Report of the President, 1995-1996

36 Pages·1996·1.9 MB·English

by  Rice University

R U
I c e II L V e r J L t y
19 9 6 Report of the President
About the Co
On December 10, 1996, the Royal
Swedish Academy of Sciences
awarded Rice University professors
ofchemistryRichardE. Smalley (left),
and Robert F. Curl, Jr., the 1996
Nobel Prize in Chemistryfor their
discovery of Carbon 60, or buck-
minsterfullerene. Rice University's
fundamental principle that ground-
breaking research and excellence in
teaching are inextricably united
endeavors isperfectly exemplified by
thesetwoscientists.Bothdistinguished
scientists teachfreshman chemistry
andutilize undergraduates as wellas
graduate students in their research,
even as they continue to open neu
scientificfrontiers. Professor Cu,
and Professor Smalley have spi
their entire teaching careers
Rice. In addition. Bob Curl i.
member of the Rice class of 191
and he andJonel Curl have sen
N0BEL
as masters ofLovett College.
eat
F P
r o in t h? e r e J L d
JLthasbecomemypracticetoutilizetheseannualreportsasonemeansoffamiliarizingour
alumniandfriendswiththeworkingsoftheuniversityastheyrelatetoteaching,scholarship,
andstudentlife.ThisyearIcallyourattentiontosomequitenotablecharacteristicsofour
outstandingfaculty.
Ihaveaskedseventeenprofessorsfrom awiderangeofdisciplinestoportrayforyou
theirresearch.Thisseemsmostfittinginanacademicyearinwhichtwoofourfacultyhave
beenawardedtheNobelPrizeinChemistryforresearchdoneexclusivelyontheRicecam-
pus.
Ordinarilythereisnothingespeciallynoteworthyaboutuniversitypresidentsextolling
faculty research. But there is something truly distinctive about this group of Rice faculty
members,relativetomostoftheirpeersatcomparableinstitutionsofhigherlearning:while
allseventeenprofessorshavecompiledadistinguishedrecordin
research, allseventeen havealso been recognizedasoutstanding teachers. Everyoneof
them has, within thepastfiveyears, receivedourmostprizedawardsforexcellence in
teaching.
Theachievementsofthesededicatedandenergeticeducatorsareverymuchinkeeping
withthemissionEdgarOdellLovettenvisionedattheopeningoftheuniversityin 1912.Then
and later. President Lovett stressed the essential unity of excellent teaching and excellent scholarship. He proposed an
institutiondevoted"quiteasmuchtoinvestigation asto instruction,"where "theprivileges ofresearch" areinextricably
linkedto"thepleasuresofteaching."Atthecloseofthetwentiethcentury,manyinstitutionshavelostsightofthislinkage;
we,however,continuetoholdtothesinrpletruthsowellenunciatedbyLovett: "Thebestpersontoleadthelearnerfrom
theunknowntotheknownisthepersonwhoiscontinuallyleadinghimselffromtheunknowntotheknown."
Nowhere is ourcommitment to the unitybetween teachingandresearchbetterexemplifiedthan in ourtwo 1996
Nobellaureates.Bothrecipients.ProfessorRichardSmalleyandProfessorRobertCurl,arecontinuingtoteachfirst-year
chemistrythisveryspring.
Therearemanyfascinatingaspectsoftheresearchofthescholar-teacherspresentedinthisreport.Oneisespecially
worth noting: of the seventeen faculty members featured herein, sLx* havejoint research programs in areas related to
biomedicine. These sLx Rice faculty members collaborate with faculty at BaylorCollege ofMedicine, the Universityof
TexasMedicalSchool,andotherinstitutionsofthesprawlingTexasMedicalCenterjustacrossMainStreetfromtheRice
campus.
Pleaseturnnowtowhatourmostoutstandingteachershavetosayabouttheirpastandpresentresearchinitiatives.
MalcolmGillis
President,RiceUniversity
*TheSLXprofessorswithcollaborativeresearchprogramsattheTexasMedical
CenterareJohnBennett,MarcoCiufolini,StevenCox,EugeniaGeorges,
DonJohnson,andJohnOlson.
