Afleveringen
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With climate, the present is connected to both the past and the future. Historical data from paleoclimatology holds insights that can inform our understanding of future risks, and using AI in climate modeling may be the key to linking the two.
Sylvia Dee is an assistant professor and climate scientist at Rice University specializing in climate change and the past, present, and future of Earth’s hydrological cycle. Sylvia’s research focuses on how Earth’s modes of natural variability, like El Niño and La Niña events, compound with climate change to alter the characteristics of weather and climate extremes, such as flooding hazard on the Mississippi River. Her lab evaluates climate model data to understand future risks to human and natural systems.
David dives into Sylvia's background, her research on paleoclimatology, and the application of historical climate data to predict future climate scenarios. They also discuss the sources of carbon emissions, and extreme weather events like hurricanes and floods, and is a good discussion of the science behind the issues presented in an extremely accessible way.
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Episode Guide:
01:31 Understanding Paleoclimatology03:58 Historical Climate Changes and Human Impact08:33 Climate Modeling and Predictions12:43 The Role of AI in Climate Science15:16 Impact of Carbon Emissions19:02 Extreme Weather Events and Research Focus22:09 Addressing Climate Change: Policy and Practice24:39 Rapid Fire Questions and ConclusionBeyond The Hedges is a production of Rice University and is produced by University FM.
Episode Quotes:How Did Sylvia become interested in paleoclimate?
02:39: The reason I got really interested in studying paleoclimate is that right now, of course, we're changing the Earth's system so fast through human activities. And one of the ways we can deduce just how fast is by looking back into the past. And we can establish a baseline for what Earth does on its own, naturally, and compare that to the rate at which Earth's climate is changing now. So one of the major reasons we study paleoclimate is to contextualize current rates of climate and environmental change. And then there's a second reason to study paleoclimate, and that's that our climate models are, basically, built upon our observations from the 20th and the 21st centuries. And oftentimes, we're faced with the problem of the fact that data is pretty short compared to Earth's climate history. We only have about 100 or 150 years of data to validate our climate model physics against. And so looking into the past helps us create a new test for our climate model physics.
On using the past to predict our climate future
20:29: I have to say that undergraduates here at Rice have driven a lot of these research directions because I've let them lead and what they're excited about working on. So they'll learn about heat waves. They'll be here doing research in the summer, living through more and more hundred-degree days. And they want to work on it. They want to do research on that topic. And for us, since we're working with climate model data, it's nice to have a Ferrari at your fingertips. We can look at so many different types of problems, and the students can really sink their teeth into problems that they're interested in. [21:20] But I think the major difference between what I do and what other climate scientists do is that I do bring in this lens of the past. So trying to use the past to inform our future.
100 corporations drive 70% of emissions—not individuals
22:32: Approximately 100 corporations account for over 70 percent of emissions globally, and so there's been this effort, I think, within our society to shift the burden of blame onto the individual—oh, turn your heat down, recycle, etc., etc. But really, it's 100 corporations that account for 70 percent of emissions. So, for this to get better, we have to not only adapt to the changes, but we have to reduce carbon emissions. And that has to come from either the private sector doing that on its own or from government regulation. You see this working really well in places like the EU. They are certainly restricting the amount of carbon that different companies can emit, and they're putting caps on each country's emissions, for example, and that has caused technological innovation.
Show Links:Rice Natural Sciences | Earth, Environmental and Planetary SciencesRice AlumniAssociation of Rice Alumni | FacebookRice Alumni (@ricealumni) | X (Twitter)Association of Rice Alumni (@ricealumni) | Instagram Host Profiles:David Mansouri | LinkedInDavid Mansouri ’07 | Alumni | Rice UniversityDavid Mansouri (@davemansouri) | XDavid Mansouri | TNScoreGuest Profiles:Faculty Profile at RiceGoogle Scholar PageSylviaDeeClimate.orgLinkedIn ProfileSocial Profile on X -
How does a young boy from Lima, Peru grow up to become a world-renowned conductor? What is the role of the conductor in the music their orchestra is performing? What new goals do the Shepherd School of Music have for the 2025-2026 school year?
