Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916
Wednesday, April 24, 2024 — Houston, TX

Wesley Chou

NEWS 12/3/13 6:00pm

Rice's recent AC energy use declines

By Wesley Chou

For such an essential utility in an area like Houston, air conditioning remains generally unseen to the student body and noticed only during its absence, according to David McDonald, the senior business director for Rice University Housing and Dining. Richard Johnson, the director of the Administrative Center for Sustainability and Energy Management, said the cost of air conditioning can be determined by measuring the amount of chilled water used to cool air in buildings plus the amount of electricity used to power pumps that circulate the water around campus.Johnson said air conditioning composes a major portion of H&D's utility costs."If I look at [H&D's] total utility consumption, about a third is for chilled water," Johnson said. "When you work in the electricity, it's probably upward of 35 to 40 percent. Across campus, [H&D] represents a little over more than 20 percent of total energy costs, with the lab buildings being the biggest consumers."According to Johnson, a 10-year process of transitioning from a two-pipe to a more efficient four-pipe air-conditioning system finished this past summer. The new Hanszen College building was the last remodeled residential area."With a two-pipe system and from a student perspective, you wouldn't have any control over AC other than whether it was on or off," Johnson said. "So the way students would regulate it was by opening and closing windows, which causes both energy to be wasted and the humidity from outside to damage the interior." McDonald said that besides making the air-conditioning system itself more flexible over the past summers, H&D has also installed thermostats with limited temperature ranges."We've retrofitted nearly all the room thermostats with limiters that adhere to [the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers] policies of 74 to 78 [degrees Fahrenheit] for cooling and 68 to 72 [degrees Fahrenheit] for heating," McDonald said. "We had to tear open each building down to the chassis to get the pipes in over the summer. We would take an entire building offline and literally gut it open from the day the students leave. But by the first week of August, it's all put back together, and students don't even know the difference, except that there are thermostats that work."McDonald said that concerns other than AC are taking precedent at many residential colleges. "At [Duncan and McMurtry], the AC actually turns off when the windows are opened," McDonald said. "For the colleges as a whole, though, the focus right now is not so much on the air-conditioning system itself, but on the building envelopes, where we're losing energy through windows, frames and insulation.Johnson said measuring the changes in air-conditioning costs is difficult for H&D areas because many of the residential colleges are measured collectively."For the [residential colleges], with the exception of the newer McMurtry and Duncan Colleges, there are only a few master meters, where most of the students are measured as one big customer," Johnson said. According to Johnson, despite the higher temperatures of the last few years combined with the heavier usage of residential colleges during the summer, more efficient AC systems have still caused per-capita chilled water consumption to significantly drop compared to that of the 2003-2004 baseline. He said this decrease in consumption can be attributed not only to new AC systems, efficient construction and replacement of thermostats, but also to student involvement. "H&D and FE&P [can] put buildings into setback or shutdown settings during winter break, which saves energy," Johnson said. "H&D has also been proactive in pursuing energy efficiency projects, and I would say that there's more of a culture of conservation amongst students now."Susann Glenn, the manager of communications for Facilities Engineering and Planning, said that even in cases where components of the air-conditioning system cannot be fully optimized, there are ways to compensate for its energy consumption."South Plant, which was built in 2008, is such a consumer of energy that it was not feasible to build it to [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certification standards," Glenn said. "There are many green features [for buildings that are not LEED certified] such as photovoltaics on the diesel generators that provide power, a vegetative green roof and a large pipe collecting air condensate from the [BioScience Research Collaborative] that feeds into the cooling tower."McDonald said that even though many of the improvements made to the air conditioning are technological, students can make a significant impact on air-conditioning costs too."We rely on students because while we can give you the tools and the infrastructure, how you use it is where the savings come in," McDonald said. "AC makes up approximately one-sixth of room fees, which is about $4,200 per semester."Johnson said students have a financial incentive to reduce their air-conditioning costs and many ways to do so too."While obviously [student] housing bills are not just based on energy usage, part of it is dependent on the price of chilled water, so how you choose to set the AC will affect how you or others at Rice will pay," Johnson said. "Keeping the AC from 74 to 78 [degrees] is a first good step, as well as not turning on the AC and opening up the windows at the same time. If you're going to leave the room for any significant amount of time, just turn it off and lower to shades to prevent it from becoming too hot."Sid Richardson College freshman Daniel Zhang said he would like more specific ways of measuring use of air-conditioning by individual colleges or rooms."It would be cool if our cost to our room was directly correlated with how much we would pay for housing," Zhang said. "But that might be really hard to implement because it would require installing a lot of different meters. Also, upgrading certain features such as insulation by tearing apart buildings costs a lot of money, which for me, leads to the question of how many years [it would] take to pay back the money it took to install the new equipment."Brown College freshman Joel Thompson said he would like more transparent ways of distributing air conditioning costs among students."It's easy to ... cool the room below the 72 [degrees Fahrenheit] limit, and students who do this are likely the biggest wasters of AC money," Thompson said. "I would be more likely to cut down on AC use if the cost savings were factored directly into student housing costs."