1W
Job
A
II B. II d r J o II
X.heAntarcticIceSheetcontainsenoughfrozenwatertoraisetheglobalsealevelapproxi-
matelytwohundredfeetifcompletelymelted.Thereisnoconcernthatthiswillhappenin
theneargeologicalfuture,butthereareportionsoftheWestAntarcticIceSheetthatexhibit
signsofinstability,andsomeprominentglaciologistshaveproposed
thatdeteriorationofunstableportionsoftheicesheetcould
occurwithinaperiodofcenturies. Onetheors'forthisinsta-
bilityholdsthat,withtime,theicesheetexertssuchgreatstress
ontheseaflooronwhichitrests(generallymorethanathou-
sand feet belowsealevel) that the bedbegins to deform and
flow, thusallowingtheicesheettoslideacrossthebedathigh
velocities.Alikelyresultofthisaccelerationisathinnericesheet
thatcouldactuallybegintofloatandultimatelycoUapse. Some
modelspredictthattheoverallriseinglobalsealevelthatwould
resultfromsuchacollapsewouldbeontheorderofafewmeters,
enoughtosubmergemanycoastalcities.
Theultimateanswertowhethertheicesheetiscapableof
rapidretreatrestsinthegeologicalrecordofpasticesheetbeha\"-
ior.Thereisindependentgeologicalrecordthatsealevelhasrisen
fastenoughinthepastse\'eralthousandyearstodrownbarrieris-
lands andwetlandsofthe Gulf Coast. Myresearch has taken m)-
studentsandmetotheAntarcticonnumerousexpeditions,where\ve
acquiregeophysicalimagesoftheseafloorandsubseafloorinsearch
ofevidenceforpastinstability'intheicesheet.Ourresearchhasalso
Professor of Geology been carried out on the Gulf ofMexico coastand continental shelf, wherewe search for
and Geophysics evidence of rapid changes in sea le\'el and attempt to assess the impact of these flooding
eventsonpastbaysandcoasts.Wehaveourownseventy-footresearchvessel,theR/\'Lone
Star,whichalsoservesasaseagoingclassroomforstudentstoacquiremarinegeologicaland
geophysicaldata.Ourfindingsincludeevidenceforrapidincreasesintherateofsealevelrise
GraDuate Student duringthepasttwelvethousandyears,changesthatha\'edramaticallyalteredcoastalemiron-
Association mentsandmayevenha\'eimpactedearlyhuman
Teaching Award, occupantsoftheGulfCoast.Asforthecauseof
1996 thesesealevelchanges,wefindfeaturesontheAnt-
arctic continental shelf that are thought to be
formedatthebaseofanunstableicesheet.
OurresearchintheGulfofMexicohasbeen
fundedbyavarietyofagenciesandtheoilindus-
try; our research inAntarctica isfunded bythe National Science Foundation. One of my
Ph.D.students,StephanieShipp,andIhaveaseparategrantfromNSFtodexelopajunior
highschoolcurricukunthatusestheAntarcticasafocalpointtoinspireyoungpeople'sinter-
estinscienceandtodemonstratethataninterdisciplinaryapproachisneededtosoK-eglobal
environmentalproblems.
o^^f^'?^^
Q
Bennett
/ K.
II
i.maintaintwounrelatedresearcliprograms:aprimaryfocusinhigh-performanceparallel
computingandasecondaryinterestinthesafetyandefficacyoflatexsurgicalgloves.