Miguel Harth-Bedoya is an Emmy-winning and Grammy-nominated conductor, and also the Mary Franks Thompson Professor of Orchestral Studies at Baylor University and overseer of the Shepherd School’s preeminent orchestral programs in the 2025-26 season.
Miguel and host David Mansouri discuss Miguel's journey to finding a love for music and he explains some about his philosophy on conducting. They talk about Miguel's educational initiatives, his thoughts on the future of classical music - the surprising reason why he wouldn’t use that word himself, and his commitment to community engagement, working with kids, and broadening the audience for orchestral music. Harth-Bedoya also discusses conducting Peter and the Wolf featuring John Lithgow in both English and Spanish, his upcoming role at Rice and his plans to enrich and expand the school's musical outreach.
Let us know you’re listening by filling out this form. We will be sending listeners Beyond the Hedges Swag every month.
Episode Guide:
01:21 Miguel Harth-Bedoya’s Early Life and Musical Beginnings03:18 First Steps into Conducting07:34 The Role of a Conductor14:27 Working With People Instead of Instruments16:08 Joining the Shepherd School of Music20:06 Community Engagement and Future Plans23:27 Creating More Opportunities for Young People27:43 Caminos del Inka and Musical Legacy35:04 Rapid Fire Questions and ConclusionBeyond The Hedges is a production of the Office of Alumni Relations at Rice University and is produced by University FM.
Show Links:Shepherd School of Music at RiceRice AlumniAssociation of Rice Alumni | FacebookRice Alumni (@ricealumni) | X (Twitter)Association of Rice Alumni (@ricealumni) | Instagram Host Profiles:David Mansouri | LinkedInDavid Mansouri ’07 | Alumni | Rice UniversityDavid Mansouri (@davemansouri) | XDavid Mansouri | TNScoreGuest Profiles:Faculty Profile at BaylorMiguelHarth-Bedoya.comInstagramEpisode Quotes:Conductors works with people, not just with instrument
14:23: [David] How do you build a relationship with, or chemistry with, the musicians that you're conducting? What does that look like? Are there things that work particularly well, or things that don't work as well, in building that chemistry or relationship?
14:39: [Miguel] Well, you've hit another big, important aspect of what we do, is we work with people. And conductors need to remember that we are working with people, not with instruments. These are human beings, and each of them have their own lives, their own emotions, their own feelings, their own knowledge, their own background. And we all are sharing the same piece of music. Now, unfortunately, or fortunately, we are the individuals that have to bring units. And sometimes you have to agree to disagree or have others understand that maybe you did it this way, but I think it's this way. So understanding people's willingness and desire to sound good is number one.
On building connections beyond music
26:22: I love being very active in connecting with non-musicians. As a matter of fact, what I bring to Rice, or what I will be doing at Rice, is what I've been doing officially since I joined academia, which is: I teach musicians, I teach artists, music teachers, and I teach music lovers. We, as musicians, have to know people in every aspect if we want to think about doing what we're talking about. You cannot have a plan about engaging people in what we do and not be part of it. So, in other words, you have to get your hands dirty. If you want to plant the soil, you cannot just correct from above and let others.
How Miguel is opening doors to music and life beyond performance
34:26: In the current times that we live in, the 21st century, and with the technologies that we have available to connect throughout the world, I think creating the doorway—it's both literally a door to get into a building but also a virtual door to expose, first of all, what a musician is and what life as a musician is as well. And because we see somebody performing surgery, it doesn't mean we know the life of a surgeon. In creating more of that, in promoting that, that gateway is there early on, rather than waiting until you're out of high school before you dare to come to my building. And the one way I do this, personally, is by keeping in touch with the younger crowd.
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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How is the Rice Architecture department preparing its students for the difficult challenges of today and the unknown urban challenges of the future? What is a megalopolitan city and how should design choices shift when dealing with multiple city centers? How can architects affect car use in cities?
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This episode was recorded live at Rice University's Alumni Weekend, and features host David Mansouri conversing with Troy Schaum. Troy is an associate professor in architecture at Rice and principal architect at SCHAUM Architects.
