Baker Institute's Texas Program University, and he healthcare and security applica- in a virtual environment can egie Mellon for Society and Health, Tarlov led alumni as- tions that could scan samples as feel a hard surface, thanks to was honored by the a collaboration among Rice, the small as a single molecule. force-feedback systems that sociation of his alma mater, the University of Texas M.D. Ander- The fellowship, awarded push on the user's hands or University of California at Los son Cancer Center, the University annually, is intended to enhance arms. Angeles, with the 2004 UCLA of Texas Health Science Center the careers of the nation's best The navy funding will al- Award in Community Service. at Houston, and the Texas Early young faculty members who low O'Malley's team to create The honorary degree is Childhood Education Coalition show exceptional promise in con- techniques that will improve Tapia's second in six months. He to identify the determinants of tributing to the advancement of training simulators by taking received the other in December successful child development and knowledge. This year, 116 fel- advantage of the display de- from the Colorado School of to formulate public policies to lowships were awarded to those vice's ability to go beyond the Mines. He also earned the Dis- enhance success in schooling and, engaged in research in the areas recreation of reality and use tinguished Public Service Award later in life, in family, work, citi- and health. The product of chemistry, computational and haptic cues to guide the train- from the Society for Industrial zenship, of the collaboration is a collection evolutionary molecular biology, ees' response. These cues could and Applied Mathematics and was of45 integrated public policies computer science, economics, warn trainees that they are named one of the 50 Most Im- danger- titled "The Texas Plan." mathematics, neuroscience, and about to do something portant Hispanics in Technology physics. or they could The award is named for na- ous, for instance, and Business for 2004 by His- user into per- tive Texan Jeannette Watson in subtly guide the panic Engineer and Information forming the desired action in a recognition of her pioneering Technology magazine. and lifelong advocacy for O'Malley Earns Young given situation. work Tapia serves as associate di- issues. Investigator Award The Office of Naval Re- children's developmental rector of graduate studies and as Parents as Teachers is an af- search's Young Investigator Texas director of the Center for Excel- filiate of Parents as Teachers Na- Robotics researcher Marcia Program seeks to attract the lence and Equity in Education. tional Center Inc. O'Malley has been recog- brightest young academic sci- He is a founding member of the nized with one of the nation's entists and engineers into the Society for the Advancement of top awards for young faculty, Navy's research program. The Chicanos and Native Americans the Office of Naval Research's program targets those who have in Science (SACNAS),the pre- Young Investigator Award. received their doctorate within mier professional organization for O'Malley, assistant profes- the past five years and demon- Hispanic and Native American sor in mechanical engineer- strated exceptional promise for ing and materials science, is creative research. scientists.