High-performanceparallelcomputingoffersthepotentialtosolveverylargeandcom-
plexproblems.Theseincludethetraditional "grandchallenge"ap-
plications,suchasglobalweatherprediction,analysisandmapping
ofthehumangenome,oilreser\-oirsimulation,andhypersonicair-
craftdesign,aswellasmundanebutimportantday-to-daycomput-
ingtasks. Intheabsenceofparallelcomputing,theseproblemsare
limitedtothenatureandsizeofproblemthatcanfitasinglemachine's Associate Professor
memoryandprocessingresources. ofElectrical and
Unfortunately; thede\elopmentofparallelprogramsthatachievesubstantialperfor- Computer
manceimpro\ementso\ertheirsequentialcounterpartsisoftenquitedifficult.Manyfactors, Engineering,
mostofwhichareunknowntotheprogrammer,canhaveasubstantialnegativeimpactonthe Associate of W'iess
overallperformanceofparallelprograms.TheapproachmystudentsandItakeistohavethe College, and Master
runtimesystemmonitortheperformanceandbehavioroftheapplicationprogramwhileitis ofSid Richardson
runningandtousethisinformationtoimprovesubsequentexecutionoftheprogram. College
The "adapti\e runtime support" dynamically changes the behavior of the program
duringexecutionbaseduponperformance-relatedobservationsmadeduringboth thecur-
rentandpreviousexecutions. Prefetching, changesin thewaydataismoved, migration of
computationalthreadsbetweenprocessingnodes,andinitialdataplacementareexamplesof George R. Brown
thekindofperformance-tuningmechanismsthatcanbeaddedtoabasicruntimesystem.My Awardfor Innovative
studentsandIhavedevelopedaprototypesoftwaresystemforx86machinesrunningWin- Teaching in
dows NT that incorporates adapti\'e runtime performance-tuning mechanisms. The work Engineering, 1995
alsohasanindustrialpartner.
Theprincipal objecti\'es ofmygloveworkare todeveloptech-
niques for impro\ing the barrier effectiveness and reducing the
allergenicityofnaturalrubberlatex(NRL)glovesandtotransferthese
techniquestoindustrialproductsandpractices.Thisworkhasrele\'ance
tobothclinicalpracticeandlatexproductmanufacturing. Increasing
healthconcernsinthelastdecadeha\eresultedinadrainaticincrease
intheuseofNRLsurgicalandexaminationglovesandhaveele\'ated
theimportanceoftheseglovesasreliablebiologicalbarriers.Ihavefound
thatNRLglovesexhibitunusualdynamicelectricalpropertiesthatcan
beexploitedtoreliablymonitorglovebarriereffectivenessbyelectrical
means,evenwhiletheglovesarebeingwornduringsurgery.Ihavede-
\'eloped an electronic device, worn by health-care providers, that in-
forms them when theirgloves are no longeran effective barrier. My
devicehasreceivedtwopatents,hasbeenapprovedforusebytheFDA,
andiscurrentlybeingtakentomarketbyaHouston-basedtechnology
transfercompany.
/ II B. B o
l\s,anundergraduateatRiceintheearly1960s,Inoticedadisjuncture
betweenthesouthernliistoryIreadaboutandtheSouthIhadexperi-
encedgrowingupinEastTexas. The SouthIknewwassuffusedwith
—
rehgion,but,inmyU.S.historybooks,religion withthesoleexception
—
oftheScopesTrial in Tennessee seemedtohave existedonlyinthe
Allyn and Gladys North.ThenItookananthropologycourseandreadaboutanoutbreakofrehgiousfer\-or
Cline Professor of thathadoccurredinKentuckyabout 1800:Atthisevent,theresupposedlyoccurredreligious
History and exercisessobizarreandforeignfromtheexperienceofmodern-day^Americansthattheywere
Associate of Will deemedworthyofacourseonprimitivereligion.Iwasintriguedbythisepisodeinthehistory
Rice College oftheSouthandwonderediftherewasaconnectionbetweenitandtheBibleBeltSouththat
Ihadgrownupin.ResoKingthatquestionbecamemydoctoraldissertationattheUniversity
ofVirginiaandmyfirstiDook,TheGreatRevival,1787-1805:TheOriginsoftheSouthernEvangeli-
calMind, publishedin 1972. Thatworkledtootherbookson southern religion, including
Graduate Student AfricanAmericanreligion,whichledtoahistoryofslaveryintheAmericanSouth.These
Association Teaching twointerests,raceandreligion,andtheirinfluenceonsouthernhistoryhaveremainedcentral
Award, 1994 tomyscholarshipandteachinge\ersince,andIbelievethatthereisnounderstandingofthe
Southwithoutcloseconsiderationofboth.Fi\-eof
mydoctoralstudentsatRiceha\'ewTittendisserta-
tionsdealingwithdifferentaspectsofthesetopics.
Myeditingof theJournalofSouthernHistory
forthepastthirteenyearshasbroadenedmyread-
ingandinterests.Inparticular,Ihavebecomein-
terestedintheroleofeducationintheSouth.Cer-
tainlyinthetAventiedi-centurySouth,impro\ements
in education have played alarge role in the eco-
nomic and social transformation of the region.