Troy and host David Mansouri discuss architectural philosophy, Troy’s journey into the field, and his work on significant projects such as the White Oak Music Hall. Troy provides insights into the concept of post-megalopolitan cities and how it shapes his research and design work. Additionally, the episode highlights how climate change influences current architectural practices and how that is reflected in the evolving nature of Rice's architecture program.
Troy then takes questions from the live audience.
Episode Guide:
01:44 Troy's Journey Into Architecture05:16 Exploring the Concept of Post-Megalopolitan City10:59 Buildings That Catch Troy’s Eye14:34 Impact of Climate Change on Architecture19:29 Teaching the Next Generation of Architects at Rice28:05 Rapid Fire Questions30:06 Audience Q&A Session39:06 Closing RemarksBeyond The Hedges is a production of the Office of Alumni Relations at Rice University and is produced by University FM.
Show Links:Rice ArchitectureRice AlumniAssociation of Rice Alumni | FacebookRice Alumni (@ricealumni) | X (Twitter)Association of Rice Alumni (@ricealumni) | Instagram Host Profiles:David Mansouri | LinkedInDavid Mansouri ’07 | Alumni | Rice UniversityDavid Mansouri (@davemansouri) | XDavid Mansouri | TNScoreGuest Profiles:Faculty Profile at RiceSCHAUMarchitects.comLinkedInInstagramEpisode Quotes:How can we make Houston's diversity visible beyond outdated city models?
09:56: Houston people come here and they say, “Well, where can I go and walk around and just see what's going on?” And you can't do that in Houston in the same way you could in a lot of cities. And so, that's what I mean by representational problem. How do you make the city that does exist, that we know is this diverse, lively, engaged place? How do we make it visible so we can actually act on it in intelligent ways and not just try to replicate historical models that don't necessarily apply?
How Houston became a model for post-war car-centric urbanism
06:49: Houston is one of the paradigmatic cities, one of the paradigms of urbanism when it comes to thinking about the post-war city and how we organize our lives that essentially means around the car.
How totalization shapes architects at Rice
24:27: Graduate undergraduates would work together, and they would solve complex problems in very highly speculative but also highly technically resolved ways. And it was amazing; we won many awards for this and got a lot of attention for it. And maybe there's a book that compiled and published about this with our collaborators that looks at this, and that's kind of magic alchemy of architecture—the way in which all of these different decisions that seem to be playing out moment to moment and all the contingencies or decisions you make come together to form a kind of complete work. And each time, it's a little bit different, but you have to make students that aren't afraid of that, or make it so students feel comfortable engaging in that space of not knowing, knowing who they can ask, knowing how to formulate a question, knowing how to do their project when they're confronted with contingency that they haven't fully appreciated far along in the project.
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How is the Rice Bioengineering Capstone Design course integral in the development of students in the bioengineering department and across all engineering disciplines? How do Rice students benefit from being at an institution that prioritizes premier teaching and research?
Dr. Sabia Zehra Abidi is an assistant teaching professor in bioengineering at Rice with expertise in stem cell research, microfluidics, and disease treatment. Dr. Abidi shares her journey through the field, from research to teaching, driven by her fascination with cellular communication and tissue engineering.
Sabia and host David Mansouri discuss how Rice is engaging students in bioengineering. Sabia also shares her involvement with students in various innovative programs, including through the Medical Humanities Research Institute.
David asks Sabia about her insights on the intersection of bioengineering and artificial intelligence, highlighting the potential and also the challenges of AI in healthcare. Additionally, she shares insights into her mentorship roles, advising on medical device projects, and the unique aspects of undergraduate education at Rice University.Let us know you’re listening by filling out this form. We will be randomly selecting listeners to receive Beyond the Hedges Swag every month.
Episode Guide:
03:36 Current Focus and Excitement in Bioengineering05:26 Intersection of Bioengineering and AI07:50 Teaching and Student Innovation12:09 Capstone Design and Student Achievements20:49 Transition from Research to Teaching23:37 Rapid Fire Questions and ConclusionBeyond The Hedges is a production of the Office of Alumni Relations at Rice University and is produced by University FM.