Fall '04 45 WHO S WHO

Alicia Bradley Karen Oster Edie Carlson Laura Ling Hsu Siva Kumari

Four Become Faculty Emeriti ling the online catalog, received Carlson has worked in the Impact Awards Honor Those Who this year's Shapiro Library Staff school since 1978 and was named Have Made Their Mark on Rice Innovation Award. assistant dean in 1991. She di- With a cumulative total of more Oster's efforts to keep the rects professional development than 130 years at Rice under One Rice faculty member and online catalog available 24 hours programs in certified financial their belts, four faculty members two staff members have been rec- a day were among her achieve- planning, financial analysis, and joined the ranks of professors ognized with Women's Resource ments that lead to the honor. treasury management, as well as emeriti this year: Stephen Baker, Center Impact Awards: Nancy The Shapiro Award recognizes a in personal development courses. professor of physics; John Polk- Elliott, department coordina- library staff member who has de- She began the school's program ing, professor of mathematics; tor for facilities and engineering; veloped an innovative program to for teachers of advanced place- Anne Schnoebelen, the Joseph Brett Ashley Leeds, associate provide library services at Rice or ment courses in 1995 and also and Ida Kirkland Mullen Profes- professor of political science; and who has shown exemplary service directed the Rice University Pub- sor of Music; and Madeleine Ken Nipe, Rice police officer. The to the university community. lishing Program for nine years. Alcover, professor of French. honors are given annually to men Since joining the Fondren Hsu has worked in the and women at Rice who demon- staff in 2001, Oster, a senior Sirsi School of Continuing Studies strate service to the campus and develops public Bradley a Shining Star in database administrator, has man- since 1984. She community,show involvement cultural Registrar's Office aged several major upgrades to noncredit courses in the and participation in student life the Institute the Sirsi software, the integrated arts and has directed and activities at Rice and beyond, Resource Education library system that includes the for Human work to make a positive impact For successfully managing re- has become online catalog. When Fondren since 1996, which by raising awareness of women's quests from faculty and staff for largest producer of certified changed the interface through the issues, and serve as role models in available classrooms and assign- professionals in human resource which library users access the cat- the empowerment of women.• ing those rooms, Alicia Bradley alog from a DOS-based program management in Texas and is one has been awarded with the Dis- to a Web-based program, Oster of the three largest university pro- — Reported by B. J. Almond, Jade tinguished Employee Award. was responsible for the program- grams of its kind in the country. Boyd, Jennifer Evans, Lindsey Fielder, Bradley, a room reserva- ming that ensured the new in- Kumari has been with Con- and Carol Hopkins tion assistant in the Office of the terface could access the database tinuing Studies since 2000 and Registrar, has worked at Rice correctly. was named assistant dean that for more than three years. The Oster also helped imple- same year. She directs teacher Distinguished Employee Award ment a new underlying database professional development pro- is given by the human resources structure known as Oracle, which grams, including the Advanced department on behalf of the uni- serves as a back-up system for the Placement Summer Institute, versity to recognize employees online catalog. which has become one of the who perform above and beyond largest in the country, the Work- their job description to the ben- shop for High School Teachers efit of the Rice community. Hsu, Carlson, Kumari Promoted of the Gifted and Talented, and to Associate Dean the Advanced Placement Digital Library (http://apdl.rice.edu). Fondren's Oster Honored for Kumari also directs the Rice Exemplary Service Three long-standing assistant deans in the School of Continu- Technology Education Center, ing Studies have been promoted which offers information technol- Karen Oster, a Fondren Library to the level of associate dean: ogy courses for the public. computer programmer who Edie Carlson, Laura Ling Hsu, maintains the database control- and Siva Kumari.

46 Rice Sallyport B B B C A RD

Rice Pitchers Take Major League Draft by Storm Humber, Niemann, and Townsend Among Top 10 In Nation