Morespecifically,Iaminterestedindiehistory'of
RiceitselfandthecareerofEdgarOdellLo\-ett.
Thedecadesoneithersideof1900wereextremely
liiiitfulonesforeducationalreformandthecreation
ofnewuniversities.JohnsHopkinsUni\ersir\'had
alreadypioneeredtheroleofthegraduateuni\er-
siry,theHarvardcurriculumhadrecentiybeendior-
oughlyrevised and its graduate schools strength-
ened,StanfordandtheUniversits'ofChicago\\'ere
establishedin1891,thesamevearthattheRiceIn-
stitutewaschartered,andPrincetonunderwentsignificantreformduringtheleadership(1902-
1910)ofWoodrow^Wilson.Iintendtowriteafull-scaleintellectualbiographyofPresident
Lovett,puttinghiseducationalideasandacademicleadershipatRiceinthecontextofthis
importanterainAmericanhighereducation.IwiUbeonleaveduringdie1997-98academic
yearresearchingPresidentLovett'slife,andIhopethatanyonewhohasletters,reminiscences,
orinformationofanykindabouthimwillsharethatknowledgewithme.
4
M
a r c o A. C L LL f O I L II L
IVJLyresearchinsyntheticorganicchemistryfocusesonthedevelopmentofnewcliemical
reactionsandstrategiesandontheirapplicationtoefficienttotalsynthesesofsubstancesof
biomedicalinterest.Thesecompoundsmaydisplayactivityagainsttumors,bacteriaresistant
toknownantibiotics,andviruses,aswellasdisplayimmunomodulatoryproperties,butthey
arenotprovendrugs.Rather,theyaretopcandidatesforfurtherpharmacologicalevaluation.
Atthesametime,theyarerareorotherwiseima\'ailable,andtotalsynthesisis
theonlypracticalwaytosecure
asupplyforbiologicaltests.
My laboratory's efforts
have produced reliable syn-
theticroutestoProsopisalka-
loids, modulators of calciimi
transportwithpotentialinthe
treatment of certain neuro-
logical conditions; various antitumor agents (pyridoacridine and
phenanthroizidinealkaloids,lavendamycin,phyllanthocin);andantibacte-
rial andantiviral compounds (carbacephems, azasaccharides). Ourcur-
renteffortsfocusonthesynthesisofhighlypotentantitumorsubstances,
oncomple.N;peptideswith anti-AIDS activity, and on the refinement of
se\eralnovelreactionsthatweha\edexelopedtofacilitatetheassembly
ofcomplexmolecules.
An especiallysignificant accomplishment is our recent develop-
mentofthebesttotalsynthesisyetavailableforanexceptionallypromis-
ingantitumoragent:camptothecin.Thissubstance,foundinnatureina
treethatgrowsonlyinC'hina,isextremelyrareandsellsforasmuchas
fourteentimesthepriceofpuregold.Consequently,thereisenormous
interest in a practical synthesis of the compound, and, indeed. Rice
Universityispatentingourprocessincollaborationwithanindustrial
laboratory.
Myworkmaybedescribedasbelongingtotherealmof"het-
erocyclicchemistry,"anareaofscienceofspecialinterestinmedicinal
andagriculturalchemistryandinanticorrosiontechnologyCurrentlyIdirectagroupoften
collaborators(oneundergraduate,eightgraduate,andonepostdoctoral)withsupportfrom Associate Professor
grantsfromtheNationalInstitutesofHealth,theNationalScienceFoundation,andtheRob- ofChemistry
ertA.WelchFoundation.
Amoco Teaching
Aivard, 1996, 1995
S t II J. c o X
Xworkinanareaofappliedmathematicsknownroughlyasthedesignandidentificationof
heterogeneousmedia.
