The National Science Foundation CAREER awards are awards given out to young faculty members who fulfill the NSF's criteria of excellence in both research and education, as well as their successful integration. The Thresher sat down with two of Rice's CAREER award recipients, Zachary Ball and Lin Zhong (see next article) to discuss the award, research and the future.
WHAT A two-day program including tours of the campus, sitting in on classes, information sessions and panels, student-led activities and staying overnight in one of the residential colleges.
President David Leebron announced during his semiannual Town Hall meeting on Feb. 22 that no more across-the-board reductions were expected for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1. However, he said the university would still maintain a tight budget.
The Baker Institute Student Forum hosted a student debate on March 22 about the current job market and whether President Barack Obama's policies have had a positive or negative impact so far.
Three Rice students, Hanszen sophomore Cecila Alvarez, Jones Sophomore Antonia Lloyd-Davies, and Hanszen freshman Nehemiah Ankoor shaved themselves completely bald in front of a small audience in the Hanszen quad on March 18.
In response to the recent devastation in Japan, students have been banding together to raise money and awareness for victims of the natural disaster. Rice's Japanese Association of Students and Scholars responded within days of the catastrophe with boba sales at all of the colleges and widely publicized donation requests. Students from Duncan College, Hanszen College and others have also found their own way to help out through events such as Mr. Duncan and Makeruna Japan.
As part of the Shell Distinguished Lecture Series, General Electric Company (GE) Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt spoke on Wednesday at the James A. Baker III Institute about laying a blueprint for America to regain its competitiveness in the global market.
This week the Rice Thresher sat down with Hanszen junior Drake Lebrun, a recent recipient of the Watson Fellowship. As a Watson Fellow, Lebrun will receive money for a project in a foreign country.
Following the lead of 500 other universities throughout the country, Rice will soon start using Gmail as the campus email provider for students.
Rice plans to continue supporting higher research and entrepreneurship in the engineering department with Ned Thomas as the new dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering, President David Leebron said.
Students dance in a Korean fan dance as part of the Lunar New Year celebration put on by all of Rice's East Asian student association. Other acts included both more traditional dances, such as dragon and lion dances, and modern dance forms.
Students approaching the Shepherd School of Music from the east will soon have a new view. The Suzanne Deal Booth Pavilion and James Turrell Skyspace is a pyramid-shaped structure that will begin construction in front of the east entrance of the Shepherd School on April 4.
At the Baker Institute's Monday presentation, several scholars posed a thorny question: Could reproductive technologies eventually change what it means to be human in our society? Over 100 students, faculty and associates attended the talk on the controversial subject, titled "The Meaning of Being Human."
For the first time since the creation of the Rice Owls Dance Team, the dance team attended a competition to showcase their talent. From Feb. 18-20, six dance team members - Hanszen College junior Gracelyn Tan, Duncan College sophomore Shakiera Mosby, Jones College freshman Monica Barrera, Jones junior Raquel Kahn, Wiess College senior Stephanie Dunlop, and Hanszen senior Ashley Broadus - competed at the National Cheerleading and Dance Championship in Atlanta, Ga. The team placed seventh in the College Open Hip-Hop Division.
Students were alerted by e-mail Monday by RUPD regarding an escaped prisoner who was seen in the Texas Medical Center area. Twentyseven-year-old David Puckett had escaped from the Stiles Prison Unit recreation yard Wednesday evening. He was apprehended Monday night in Omaha, Neb. at the apartment of a female friend.
The Asset Liquidation Funds Appropriations committee released its proposal for spending the $6 million from the KTRU sale on Monday, Mar. 14. Committee Co-Chair Selim Sheikh and committee members Kevin Schell and Jennifer Dayrit presented the proposal to the Student Association before sending it to President David Leebron.
Rice students spent last Saturday's Beer Bike 2011 participating in early morning celebrations, a campus-wide water balloon fight and bike races as Willy Week came to an end. Will Rice College won both the Alumni and Women's races while Jones College won the Men's race.
A 20-year-old posing as a Rice student was discovered last Tuesday after signing up to participate in an upcoming debate as part of the Baker Institute Student Forum.
Jacks and Beer Bike were not the only sources of college competition during Willy Week: The Rice Annual Fund hosted Jar Wars for the first time between Monday the 7th and Thursday the 10th, giving undergraduates a chance to contribute to the university's fifth College Battle and earn this year's Sammy Cup for their college.