Its not quite the same as winning complished as a group." weak single," Baker insists, "but it studies with a 3.59 GPA,dosed was good to see a familiar face." his Rice career as the national Aca- the national championship, but This historic honor provided some consolation for the disap- Rice's three first-rounders still demic All-America ofthe Year in the 2004 baseball season did pointing end to the Owls'season. are in negotiation, waiting eagerly baseball. finish on a record-setting note for After winning the WAC champion- for the teams to move forward. As much as Rice will miss the Rice Owls. ship for the eighth year in a row, Their situation is not unique, as these memorable players, they 30 Rice entered the NCAA regional at fewer than half of this year's leave no doubt that they will miss On June 7,just one day after their Reciding Park seeded sixth in the first-round picks have signed con- Rice as well. wait- season's abrupt end in the opening nation. But a stunning upset by tracts. Each team seems to be "I already miss playing for stage of the NCAA playoffs, Rice unheralded Texas Southern and a ing to see what sort ofsalary and Rice," says Kolkhorst, an Aca- offer. All pitchers Philip Humber, Jeff Nie- nail-biting 7-5 loss to Texas A&M bonuses the other teams will demic -America who graduated with triple maim, and Wade Townsend were brought a sudden halt to Rice's de- The foursome of Humber, a major in economics, and Baker managerial studies, and kinesiol- selected in the first round ofthe fense ofits 2003 national title. Niemann,Townsend, pitch- "I the Major League Baseball amateur Three other Rice players were may well have been the best ogy. miss camaraderie and draft. Even more impressively, all three were among the top 10 picks of Humber, Niemann, in the nation. The foursome Humber was selected third Townsend, and Baker may well have by the New York Mets. The Tam- pa Bay Devil Rays took Niemann been the best pitching staff in the with the very next pick, while history of college baseball. Townsend was taken eighth overall by the Baltimore Orioles. history ofcollege the mature group of guys I was Those selections made Rice selected in the draft's later rounds. ing staffin the combined record at with. And I miss the team concept. the first school in history to pro- Josh Baker, the fourth ace of the baseball. Their phenomenal 105-17, In the minors, it's more every man duce three top-10 draft choices Owls' outstanding pitching staff, Rice was a perfect seasons: for himself. That's the biggest ad- in a single season. Indeed, since was taken in the fourth round by including two 12-0 mark in 2004 justment I will have to make." the amateur draft was instituted in the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cin- Townsend's incomparable 17-0 The other draftees all are 1965, only two other schools have cinnati Reds claimed shortstop and Niemann's 2003 champion- juniors who plan to complete their produced three first-round picks in Paul Janish in the fifth round. And record during the Townsend's 2.05 career degrees during the off-season. the same year: Michigan in 1979 outfielder Chris Kolkhorst, the ship run. best in Rice Townsend,for example, has just and Fresno State 10 years later. And Owls' emotional sparkplug and a ERA is the second Humber's career mark one semester of work remaining. never before has one school had fan favorite during his four years at history, as is strikeouts. "My experience at Rice was three pitchers go in the first round. Rice, was the 10th-round pick of of422 individual hon- that the other students are 100 "It's a big honor," Humber the San Diego Padres. Their list of Humber,a three- percent behind the athletes, and says. "We'll definitely all be linked As is customary for late- ors is daunting. was the National the athletes are 100 percent be- by this for some time. I don't fore- round selections, Baker, Kolkhorst, time all-America, Player ofthe Year in hind the students," Townsend see anything like this happening and Janish each quickly agreed to Freshman Niemann and Townsend recalls fondly. "And the professors again—three pitchers from one contract terms and now are play- 2002. all-America hon- bent over backward for us, just as college staff going so high. It's ing in the minor leagues. were two-time was named WAC we did for them. I am very thank- pretty heady stuffto think about." On July 13, Janish got a hit orees, and each Year in his unde- fill for all the people I met at Rice "For the three of us to be off his former teammate in a game Pitcher ofthe who have been so great."• called in the top eight is something between the Billings Mustangs feated season. Brewers in the Townsend, a triple major in special," echoes Niemann."We and Baker's Helena —George Webb III economics, and managerial take pride in the things we've ac- Class A Northwest League. "It was history,

Fall '04 47 SCOREBOARD

Going for Gold

Summer Games Showcase Lopez's Successful Track and Field Coaching Career

As athletes under his tutelage geared up to compete at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Victor Lopez, Rice's head coach of women's track and field, took everything in stride.

Before heading to the campus a multidimensional person. "Just track to train his cadre of Olympic because he carries the title of track hopefuls, Lopez would first have coach, Victor is not limited to his morning coffee, a demitasse of that profession. He is a writer, a black brew, which he concocts in chef, a musician—a well-rounded his office with an espresso maker. person who brings all that worldly The Puerto Rican native has knowledge to his job." Lopez, three of them a day, though he who describes himself as an avid promises—regretfully—that they reader of Hispanic literature and are decaf. But even if his 61-year- an art collector, takes pride in that old body no longer tolerates some facet of his personality. gastronomical luxuries, Lopez In his 25 years at Rice, Lo- Lopez, who coached the best track stars flock to Rice to looks fit, buoyant, and younger pez has built the women's tradc Puerto Rican track and field team train under Lopez. This year, he than his age. team into one of the most suc- at the Athens Games and was the worked at Rice with four runners Lopez may appear laid back, cessful programs in the country. national coach for the Olympic who hail from Canada, Puerto but there is a quiet intensity about When he started working at Rice teams that competed in Barcelona Rico, Jamaica, and Barbados him, and his conversation is full in 1980, there were only six ath- in '92 and Sydney in 2000, also Andrea Blackett, for one, rep- women's track team. of warmth and passion, especially letes on the has won a host ofawards. He is a resented her country, Barbados, Today, the team boasts about 30 when he talks about his student- five-time WAG coach of the year in the 400-meter hurdles at the athletes. members. Under Lopez, the Owls "My athletes have be- and earned NCAA district coach Summer Olympics. She gradu- come like my have produced NCAA champions children," he says, of the year three times. He is presi- ated from Rice in 1997 and has "an extension of my in the shot put, the javelin throw, family." dent of the Central American and continued training with Lopez It is this caring, in part, that the triple jump, the 4x400-meter Caribbean Athletics Confederation after becoming a professional has made Lopez one of the lead- relay, the 400 meters, and the Blackett set the and ofthe North America, Central runner. At Rice, ing track coaches in the world. 400-meter hurdles. Lopez also Rice record in the 100-meter and American, and Caribbean Track "Victor is a star," says Bobby took the cross-country team to 400-meter hurdles. She also was and Field Coaches Association. May, director of athletics. "He the NCAA championships twice. a member of the squad that won has an international reputation in Last year, the Owls won their the first NCAA relay title for the track and field, and he is a tireless third outdoor Western Athletic ON YOUR MARK Owls in 1997. She competed in worker and a real perfectionist." Conference(WAG) title in four the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and What makes Lopez a great years. In 2002,they won their So,it is no wonder that when the made it to the semifinal round of coach, says Jim Bevan, assistant third consecutive indoor confer- Summer Olympics come around the 400-meter hurdles. women's track coach, is that he is ence championship. every four years, some of the When Blackett first came