Thedesignquestionaskshowonemaybestdistributedistinctmaterialsthroughouta
bodyinsuchawaythatitperformsinanoptimalfashion.Forexample,previousresearchhas
enabledmetomixagivenquantityofconductive(expensive)materialwithagivenquantity'
ofresistive(cheap)materialinsuchawaythattheresultingcomposite
isasconductiveaspossible.Animportantvariantofthedesignprob-
lemaskshowonemaysculptagivenquantitv'ofonematerialintoan
optimalshape.Thoughmypersonalphysiqueisfarfromoptimal,I
havenonethelessconfirmedtheshapeofthestrongestcolumn.Iam
Associate Professor presentlyconductingresearchinto theshape ofthe tallestcolumn,
ofComputational theoptimalplacetoclampaplate,andthebestdistributionofdissi-
and Applied pative material in the quest to build efficient energy absorbers. To
31atheniatics date, Iha\'ewrestledonlywiththeanalyticalandnumericalaspects
oftheseproblemsandhavenotyetseenmyideasthroughtofabrica-
tion.Iplanonremedyingthisdeficiencythroughongoingcollabora-
tionwithengineersatExxonandOwens-Corning.
Amoco Teaching The identificationquestion askshowonemaydetermine the compositionofabody
Award, 1996 fromnondestructiveprobing.InongoingworkwithpeopleattheBaylorCollegeofMedicine.
I am constructing amodel that infers the distribution of stiffnesswithin the intactcanine
diaphragmfromopticalmeasurementsofitsmotionun-
deraprescribedpressure.Inotherongoingwork,Iha\'e
identified the phenomena that dissipate energv-in a\i-
bratingstring. Inthiswork,Ihaveconductedthe math-
ematicalanalysis,derivedfromitanumericalalgorithm,
andtestedthisonexperimentaldatagatheredinm\labo-
ratory. Fromamathematicalstandpoint, thisstringprob-
lemisverysimilartotheproblemofdeterminingtheresis-
tix'ityalongthelengthofaner\'eaxon.Infuture\\'ork,Iwill
beconcentratingonidentificationissuesinmusclemechan-
icsandneurophysiology-withaneyetowardputtingnewtools
inthehandsofworkingphysicians.
y
E G
Li g e II L a o r g
M.
Luchofmypre\iousresearchhasimoKedtransnationalmigrationfromtheDominican
RepubHctotheUnitedStatesanditsconsequencesforlocalculture,economicdevelopment,
socialandpoliticalorganization,genderrolesandrelations,andhealth.TheDominicanend
ofthismigrationcircuitwasdescribedinmybook, TheMakingofa TransnationalCommunity
(ColumbiaUniversityPress, 1990).Subsequentresearchfocusedonthepoliticalintegration
ofDominicansinNewYork,wheretheycomprisethelargest
populationofnewimmigrants.
SincecomingtoRicein 1988,1havealsobeeninvolved
inanumberofmultidisciplinaryprojectswithscholarsatthe
Uni\'ersityofTexasHealthScienceCenter(UTHSC).Aspart
ofajointMexicanandU.S.teamcomprisingepidemiologists,
physicians,andbiomedicalresearchersfromUT,theUniver-
sity'ofCampeche, andtheNationalAutonomousUniversity
ofMexico,IstudiedanarrayofhealthissuesamongtheMaya
ofYucatan, includingchangingpatternsofobesity,bodyfat
distribution,anddiabetesinvillagesundergoingrapideconomic
change. This research has resulted in several multiauthored
papersandpublicationsinbothEnglishandSpanish.Another
interdisciplinaryprojectwith UTHSC has analyzed roles of
ethnicityandsocialfactorsinthepatterningofbodyfatamong
U.S. HispanicsusingthelargedatabaseoftheNationalHis-
panicHealthandNutritionExaminationSurvey.Thisresearch
has producedsex'eral articles that challenge comentional genetic explanations ofbody fat Associate Professor
patterningbydemonstratingarelationshipwithsocialclassandspecificbeha\-iors. ofAnthropolog
Mymostrecentresearchhasaddressedthecross-culturallyvariablemeaningandinter-
pretationsassociatedwiththenewreproductivetechnologies.Thisprojectwasinspiredbymy
ownexperienceswiththenewtechnologies,bythedevelopmentofacourse("TheLifeCycle
inBioculturalPerspective")IteachatRicethataddressesarangeofissuesrelatedtorepro- George R. Brown
duction,andbythestimulatingdiscussionsthattookplaceintheRiceDepartmentofAn- Awardfor Superior
thropologyaroundtheemergentfieldofculturalstudiesofscienceandtechnology.Iselected Teaching, 199^
Greeceasthesiteofmynewresearchbecausealmostnoresearchhadexaminedthesetech-
nologiesoutsideoftheU.S.andEnglandandbecausepreliminaryfieldworkre\'ealedexcep-
tionallyintensiveusethere.Sincebeginningthisworkin1990,theproject
hasgrownintoabroaderstudyofthepoliticsofreproductioninwhich
issuesof medicine and technology'arenecessarilyenmeshed. Among
othertopics,thisresearchexploresculturalunderstandingsoffertility;
ethnicity,nationalism,personhood,genderrolesandrelations,andthe
''**'^ construction ofprofessional expertise and authority. Duringmysab-
baticalleave thisyear,Ihavebegunwritingabookbasedonthisfieldwork. Overthe next
threetofouryears,Iplantoconductfurtherresearchontherelationshipbetweenthevarious
discoursesconcerningreproductionandtheintensifyingnationalismcharacterizingcontem-
poraryGreece.