NEWS 11/5/13 6:00pm

Appleby discusses peace, religion at Boniuk lecture

By Wesley Chou

The Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance held its first public talk, "Religion and Violent Conflict: Beyond Tolerance, Toward Peacebuilding," Nov. 4  in McMurtry Auditorium. Scott Appleby, the Director of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, spoke about long-term efforts to foster constructive dialogue between religious communities.Appleby, a professor of history, said scholars need to move beyond a passive tolerance, which may produce temporary peace but fails to address deeper causes of conflict, and toward a "hard tolerance" based on respectful skepticism. "There is a soft and wishy-washy sort of tolerance which involves people who believe little and ask you to do the same so you can meet with each other with low risk," Appleby said. "In criticizing soft tolerance, I do not mean to dismiss it because in many ethnic conflicts, achieving any form of tolerance is a victory. But more important is a hard tolerance, which involves a minimal respect for others and the benefit of the doubt that the other person has carefully considered their views and beliefs." Director of the Boniuk Institute Elaine Ecklund said Appleby was chosen to speak due to Notre Dame's strong program in peace studies and his ability to engage with the public."The Kroc Institute at Notre Dame is the best institute in terms of scholarship in peace studies, and [Appleby] is probably the world's leading peace scholar," Ecklund, the chair of the sociology department, said. "When we were trying to find a scholar who is a good speaker, communicates well with a broad audience and has also done cutting-edge work on eradicating religious violence and its conditions, he was our person."

NEWS 10/21/13 7:00pm

Rice announces new student center director

By Wesley Chou

Director of Student Activities Kate Abad will be the director of Rice University's newly merged Student Center and Office of Student Activities, according to Associate Dean of Undergraduates and Director of Multicultural Affairs Catherine Clack.Abad, now the director of Student Center and Student Activities, said she is excited to take on the new position and to continue working with students."It's a great opportunity to explore the synergy between the two offices," Abad said. "I hope students will feel the Student Center is supportive of their activities and efforts."Clack said previous Director of the Student Center Boyd Beckwith, who is now the director of Georgia State University's student center, resigned July 29, prompting the Student Center to post a job listing seeking a new director. Clack said 20 candidates applied during the 30 days the listing remained online.Student Association President Yoonjin Min said she and Graduate Student Association President Michael "Goat" Domeracki were the student representatives for the search committee responsible for recommending a new director, which was chaired by Director of First Year Programs Shelah Crear."[Domeracki] and I were part of the committee that was supposed to consider the qualities we want in a Student Center director, read applications, choose applicants to interview, conduct phone interviews and select applicants for in-person interviews," Min said. "The search was called off due to [a] lack of qualified candidates."Clack said that after the committee ended its search, combining the Student Center and Student Activities was the logical step due to the two offices' similar physical setting."When we decided to merge the [Student Center and Student Activities] together, we realized that [Abad] could take on those responsibilities very quickly and manage it beautifully," Clack said. "Plus, she has a staff that is so good that they're going to be able to bring her up to speed very quickly anyways."According to Clack, both the initial search for a new Student Center director and the decision to promote Abad were made by various administrative officials and included student representation."While the final decision was ultimately made by [Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson], he and I also talked with both the presidents of the SA and GSA as well," Clack said. "We then talked to Crear, who headed the search committee, and [Associate Vice President for Housing and Dining] Mark Ditman. After we got permission from [Hutchinson] to go forward, we ... asked the [Student Center staff] if they had any concerns, just to make sure that everybody was happy. And so far, everyone has been delighted."Clack said Abad already has ample interaction with the student body."Student Activities covers all campuswide clubs, the SA and GSA advising, and leadership," Clack said. "Leadership Rice is Abad's program, as well as Women LEAD and Lunch and Leads."Clack said that while Abad will still contribute to Student Activities, a new job search will be conducted to help smooth Abad's transition into her new position."We're going to hire an associate director of student activities to take on some of the duties that [Abad's] going to have to vacate in taking on directing the Student Center," Clack said. "A timeline is not yet clear, but I imagine that the search for associate director will start sometime in January."The Hoot General Manager Mattie Pena said that despite not having a Student Center director working closely with student-run businesses during the search process, the center still functioned smoothly. "Beckwith's departure was definitely a loss for the Hoot, as his presence has been a part of our business," Pena, a Martel College junior, said. "The Hoot will miss him, but we know he had a great opportunity to use his skills elsewhere. The Hoot is grateful for our advisers [Student Center Assistant Director for Marketing] Erin Willey and [Student Center Assistant Director for Student Businesses] Kerim Davis, who helped make this transition easier for everyone involved."