48 Rice Sallyport "I feel this is my greatest achievement, to have all my students graduate from college."

—Victor Lopez

400 meter. Lopez's concern for his athletes. In the five years that Beck- Ofcourse, he wants them to train ford has been working with Lo- properly as well. Lopez uses his pez, she has grown to appreciate 32 years of research to ensure he his style of coaching. "Other is getting the best from his ath- coaches might try to punish letes. He uses a combination of athletes. Victor takes a differ- pedagogical approach, physiol- ent approach," she explains. "It ogy, biomechanics, anatomy, and amazes me how he talks to us nutrition. Each Sunday, without and then gets what he wants us fail, he follows his ritual ofeating to do. He is respectful to us, breakfast and then writing a train- and because of that, we are even ing program for each of his ath- more respectful to him. Some letes. His program is so detailed coaches don't think about how that he even knows the body fat athletes feel. He does." percentage of each athlete, and Lopez takes great interest in trains him or her according to his athletes. "Sometimes they get their body composition. "We are too dealing with human beings, so about running but about life. He upset because they think I'm to Rice in 1994, she ran the 400 Like I want to make sure that we are is very passionate about life, and much like a father," he says. meters in 56 seconds. By the time developing them properly." he teaches us to enjoy music, dif- a father, Lopez wants to make she graduated, she had clocked an well In 1980, Lopez created a ferent types offood, and different sure his student-athletes do even better time than that-54.75 in training system that became so cultures." in their endeavors, especially seconds—in the 400 hurdles, a is successful that he is now consid- More importantly, Blackett education. "I think my mission more difficult event. Her best graduate ered one of the leading training says Lopez has the special ability to make sure that they time in the 400-meter hurdles, is members theorists and methodologists to see the strength in each athlete. and become productive 53.36 seconds; the world record in the world. A member ofthe When Blacken arrived at Rice, her of our society." is 52.34. She gives Lopez a lot of have grad- International Amateur Athlet- specialty was the 400 meters, but All of his athletes credit for her success. com- on the uated from Rice but one. And the ics Federation's technical "I think I stand a very good Lopez advised her to work it," one who dropped out, Lopez ex- mittee and coaches commission, chance of doing well in the Olym- 400-meter hurdles. "We tried plains, did so because she wanted he frequently is sought out for pics," Blackett says. "I am train- she says,"and it worked out per- start a family. Recently, though, advice, not only in track but also I fectly for me." to ing hard, six days a week, and Lopez in other sports. For example, the Rice senior Allison Beckford that same student called am focused." She also has Lopez as to tell him she was in Austin and Chicago Bulls have used Lopez on her side. landed a spot on the Jamaican would be finishing school there. a strength and conditioning con- "Victor is not just a great Olympic team competing in the "I feel this is my greatest achieve- sultant, and professional baseball coach, he is a great teacher," 400 meters. Beckford has won ment, to have all my students players such as Jose Cruz and Jose Blacken explains. "He is ex- the NCAA championship three graduate from college." Cruz Jr. have trained under him. tremely well-rounded, and he is times in the 400 meters: in 2002 Encouraging his athletes to The method basically con- very knowledgeable about track and 2001 in the outdoor event, make the grade is only one part of sists of lifting weights, jumping, and field. He not only educates us and once in 2001 in the indoor

