The Thresher interviewed Bioengineering Professor Jeffrey Jacot, who recently received a CAREER award from the National Science Foundation. Note: All answers are paraphrased for clarity unless otherwise noted.How did you get involved with NSF?
I am 19 years old. The United States drinking age is 21. Needless to say, I come up short of being able to legally drink alcohol in the U.S. So, since it is illegal for me to drink, I do not. But, if I did drink, then I would be responsible about it. If I drank alcohol, then first, I would be mindful of the dangers of the "pre-game." The pre-game usually involves drinking rapidly to achieve a desired level of intoxication prior to a party. What many do not consider is that they will probably drink more at the party, and thus should take this fact into consideration. I would realize this fact, and not pre-game to the point of endgame intoxication. If I drank, then I would include in my pre-game food and water. I would understand that drinking on an empty stomach can lead to an increased rate of intoxication, and thus many problems could arise.
A few days ago, I went on a hunt for British policemen. Not only did I want to examine those stereotypical, unique British police caps in greater detail but I also wanted to get an inside look of the interesting crowd of student activists they surrounded. Passionate crowds of students and concerned citizens alike have been rallying around the UK for months demanding a repeal of a controversial education reform bill passed recently. The bill calls for a dramatic cutback of federal funds to British universities. Government officials have cited the economic crisis as grounds for cutting the funds. To make up for lost sponsorship, Parliament has raised yearly university tuition fees from 3,000 to 9,000 pounds. This bite to the wallets and threat to academic integrity has caused thousands of members of the British populace to take to the streets.
On Tuesday, February 15, Dr. Shawn Michelle Smith, an artist and writer, gave a talk on the African American photographer Augustus Washington, who worked during the aftermath of the Civil War. Washington worked in American and Liberia, claiming himself as a free American citizen and declaring his desire for African-American Manifest Destiny through Liberia's colonization, where newly freed slaves could enjoy full citizenship.Her talk, "Augustus Washington and the Civil Contract of Photography," examined Washington's American and Liberian daguerrotypes as speculations on what it means to be a citizen. According to Smith's analysis, Washington and other leaders of Civil Rights movements define citizenship as the ability to participate in all aspects of society.
Under sunny skies and with an uncharacteristically calm wind at Westwood Golf Club, the golf team posted their best finish of the season thus far.Coming off a disappointing performance at last week's UTSA Oak Hills Invitational that saw the Owls finish their rounds poorly, Rice looked to bounce back strongly at a tournament they have had success at in the past. Rice took the team title in 2010 at their only home event, while Christopher Brown (Brown '10) was able to take the individual title in windy conditions that kept score high.
Anthony Pinn, Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies, has taught a course on religion and hip-hop since the Spring of 2007. The class has always been among the most popular in its department, with around 150 students enrolled each year. This spring's course, however, filled to its capacity of 240 students during the first day of registration. The reason behind the sudden increase in student interest is no secret: Pinn is now co-teaching the course with a very popular guest. A tangible cross-campus buzz began to spread when Pinn announced late last spring that Port Arthur, Texas rapper Bernard Freeman, known more commonly as rapper Bun B, would be joining him in Duncan Hall each Tuesday and Thursday morning.Freeman, known simply as "Prof" to Pinn and his students, explained that his vast career experience as a rapper and his intimate connection with the city of Houston make up for his lack of a background in academia.
We're pretty into President David Leebron and his Vision for the Second Century, so we went to eat at the Biosciences Research Collaborative last weekend. It was a poor choice. Dan swallowed something in a flask and had to be hospitalized, while Siegfried got lost in all of the empty office space. To cheer ourselves up, we grabbed a whole bunch of dudes and went to check out a different BRC, located in the Washington area, which was in the New York Times once, so it has to be cool. The BRC, which stands for Big Red Cock (ha!) is not a gay bar - it's a gastropub! Gastropub is one of the pretentious words you learn when you pretend to be a food critic for your school's paper, and it means "a place that serves really nice (expensive) burgers and fries and stuff." While the BRC is a great gastropub, it's comparable to similar restaurants in the area, and it wouldn't be our first choice among them in terms of food, although the service is by far the best we've had in Houston.Upon arriving, the host asked us if we had any reservations. Not expecting to need any, he told us we would probably have to wait about half an hour. Suddenly he said "Hold on a minute, let me see what I can do," and briefly disappeared. Before Siegfried could inform our party that we might have to wait, the host had managed to find a table for all six of us. We also had an extremely pleasant waitress, who was helpful, funny and knowledgeable.
For a team whose two leading scorers are both underclassmen, the Rice men's basketball team has not looked like a young and inexperienced team on the road in the conference this season. After a turbulent 0-4 start to conference play, the Owls impressively bounced back with consecutive road wins against University of Central Florida and Tulane University after trailing in the second half of each game. But if this past week of basketball taught us anything, it's that this young Rice team still has room to improve when matched up with experience-laden teams in the heat of conference play.