NEWS 10/21/13 7:00pm

CENHS plan focuses on undergraduate outreach

By Wesley Chou

The Center for Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sciences at Rice University held an information session Oct. 10 in the Ley Student Center Miner Lounge at which fellows and members shared outreach plans and experiences with the center, which focuses on promoting humanities research and teaching related to energy and the environment.According to alumni representative Emily Hughes (Wiess College '13), CENHS Director Dominic Boyer announced CENHS as a new branch of the Energy and Environment Initiative at the 2013 Cultures of Energy Second Annual Spring Research Symposium.  CENHS's Social Analytics Research Cluster Faculty Coordinator Cymene Howe said the humanities play a subtle yet crucial role beside the sciences in understanding environmental issues."Though engineering and understanding the conjunction between energy, the environment and human practices are crucial, [CENHS] believes that these processes need to be understood through a humanistic and social scientific point of view too," Howe, an assistant professor of anthropology, said. "We take a multi-methodological approach to these questions, so we have history, sociology and anthropology faculty involved."According to Howe, undergraduates who take part in CENHS will enter a cutting-edge field with countless internship and research opportunities."Energy humanities is a new field, and it's an exciting and dynamic area in which to be researching with faculty," Howe said. "As undergraduates, you can be part of something that's burgeoning and intellectually exciting."Howe said her study of Mexico's energy policies, conducted with Boyer, a professor of anthropology, exemplifies CENHS reserach."Mexico has one of the most comprehensive and far-reaching climate change legislation in the entire world," Howe said. "The government has mandated that 35 percent of its electricity come from renewable energy by 2024. As anthropologists, we're studying what happens on the ground to communities, what reactions they have and what policymakers have to say."CENHS Cultures of Energy postdoctoral fellow Matthew Schneider-Mayerson said he will teach the course Culture, Energy and Environment: An Introduction to Energy Humanities, which is being offered for the first time in the spring 2014 semester. "We'll look at issues such as how fossil fuels and democracies are related, contemporary energy regimes and the mix of fuels we use to power our lives, and the threat of resource depletion and anthropogenic climate change and how we live as if this potentially apocalyptic change isn't happening," Schneider-Mayerson said.Boyer said CENHS is open to undergraduate opinions to improve its programs."You have the opportunity to shape the way the center develops its relationship with the undergraduate body," Boyer said. "Whatever you think would enrich your experience is something we'd like to support, as long as it's connected in some way to energy. Rice is the first university in the world to establish a center like this, but we won't be unique for long since there is so much interest in this field."CENHS undergraduate advisory council member Melissa Teng said taking the spring 2013 semester course HUMA 320: Social Studies of Energy taught by previous CENHS Cultures of Energy postdoctoral fellow Gokce Gunel expanded her views and that interested undergraduates will play a crucial role in further outreach."Taking that class added a whole new dimension when talking about energy," Teng, a Martel College senior, said. "I can talk about the history, culture or other perspectives, which all add a little more to the discussion, and so if you're interested in joining the undergraduate advisory council, you'll definitely be spearheading an effort to reach out to the rest of the student body."More information about CENHS is available at  culturesofenergy.com.

NEWS 9/30/13 7:00pm

Pedagogy course changes STC offerings

By Wesley Chou

Since the spring 2013 semester, Rice University students desiring to teach a student-taught course have been required to take COLL 300: Pedagogy for Student Instructors before they can teach their course, according to professor of biochemistry and cell biology and former Wiess College Master Michael Gustin, who helped found the STC program. 