Fall '04 49 In his 25 years at Rice, Lopez has built the women's track team into one of the most successful programs in the country.

and running sprints. Contrary to volleyball, soccer, baseball, and from his Latin American tour what some coaches think, Lopez basketball. undefeated. "I was like a hero," firmly believes that it is better to Until middle school, Lopez he recalls. "Everyone wanted to lift weights before heading to the attended a Catholic institution interview me." track. At the track, he says, the run by nuns of the Notre Dame Universities in the United athletes go through a series of order. These religious women, States also wanted him, and in "little jumps" to enhance the elas- Lopez says, understood very well 1963, he accepted a track schol- tic strength muscles. Then, short- that a good curriculum included arship from the University of distance sprints follow at close physical education, and they en- Houston. He lettered four years to maximum velocity. "This puts couraged him to participate in at UH,and during the summers into use all the muscle fibers used field day races. "The nuns did this he returned to Puerto Rico to in weight lifting and jumping," he for many reasons, but especially so compete with the national explains. we could relax and release some team. He won a bronze Beckford, the Jamaican run- energy." medal for his country ning star, says Lopez's system also Releasing energy was always in the 4x100-meter focuses on endurance. "For me," a necessity for Lopez. He was so relay at the Cen- she says, "that's helpful because, hyper that in school he would tral American in the 400 meters, it is not how beat his desk to create music. He and Caribbean fast you go,it is how you finish channeled his unbound energy to Games in Pana- the race. So, if I can finish the playing drums, and by the time ma City. race strong, I'll be there with my he was 13, he was good enough Before his competitors, and I will be able to to be invited to play with a big senior year at beat them." band. His father had to sign an af- UH,Lopez was fidavit permitting him to join the drafted into the GET SET 15-member musical group. All U.S. Army and through high school Lopez con- served for three Running,jumping, and staying centrated on two things: playing years, until in motion was always a part of drums and running track. 1970. He re- Lopez's life. He was born in 1943 In his senior year in high turned to Hous- in Caguas, Puerto Rico, a place school, Lopez had the good for- ton to finish known for producing talented tunate of meeting Manuel Garcia, his bachelor of baseball players. Lopez grew up a coach who saw the running-star science degree in in a working class neighborhood potential in Lopez. With Garcia's physical education where no one had a television set help, Lopez became unbeatable in 1971. At that and kids spent most of their time in the 100 and 200 meters and time, his second having fun outside the house. As was selected as part of the Puerto daughter from his a way to control his hyperactiv- Rico's junior national team to first marriage was ity, Lopez developed a penchant compete in Mexico, Guatemala, born, and Lopez for all sports played on the island: and Panama. Lopez came back needed a job.

50 Rice Sallyport the con- GO He found it at as a physi- weekends, he played Latin jazz bands cal education teacher at Doug- gas for several supplement his las Elementary School, located in Houston to After finishing his cup of coffee, he returned in the Third Ward, where most income. In 1973, Lopez heads to the Rice track in Puerto of the children came from to his hometown with all the calm in the world. the athletic poor families and many from Rico to become After 25 years of taking the same University of single-parents households. "I director at the walk, Lopez seems content and He stayed was so touched by the situa- Turabo in Caguas. eager to go at it again. "You'd 1978, and then get tion of seeing those kids living there until think that over time he'd another year at the Uni- says "But he in that condition," he says. spent tired," Beckford. Puerto Rico System loves what he is doing, and he "I made it my mission to try versity of of physical edu- just keeps on going. I don't know to help as many as I could." as a professor

he loves what he is doing, and he just keeps on going." "You'd think that over time he'd get tired. But —Allison Beckford

head track and field if he will ever stop." On his own time, Lopez cation and Lopez has no plans to stop organized after-school coach. the itch to study anytime soon, and he has no sports clubs such as base- Feeling Lopez returned to UH plans to leave Rice either, despite ball, basketball, and track more, a doctorate in physi- the offers he gets every year from to keep the kids out of the to pursue In 1980, he other universities. "The first thing streets. "Everyone loved cal education. as a part-time track is to strive for happiness," he says. the idea: the principal, the was hired Rice. As the only staff "Working at Rice has been the teachers, the parents, the coach at for the women's track best experience of my life." kids. It was a beautiful ex- member was overwhelmed And then he enters the track, perience." team, Lopez have time to and the world of running is his While at Douglas El- and did not complete his doctorate. Still, again.. ementary, Lopez started Medina to be at Rice, —David D. working on his master's he was thrilled quickly build- in physical education at where he was as a winning Texas Southern Univer- ing a reputation a full-time sity. He attended classes coach. He became in the evenings, and on coach in 1982.