Show Links:Rice Department of BioengineeringRice AlumniAssociation of Rice Alumni | FacebookRice Alumni (@ricealumni) | X (Twitter)Association of Rice Alumni (@ricealumni) | Instagram Host Profiles:David Mansouri | LinkedInDavid Mansouri ’07 | Alumni | Rice UniversityDavid Mansouri (@davemansouri) | XDavid Mansouri | TNScoreGuest Profiles:Faculty Profile at RiceLinkedInTwitter/XResearchGate ProfileEpisode Quotes:Bringing medical humanities into bioengineering to solve human-centered problems
08:30: I think the power of medical humanities is approaching problems from a perspective that we're not necessarily trained in. As bioengineers, we look at things in terms of, I don't know, here's the biology side, here's the engineering approach, here are the equations. And with medical humanities, you're really thinking about the experience; you're thinking about these people, where they're coming from, really getting into that human-centered design aspect. And so, that's the power of combining with medical humanities, for example, with this grant that we have together, where students, these bioengineers, actually go into hospitals, and they're looking for areas for innovation. And they're trained to look at these spaces in a certain way, but with technology tools from medical humanities. They can really dig into problems and understand, "Okay, what are the human-related issues here? And are we solving the right problem?"
What makes the bioengineering program at Rice special?
16:25: Rice's undergraduate bioengineering program is very special in that there are many opportunities for students to interact with the material in different ways, both in-depth and breadth.
Teaching as a path to profound impact and lifelong learning
23:09: In terms of teaching, I feel like you have the ability to impact people in a way that is profound. Like sometimes it's just a small conversation here and there. And then you can also create these programs, right? So these amazing programs that are training students do great.
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As AI grows and becomes more accessible, it's changing our lives in many ways—including the workforce. Our guest today is an expert in organization and workforce development who will tell us how AI is shaping the hiring process.
Fred Oswald is a Professor at Rice and the Herbert S. Autrey Chair in Social Sciences. His Organization & Workforce Laboratory (OWL) at Rice focuses on selection and job performance models in organizational, educational, and military contexts, as predicted by individual differences (such as personality and ability) as well as group differences (workgroup characteristics, gender, race/ethnicity, and culture).
In our first episode of Season 3, Fred joins host David Mansouri. They delve into Fred’s journey to Rice, his research on testing and job performance models, and the work being done in his lab at Rice.
The conversation highlights the ethical and practical applications of AI in organizational and educational settings, exploring how AI tools can shape hiring practices and support teaching and learning.
Let us know you listened to the episode and leave questions for future guests by completing this short form.Episode Guide:
00:46 Fred Oswald's Journey to Rice University02:27 Research at the Organization and Workforce Laboratory (OWL)03:29 Student Research Projects in OWL07:16 AI Applications in Organizational Decision-Making13:56 Ethics and Challenges of AI in Employment23:29 AI in Education: Opportunities and Concerns28:02 Skills-Based Hiring and the Future of Work34:46 Rapid Fire Questions and ConclusionBeyond The Hedges is a production of Rice University and is produced by University FM.
Show Links: National AI Advisory Committee - AI.govBoard on Human-Systems Integration | National AcademiesCo-Intelligence by Ethan MollickRice AlumniAssociation of Rice Alumni | FacebookRice Alumni (@ricealumni) | X (Twitter)Association of Rice Alumni (@ricealumni) | Instagram SallyportalHost Profiles:David Mansouri | LinkedInDavid Mansouri ’07 | Alumni | Rice UniversityDavid Mansouri (@davemansouri) | XDavid Mansouri | TNScoreGuest Profiles:Organization & Workforce Laboratory (OWL)Twitter/XLinkedInAbout FredDepartment of Psychological Sciences at RiceIndustrial/Organizational Psychology at RiceEpisode Quotes:Is AI turning users into critics?
