The First Cleanweb Hackathon in Texas

Last weekend marked the culmination of a special project I’ve been working on for many months: bringing the Cleanweb Hackathon to Houston! Cleanweb is a global movement of people developing IT-based “clean” technologies instead of the traditional “cleantech” like solar and wind which require massive investments and decades to commercialize. The purpose of a cleanweb hackathonContinue reading “The First Cleanweb Hackathon in Texas”

Why I Donate to Rice Part 2

18 months ago I responded to a Thresher op-ed that advocated for withholding donations. Now I find myself doing the same. The original Thresher article is here. My initial response was as follows: “As humans we fear change and we always long for our alma mater to remain the [often idealized] snapshot of our ownContinue reading “Why I Donate to Rice Part 2”

Rice Centennial Celebration in Istanbul, Turkey

Katie and I spent last weekend in Istanbul, Turkey as part of the Rice Centennial Celebration there. When Edgar Odell Lovett, Rice’s first president, traveled the world collecting ideas for the institution he was about to launch, Istanbul was an important stop on his journey. Therefore, as one of many celebrations Rice has organized thisContinue reading “Rice Centennial Celebration in Istanbul, Turkey”

School Pride

These last two weeks have been full of involvement with my university (Rice) and MBA (IMD) almae matres. After the Finnish wedding (which was itself an IMD connection), Katie and I spent a few days in Lausanne, Switzerland before returning to the US. Being in Switzerland always brings back memories of times at IMD, partiallyContinue reading “School Pride”

The Right Path

Last Friday I had the privilege to attend the dedication event of the new Rice Center for Engineering Leadership. What an exciting new center, dedicated to helping engineering students identify and solve the world’s most pressing problems. How I wish something like this had existed back when I was a Rice engineering student! The eventContinue reading “The Right Path”

Why I Donate To Rice

After reading Falan Mouton’s article laying out her rationale for not donating to Rice (“Rice just a business; donations are purely optional for graduates,” October 8, 2010), I was tempted to write a response pointing out flaws in her logic–e.g. contending that the Rice “product” ceases creating value for its “consumers” the moment they graduate–andContinue reading “Why I Donate To Rice”

Business Schools and Buffett

The last two weeks have been full of “B”s–business schools and Jimmy Buffett! September 16th was the 8th annual Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship Energy and Clean Technology Forum. We won an award at the elevator pitch competition last year and we were excited to be asked back to compete again this year. IContinue reading “Business Schools and Buffett”

The Big Lebowski

I can’t believe that June is almost over already; it has really flown by! It began with (although technically this was the end of May) dogsitting our friend’s awesome chocolate lab. We took her on long walks around the neighborhood and frequent visits to Houston’s many dog parks. Some couples are described as “baby crazy.”Continue reading “The Big Lebowski”

Congrats to the Rice Class of 2010!

This weekend was Rice’s 97th Commencement and, despite the terrible weather, it was a blast. Friday night Katie and I took it easy just walking over to Barnaby’s for dinner. While we were dining, though, the deluge started so we stuck around for awhile and made lists of our favorite actors to pass the time.Continue reading “Congrats to the Rice Class of 2010!”

San Francisco

Katie and I had a wonderful weekend in San Francisco! Friday afternoon we hopped on a Continental flight–no upgrade, but no complaints. Upon checkin at our hotel in SoMa we walked around the city for awhile before meeting some friends for dinner. After just a little walking around it was easy to see why peopleContinue reading “San Francisco”