Fall '04 51 SCOREBOARD

"At first, it was hilarious watching me pole vault because I had no idea what I was doing. I looked like I was going to kill myself." —Ryan Harlan

Rice Experience Takes Arriving at Rice, Harlan had to learn new Decathlete to New Heights events from scratch, and it wasn't easy. "At first, it was hilarious watching me pole vault because I had no idea what I was As a freshman on the men's track team at Rice, doing," he says. "I looked like I was going to kill myself." Ryan Harlan '04 had never pole vaulted before. Harlan wasn't always a shoo-in for athletic He'd never thrown a javelin or shot put. Even so, greatness. As a young child, he was bowlegged and that's exactly what then-coach Ray Davidson pigeon-toed. He remembers wearing corrective brought him here to do, and it has paid off. shoes to church and a bar between his legs in bed every night. His mother had to exercise his legs to strengthen and During his five years at Rice, Harlan developed direct his muscles. The exercises eventually made his legs strong into a world-class athlete in the decathlon, an enough to compete in sports in junior high. Harlan event that consists of 100-meter,400 -meter, and went on to break school and regional records 1500-meter runs; 110-meter hurdles; javelin and in the high jump and hurdles at Hewitt High School discus throws; shot put; pole vault; high jump; outside of Waco. His early experience only made and long jump. He finished his collegiate career him appreciate talents more as he grew older. by winning the decathlon at the NCAA Outdoor his With his Rice degree in hand, Harlan Championships in June and qualifying for the launched his professional track career Olymplic Team Trials. "It's an honor to be con- by joining World's Greatest Athlete sidered one ofthe best athletes in the country," the Decathlon Club, which essentially paid him to train he says. "It makes me happy for my parents and for the Olympics and other competitions. "I coaches because I know they're proud." really wanted to stay in Houston and train with the While Harlan finished only 14th at the coaches I already have," he says. "I've been here for years, so I U.S. Olympic track and field trials, it wasn't for five don't really want to leave." lack oftrying. Prior to the event, he contracted Harlan's time at a severe staph infection that left him hospital- Rice was not devoted solely to track. He also developed a passion for art. In ized. Discharged only two hours before the first addition to majoring in managerial decathlon event, he competed wearing bandages studies, he pur- sued a on his arms and legs. degree in sculpture. Art classes were a release, he explains. "I enjoy creating In high school, Harlan, who is more than something. It's just an enjoyable experience, as well as a learning six feet tall, competed in the high jump and ran experience." hurdles. Harlan's potential was apparent to Da- Harlan originally became interested in sculpt- vidson when he saw Harlan at a statewide track ing because he needed an extra class. "I decided meet. "Since I was a bigger guy, he thought I to take creative design sculpture studio," he could throw shot put, throw discus, and pole says,"and I was hooked." vault," Harlan says. "He nudged the guy next His piece "Incomplete Whole" was to him to find out who I was." induded in last spring's student art show at the Rice Gallery, and In a stadium packed with 50,000 fans at Harlan says art will remain an important part of the largest track meet in Texas, the man sitting his life. "I'll always be making creative art next to Davidson happened to be Harlan's high pieces on the side because I have to get creative school track coach. The conversation between ideas out somehow. I also like to write poetry,sculpt, and the two men that day would ultimately cement sketch." Harlan strived to try a variety Harlan's college plans. "It pretty much became ofthings while at Rice. "As a decathlete, you have set in stone that day," Harlan recalls. "Rice to be good at everything," he notes. "I tried to turned out to be the best academic school I become a well- could go to." rounded person too."• —Lindsey Fielder

52 Rice Sallyport

Rice University Nonprofit Organization Sallyport HELEN GIBBS U.S. Postage Publications Office—MS 95 FONDREN LIBRARY CAMPUS MAIL PAID P.O. Box 1892 MS-44 Permit #7549 Houston, Texas 77251-1892 Houston, Texas