THE MAGAZINE OF RICE UNIVERSITY ,..SPRING 2001 Inspired Innouation ZOOd ??epoPit th7Aesettent RICE UNIVERSITY OF RICE UNIVERSITY • SPRING 2001 FE AT UR ES 18 INSPIRED INNOVATION The President's Annual Report for 2000. From enhancing the learning experience to develop- ing basic scientific discoveries, technology makes the grade at Rice. 28 BUILDING BOOM Board approves new library design. BY B. J. ALMOND 30 MUSIC IN THE AIR Although less than 20 years old, the Shepherd School Symphony has a reputation as one of the best orchestral programs in the nation. BY KIMBERLEY O'NEILL PIROG 36 FLIGHT OF THE DREAM CATCHER When a Rice undergraduate and his buddy decided to fly around the world, getting off the ground was the biggest problem. BY DAVID D. MEDINA 40 POPULATION, HEAL THYSELF Research is showing that life expectancy, illness, and other health factors may be closely related to social structure. BY LIA UNRAU DEPA R T MEN T S 6 THROUGH THE SALLYPORT 16 ON THE BOOK SHELF 45 WHO'S WHO 49 SES & ACADEMS 51 SCOREBOARD !HEIDE COVER PI-oo-ro BY TOPARiV LRVERONE 53 YESTERYEAR SPRING '01 1 FOREWORD THINKING OVERTURE Sallyport Not long ago,I was walking west across campus from Lovett Hall,and as I walked, I noticed that there was a dynamic and purposeful resonance in the air. I couldn't SPRING 2001, VOL. 57, NO. 2 quite put my finger on what it was, though a hint came in the sounds of Published by the Division of Public Affairs construction that lately form a lively aural backdrop to campus life. From several Terry Shepard, vice president directions, I could hear the muted roar ofheavy equipment and the various noises EDITOR that accompany any building project. But while construction sounds may have Christopher Dow been a distinct element of whatever it was that I heard, they were still just a part. Maybe it was something going on inside the buildings. Yes, that was more of CREATIVE DIRECTOR the puzzle, for when I nosed my way into the library and several of the academic Jeff Cox and research buildings, I perceived the hum and bustle of technology at work. And this was as true along the Humanities Corridor as it was in both the ART DIRECTOR Engineering Quad and the Science Cluster. While the advances in biosciences, nanoscience, computing, and other fields emerging from our labs are truly impressive,technology at Rice encompasses more than the science and engineer- EDITORIAL STAFF ing disciplines. Here,technology also is a powerful tool in the process ofteaching David I). Medina '83, senior editor and learning, a method for better understanding and connecting to the world M. Yvonne Taylor, associate editor around us, and a means of making life's expanding journey ever more interesting Lorrie Lampson, production coordinator and rewarding. Technology was,indeed, a major current in what I heard, but I knew that more DESIGN STAFF lay ahead, so back outside, I continued my own journey across the campus. Amy Wilson-Webb, designer Tommy LaVergne, photographer Passing Baker Hall, I noticed that all sound seemed to halt in a sudden hush of Jeff Fitlow, assistant photographer anticipation. Among the many programs going on inside is the Texas Institute for Society and Health. This new institute is exploring research indicating that the overall health and well-being ofdistinct populations may be predisposed by social THE RICE UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES forces and societal conditions that are not affected by direct medical intervention. E. William Barnett, chair; j. D. Micky Allshouse; Very likely, vital answers to many long-standing human issues and problems will D. Kent Anderson; James A. Baker, III; Teveia be discovered through social and humanistic programs such as this. Rose Barnes; Raymond D. Brochstein; Albert Y. Chao; James W. Crownovcr; Janice G. Doty; I walked a little farther, and as I neared Alice Pratt Brown Hall, the hush of James A. Elkins, III; Lee Hage Jamail; K. Terry anticipation was erased in billowing music. The Shepherd School Symphony was Koonce; Frederick R. Lummis, Jr.; Michael R. practicing for its next concert, and I paused to listen, amazed that this was a Lynch; Robert R. Maxfield; Burton J. McMurtry; Robert C. McNair; Steven L. Miller; William student orchestra and not a visiting professional philharmonic. Robert Parks; Harry M. Reasoner; Karen Hess After enjoying the music for a few moments,I turned to resume my stroll, when Rogers; William N. Sick. it struck me that all the sounds I had been hearing were like the individual instruments of an orchestra, all joining their voices in a theme that was too ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICERS monumental and mysterious to easily grasp. All I needed was to have a tuning note Malcolm Gillis, president; Zenaido Camacho, sound forth to bring the concert into harmony and help me understand the vice president.