—
n
D
a i' L d L. I k e II b e r r y
At
teachspring'scommencement, newgraduatesandfaculty-ceremoniouslypassthrough
theSallyportofLovettHall.Abovetheheadsofthoseperformingthisritearetwoinscrip-
tionscannedintoeithersideoftheSallyport.Theinscriptionontheleftreads:IJ weproperly
observecelestialphenomenawemaydemonstratethelawswhichregulatethem.This
phrasehasalwaysfascinatedme,fortheoperativewordisobserve.Asa
financialeconomist,thegoalofmyresearchistoextendourknowledge
oftheworldbywatchingitworkusingcarefulempiricalanalysis.
Iexaminedatathatcommentsonissuesincorporatefinance
questionsthatacorporation'sofficersordirectorsmightface.Mywork
isperhapsbestknownforitsapproachtotheseproblems,foritoften
challengesafundamentaltenetoftraditionaleconomictheory,oneper-
hapsbestparaphrasedas"thepriceisright."Financialeconomistshave
heldsteadfasttothenotionthatpricesobsen'edinthe\vorld"smarkets,
particularlyits competitive stockmarkets, reflect all information and
arefairtobothbuyersandsellers. Inmanysettings,particularlycases
wheresmallsegmentsoftimeareexamined,thepricedoesseemright.
Yetmyresearchhasfocusedonlongerperiodsoftime.Here,the
observationsareatoddswithclassiceconomicpresumptions.Mywork
hasexaminedse\'eralissuesrangingfromcorporateprox\'fightstothe
decisionofacompanytorepurchasestock.Mostrecendy.Iha\estud-
iedstocksplits, aratherinnocuouseventthathasbeenponderedfor
decades.Eachoftheseeventsrevealsinformationastheyareannounced.
Thegeneralobservationemergingfromthesestudiesisthatthemarket
doesnotappeartoimmediatelyreacttoinformation.Inshort,perhaps
thepriceisnotquiterightaswehavesupposedfordecades.
To myprofession, these conclusions are challengingatanaca-
—
Associate Professor demiclevel wewillstriveforyearstobetterunderstandwhytheyarise.Onecluemayliein
—
ofAdministrative recognizingthatmarketpricesreflecttheexpectationsofpeople ex-
Science and pectationsthatmaybefallibleinratherconsistentways.Regardlessof
Associate ofJones howthisdebateeventuallyresoh-es,myworkhaspragmaticimpacton
College a host of issues rangingfrom howcorporations should approach fi-
nancingdecisionstohowinstitutionsshouldim'estpensionorendow-
mentassets.
Finance as anacademicprofession isstrikinglyyoung, and, as
Jesse H. Jones such,we expectgreatstridesinourunderstandingoffinancialmar-
rpcn marki
Graduate School of kets.Asaresearcher,myworkcontributestothisgrowth.Asateacher,
ADministratio myphilosophyhasbeennotonlytointroducemystudentstothebuild- '•eDiirclias\
Award for Excellence ingblocksofourknowledgebuttoassuretheyappreciatethatthisknowledgeisnotstatic.
in Teaching, 1996 Perhapsthisnotionisbestcapturedb^"thephrasecar\-edtotherightoftheSalhport:Love,
beauty,joyandworshipareforeverbuilding,unbuildingandrebuildingineachman'ssoul.
Constructioncontinues.