Online Comment of the WeekIn response to "Feature: Joke candidates are no laughing matter," Feb. 4:
While I often find myself traversing the soundscape of underground Philadelphia-based indie electronic bands for the newest sounds, I never expected to find a gem like Sun Airway's Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier. In fact, the only reason I listened to the album in the first place was because Dead Oceans, one of my favorite record companies, produced it. The debut album of duo Patrick Marsceill and Jon Barthmus' ambient sound not only echoed in my ears but made a profound comment on the transient nature of relationships ?and love. The album begins with the song "Infinity," a fitting title as the synthesizer in the introduction creates an almost limitless feel to the listener. It is as if one is wandering through the paintings of surrealist Salvador Dali, endlessly searching for meaning. The opening rhythms soon give way to Barthmus' voice, which has the light and airy sound of Owl City's Adam Young but is grounded in a sort of inexplicable sadness. This tone continues throughout the album, even though the music is primarily pop in nature. This combination might not seem as if it would work, but Sun Airway pulls it off with a sincerity that would rival a ?young choirboy's.
In this week's New Yorker magazine, Dr. David Eagleman, a novelist, neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice grad, is being profiled for his research and recent works. Dr. Eagleman does much of his current research on synesthesia and "neurolaw," which investigates the intersection of current knowledge of neuroscience and law making, criminal punishment and rehabilitation development, which he teaches a class about each fall (NEUR 525, Neuroscience and Law) at Rice. However, among his notable publications is Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, an internationally best-selling collection of short stories. In light of his feature in the New Yorker, as well as a recent appearance on PBS's NOVA, the Rice Thresher sat down to talk with Eagleman about his perspectives on the connection of art and science as well as his book Sum and the movement, "possibilianism," that sparked from it.Rice Thresher: Can you talk about the relationship between art, in your experience creativity in writing, and your experience with research and science? Specifically, how has your research on the brain affected the content that you write about?
Author Gilbert Achcar spoke Wednesday night about his new book The Arabs and the Holocaust: The Arab - Israeli War of Narratives. Achcar said his 400-page book explains that he believes the perception of the Arab world as anti-Semitic and extremist is unfounded.
For the first time in 11 years, the baseball team and the University of Texas will not tussle on the baseball diamond during the regular season. Agreements were in place to have a "home and home" played, with three games at Reckling Park in 2011 and three games at UT's Disch-Falk Field; however, UT backed out of the agreement in order to play a series against the University of Hawaii. While Owls fans may be disappointed by the omission, this season, it may work to Rice's advantage, as Texas is ranked higher (No. 6 in the nation according to BaseballAmerica.com) than any other squad the No. 18 Owls will face during the regular season.However, that does not mean that Rice's season will be free of challenges. Top 25-ranked foes on Rice's slate include Rice's season-opening opponent, No. 13 Stanford University, No. 16 Baylor University, No. 17 University of California, No. 19 University of Arizona, No. 21 Texas A&M University and No. 25 Tulane University.
It is a good day when autocrats who have been in power for over 30 years step down, and all signs point towards democratization and an improvement in a country's political system. That is exactly what happened in Egypt when former-President Hosni Mubarak resigned his position last week and the new leadership of the government of Egypt - the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces - even dissolved the old parliament which came to power in an election no one considers legitimate, and all signs seem to show that the military's top leadership is willing to allow - and accept - the results of a fair, legitimate election either late this year or early next. For those worrying about whether the transition will lead to a change in the stability of the country, the truth is not much would change for the worse. The military has said Egypt will "remain committed to all its regional and international treaties" - an implicit reference to their peace treaty with Israel. And with a new, democratically elected leadership, the country's policy makers shall be accountable to the people; no longer will there be the perception that the government is just an American pawn that is against its own people. This new trust in, and connection to, the government will lead to a greater long term stability (even if the U.S. can't simply send aid in return for a certain policy) both in Egypt and in the region as a whole.
One thing nearly all college sports fans have an opinion on is conference loyalty: Should you pull for your squad's conference mates in interconference competition, or does it mean nothing? For the men's track team, conference loyalty meant something this weekend, as they competed in the Texas A&M Challenge for the third year in a row, which features three teams from each of Conference USA, the Big 12, the Pac-10 and the Southeastern Conference. This meet combines the scores of the three teams representing each conference in order to determine conference supremacy for that season. While C-USA finished third and the Big 12 dominated, cruising to a 189-point margin of victory, Saturday's meet was not without positives for Rice, which compiled 20 season-best times or marks amongst its competing athletes. Head Coach Jon Warren (Jones '88) spoke about what he saw in the competition last week. "Lot of good things happened across the board and we're finding out some things about guys," Warren said. "Our distance events are coming together and the DMR [distance medley relay] guys are doing well."
Looking to close the second round with a strong finish, the Owls instead squandered their place in the top-half of the leaderboard, falling to a 14th place finished at the UTSA/Oak Hills Invitational in San Antonio. Following a layoff from competition that neared four months, Rice stepped up to the tee on Monday morning and put forth a solid round. Led by senior Michael Whitehead, the team's strongest performer throughout the fall, the Owls shot a cumulative 293. The round left them in a tie for eighth in the 17- team field. Freshman Chris Contreras and sophomore Brock Wilson shot matching 73s to head the Owls' strong effort. Contreras felt that the course was ripe for scoring in the first round.