*Student Affairs; Dean W.Currie, music I had been following all the way from Lovett Hall. vice president for Finance and Administration; meaning of the elusive Charles Henry, vice president and chiefinfbrma- At that moment from overhead, or so it seemed, came the drone of a small tion officer, Eric Johnson, vice president*. Re- airplane trolling above the campus. I looked up and thought I saw two students source Development, Eugene Levy, provost; Terry in the plane's cockpit. As they passed, they were harvesting the music I'd been Shepard, vice presidentfor Public Ajjairs; Scott W. Wise, vice presidentfor Investments and trea- hearing and carrying it with them to broadcast it far and wide. But then the surer, Ann Wright, vice presidentfor Enrollment, sunshine dazzled my vision, and I could see nothing but clear blue sky and a few Richard A. Zansitis,general counsel. high clouds.The drone was gone. Did I actually hear it drift in from far continents, Sallyport is published by the Division of Public or was it only imagined? Affairs of Rice University and is sent to university No matter,for real or imagined,this final note gave me the clue to what I'd been alumni, faculty, staff, graduate students, parents sensing, and still sense, here in the air at Rice. It is the music of our hopes and of undergraduates, and friends of the university. dreams and aspirations played on the instruments of our endeavors and given to EDFrosi AL OFFICES:Office ofPublications,5620 the world. It is the music of Rice today, but even more, it is an overture for the Greenbriar, Suite 200, Houston, Texas 77005. future. Fax: 713-348-6751. E-mail: [email protected] POSTM AAAAA Send address changes to Rice University, Advancement Services—MS 80,5620 Greenbriar, Suite 200, Houston, Texas 77005. 0424 C21301 RICE UNIVERSITY 2 SALLYPORT RETURN ADDRESSED scribing my experiences coming out as a gay man at Rice; the editor replied that, although he appreci- ated some of the difficulties of being gay, the subject was too controversial to print my letter. Given all the protests on Vietnam, the sexual revolution, and the Nixon foibles, I was surprised by his position. I figured that Rice remained in the great Southern conservative tradition and would continue to treat gay men and lesbians as either invisible or with disdain. It appears that not much has changed in the ensuing years. JAMES P. Toucusronle, M.D. '73 CULTURE San Francisco, California As a Hispanic woman who gradu- ated from Rice in 1977, I read MORE ON DIVERSITY the coming decades,I believe there David Medina's diversity article will be oases of tolerance, prosper- with great interest. His thorough First, I would like to thank you for ity, and great achievement—Rice coverage and perceptive insight your ever-evolving coverage of Rice and Houston should be among provided a fascinating perspective. and my native Houston. I loved them and recognized as such not I am pleased that so much atten- both your main article covering Main just nationally but globally. It is the tion, time, resources, and energy Street revitalization and the other 21st century; we all need to work are being allocated to such a critical article on diversity; however there together. issue within the university. was a glaring omission: There was I ended up at Rice partly because During my years at Rice, the Af- no mention of homosexuals or gay I did not get into the foreign ser- rican American students had a group contributions to the Rice commu- vice school of another university. I for mutual support, but Hispanics nity. This is not acceptable and needs was asked about my political views did not have a group of their own. to evolve. It would be great for regarding sexuality and human There were few of us at Rice at the everyone. rights. It was all very polite, but I time, and a Hispanic student club Schools such as Stanford and could tell that the young man, an would have provided a good sup- Northwestern, plus many of the aggressive Reagan-era yuppie, port system to help us weather the Ivy League Schools, revel in at- didn't want gays in the school. challenging days at the university tracting the best and brightest from Today, I would have sued, but this and to assist us in forging relation- our community. Rice should fully was in the early '80s. The experi- ships based on the common bonds take advantage of the urban caul- ence certainly changed my life and we shared through our heritage. It's dron of creative and economic vi- retarded my desire to serve my good to know that the Hispanic tality of which we are a vital part.