NEWS 9/16/13 7:00pm

Four professors speak on power of ideas at Scientia

By Wesley Chou

During Scientia's Sept. 10 "The Power of Ideas, Part II" colloquium, four Rice professors, Caleb Kemere, Rachel Kimbro, Daniel Wagner and Neyran Turan, each gave five-minute talks about their research to a full house at McMurtry Auditorium in Duncan Hall.Kemere, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, said forming daily memories requires an incredibly complex neural system."Memory is something really amazing," Kemere said. "When we're awake, we constantly experience the world in exquisite sensory detail. That's a lot of data, maybe hundreds of megabytes per second, and if we're alive for 70 years, that's [more than] a billion seconds."Kemere said his lab used implanted electrodes to selectively silence memory formation in rats, causing them to forget how to navigate mazes. He said his research could eventually lead to improved therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.Kimbro, an associate professor of sociology, said the American health care system's flaws could be likened to people falling into a river."So imagine you're sitting by a stream," Kimbro said. "You suddenly hear and then see someone struggling in the water. So you jump in and rescue them. And just as you get to shore, you hear a second person struggling, so you turn back and rescue them too. As you're pulling them up, you hear a third person struggling. At this point you're thinking, why are all these people in the water, and why is nobody preventing them from falling in?"Kimbro, who is also the director of the Urban Health Program at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research, said this stream metaphor applies to the U.S. health care system in that social determinants have resulted in poorer care for the disadvantaged. Kimbro said comprehensive improvements to education, communities and preventive measures are needed to move health care beyond treating advanced conditions.Wagner, an associate professor of biochemistry and cell biology, said a major difficulty in developmental biology has been forming an embryo-development model that reflects the process's constant change."Throughout [developmental biology's] history, until very recently, it had a major problem in that we never knew what was going on," Wagner said. "Careful observation of an embryo at successive time points reveals dramatic changes that transform a single cell to an adult."To illustrate zebrafish development, eight members of Wagner's lab performed a dance which used a pool noodle to represent a neural tube and colored plates as cell layers. The unorthodox presentation drew laughter as Wagner described each stage in development.Turan, an assistant professor of architecture, said that besides architecture's purely physical aspects, she was interested in what she calls superform, the relationship between scale and form in urbanism."Yes, we as architects design buildings, but as part of our training, we must have the capacity to understand the world," Turan said. "At one moment, we design details and materials, and at another, we can be tricked by how a city building meets the ground."Turan said her study of superform deals with this holistic design by considering entire city landscapes. She said that while these projects are huge, changes in scale interest her more than magnitude itself. Scientia Director Susan McIntosh said Scientia was founded by faculty in 1981 to host public lectures and has held such events as a workshop on the emergency response to Hurricane Ike and a symposium on the Australopithecus afarensis "Lucy."McMurtry College senior Farid Abu-Shamat said he thought the presentations were a good outlet for professors to informally present ideas."The format of the short lectures provided a challenge for the experts to condense and simplify their research to promote a basic understanding among the eager audience," Abu-Shamat said. "Though the depth of the information provided by the lecturers was limited, you could sense their enthusiasm arising from the potential effects of their work."

NEWS 9/11/13 7:00pm

Energy and Environment Initiative selects leader

By Wesley Chou

Former Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy at the United States Department of Energy Charles McConnell has been chosen by Rice University to lead its Energy and Environment Initiative, an organization focused on developing sustainable energy technologies.McConnell said he and E2I will expand current partnerships with Houston corporations and create new ones."A lot of research funding in the past has been based on government funding and government grants," McConnell said. "The National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health and, of course, the Department of Energy still provide many grants. But in light of current factors, such as the desire to balance the government's budget and the tightness of fiscal constraints, such government funding will not be the same growth vehicle as before."McConnell said E2I's activities will reach beyond on-campus activities and into both citywide and global scales."We want to extend this to local communities," McConnell said. "They should be involved with companies since they are the ones most directly affected, whether the technology involved is fracking or carbon sequestration. One step beyond that is extending that globally because many foreign companies come to Houston to learn about our new technologies."McConnell said transformative technologies which combine more efficient fossil-fuel technologies with economically sound renewable energy sources must be developed. "While the definition of sustainability is definitely rooted in environmental motives," McConnell said. "There is also the [long-time] competitive advantage that it brings to industry."University Provost George McLendon said he was pleased by McConnell's entry into E2I."We are delighted to have a person of [McConnell's] stature and experience to help lead E2I," McLendon, a professor of chemistry, said.Director of Rice's Center for Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sciences Dominic Boyer said McConnell has the ability to unite disparate groups on campus, in business and in government."The great thing about being able to hire someone like [McConnell] is that you have a terrific combination of industry and government," Boyer, a professor of anthropology, said. "He's very open, listens well and is obviously a very good leader in that he's able to work with many different people and take their interests toward common goals. So not only is he the right profile and background, he has the right personality."According to E2I Executive Committee Chair Pedro Alvarez, E2I's goals range from funding to outreach."E2I will provide seed funding for faculty clusters to develop new areas of research related to energy and the environment [and will] coordinate a number of existing campus efforts in energy and environment research," Alvarez, who is also the George R. Brown Professor of Engineering and the chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said. "[It will also] host workshops and conferences in timely topics relevant to the future of energy both in Houston and globally and provide for the community a window into the rich scholarship found at Rice in energy and the environment." Boyer said representing the undergraduate body in E2I is essential."The first step to have is to have something like a town hall meeting, which is what we're in the process of developing," Boyer said. "This year, in order to answer how we can best serve the Rice student body, we will create an undergraduate advisory council. We're trying to figure out how they want to engage and to get their feedback first before we finalize our strategy."Sid Richardson College junior John Zhang said he thought McConnell was well-qualified and appreciated E2I's attempt to involve undergraduates."With depleting natural resources and such high prices of oil, and as Rice University's second centennial initiatives continue and expand, it is a great idea to have someone like McConnell," Zhang said. "He seems like someone who can see energy's impact on the environment in the private and public sector. With his contributions to E2I initiatives, not only will he have a great research university to further his findings, but also a large student body that is supportive and proactive."Rice Environmental Club President Skye Kelty said she hopes E2I focuses on research that can help American energy."I think it's important that they do things that can be done in America," Kelty, a McMurtry College senior, said. "The consequences of shifting energy out of America is concerning, so I think they should do something that's feasible on American soil and on our infrastructure."

NEWS 9/5/13 7:00pm

Helene Gayle to speak at graduation

By Wesley Chou

Dr. Helene D. Gayle, president and CEO of the Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere USA, one of the largest aid organizations in the world, will speak May 17 at Rice's 101st Commencement."I was thrilled to accept President [David] Leebron's invitation to speak at the 2014 commencement," Gayle said to Rice News and Media. "I'm honored to play a part in sending another class of Owls out into the world and [to] be a part of their special day."According to committee member John King, five undergraduate students and one graduate student formed the Commencement Speaker Committee that selected Gayle, while Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Robert Griffin and Senior Assistant to the University President David Vassar advised the group. The committee submitted and ranked possible speakers until they came to agreement on Gayle, member Catherine Yuh said."Some of the qualities and characteristics we were looking for in our class speaker were a commitment to serving the broader good, a wide and far-reaching impact and, finally, a dose of star power," Yuh, a Brown College senior, said.Griffin said Gayle duly met those requirements."I think [Gayle] is an incredible role model for our graduates," Griffin said. "Her commitment to service and her experience in the medical field should appeal to many of our students, and I am positive that her address will be inspirational, memorable and enjoyable."Since 2006, Gayle has served as president and CEO of CARE USA. CARE's 2012 Annual Report said that the organization's combined 997 international programs aided 83 million people in 84 countries last year. According to CARE USA's website, its programs include emergency relief during disasters, education and water sanitation.According to an interview Gayle had with Womenetics magazine, Gayle said that while CARE USA had always played a significant role in global aid, her leadership has emphasized the empowerment of women in poverty through campaigns which aim to reduce maternal mortality, improve education and expose women to microfinance.According to her CARE USA biography, Gayle earned her bachelor of arts in psychology at Barnard College, her medical doctor degree at the University of Pennsylvania, and her master of public health at John Hopkins University. She worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 20 years and then directed programs at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation which combated HIV/AIDS, other STDs and tuberculosis, according to her Bloomberg Businessweek biography. Gayle has been listed on Forbes magazine's "100 Most Powerful Women" for three years in a row and was most recently credited by the magazine for aiding over 750,000 people during the severe food crisis in the West African Sahel region last year."She is a world-class leader on issues that Rice students care about, in places where Rice students have served," committee member Andrew Amis, a Martel College senior, said.Yuh said she believes Gayle will resonate with the student body."I think [Gayle] embodies what we strive to be at Rice," Yuh said. "As we expand our reach beyond the hedges, we'll have to think more critically about what's happening beyond our borders." According to committee member Shaan Patel, Gayle will provide valuable lessons for seniors to cherish. "As this group of seniors begin to chart their futures, it is important for them, as well as all members of the Rice community, to keep her message of philanthropy in their minds and hearts," Patel, a McMurtry College senior, said.

Editor's Picks

Most Popular

The Rice Thresher