21:17: I've noticed in my own experimentation—no surprise, because I think there's a common experience, you know, with generative AI. With the language models, you often become a critic in ways that you, of course, criticize or advise your own work, but when a GPT is producing language, say, summarize this paper for me or something like that, you shift into the role of a critic and say, is this good enough? However, you define that good enough for you, good enough for your audience, your stakeholders, you know, both in terms of the thematic, the substance—what is there? Does it seem right? But also, critically, what is missing? What didn't show up? And really working with that, I think, changes kind of your approach to how you do some of that work.
Using AI to empower the talents we have
27:47: You do have to build the fundamentals to understand what AI is doing, so in that sense, we can't use AI as a crutch. We have to use it as a way to empower the talents we already have and are building ourselves.
Examining bias and AI's influence in decision-making
08:59: How does bias work when we talk about AI as biased? Well, what does that mean in terms of the data and the decisions that are made from those data? This work gets embedded in these organizations. So, I'm not only concerned with the development of tests, but I'm concerned about the context in which they're being used.
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The fall semester is in full swing, and we are thrilled to announce the return of Beyond The Hedges! It’s been a while, so let’s get reacquainted. Our new host is David Mansouri, Rice alum and president of the Association of Rice Alumni board. This season, we’ll be spotlighting incredible members of the Rice community who are making a lasting impact on our university, Houston, and the world.
Join us starting October 9th, and every 2nd Wednesday of the month. While you wait, catch up on previous episodes available now, and follow us wherever you get your podcasts—you won’t want to miss these conversations!
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“Hate is not something you can be indifferent about and just find middle ground. You have to denounce it whenever you find it,” says Luis Duno-Gottberg. In this episode, the Professor of Caribbean and Film Studies discusses his experience teaching one of the Humanities Department’s “Big Question Courses.” The question he and his students contend with is “what is hate?” Duno-Gottberg’s cross-discipline approach to the course and this conversation leaves a lot the think about both within ourselves and in our global community. His research on how subverting images of hate can be incredibly impactful hits home within the hedges, as he discusses the decision to move the statue of William Marsh Rice instead of removing it from the quad entirely.
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How do unconscious, embedded stereotypes shape our behavior towards each other? And how do these behaviors subtlety affect a person’s self-confidence? Eden King, Lynette S. Autrey Professor of Psychology, does research that seeks to guide the equitable and effective management of diverse organizations. Listen in as she discusses her eye-opening findings on women in the workplace, parenting during lockdown and how to be an ally to your colleagues.
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“Am I disabled because of my impairment or am I disabled because of attitudes in society?” This thought-provoking question is posed by this episode’s guest, the Director of the Disability Resource Center here at Rice University, Alan Russell. Whether visible or invisible, disabilities affect so many different people, but they are still stigmatized by society. Russell discusses barrier free accessibility, making sure to practice compassion instead of pity, and the importance of intersectional work that includes disability within the movement for diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice.
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Every Friday at noon during the fall and spring semesters, you can find Byrd and McDaniel leading a live webinar on Zoom for the Rice community, examining and discussing old documents and photographs from Rice’s past. Through a series of weekly webinars called Doc Talks, the history professors illuminate important research from historians and students with regards to racism and racial injustice. The webinars are then turned into podcast episodes and feature an added analysis by Beyond the Hedges host Kate Coley ’11. It’s just one way the university’s Task Force is working to encourage honest discussion around Rice’s history. Get to know these revolutionary Rice leaders in a more intimate setting on the Beyond the Hedges podcast as Byrd and McDaniel give listeners a behind-the-scenes look into their journeys at Rice, the process for creating and making Doc Talks, interesting findings thus far and more. Stay tuned until the end to hear from undergraduate student researcher, Indya Porter, talk about what she’s been working on for the Task Force.
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In the final episode of our three part series with Stephen Klineberg, we grapple with how to make Houston successful in the 21st century given the deep class divides, inaccessibility to quality education, and exploitation of immigrant workers. Steve says “the story of America is the story of immigrants, and we need to get back to that… I tell people all the time that if Houston’s African American and Latino young people are unprepared to succeed, it is impossible to envision a prosperous future for Houston. That is who we are and will be as the 21st century unfolds.” Houston has work to do, but Steve, along with his 40 years of survey data, is hopeful that the city is up to the task. Also stick around to the end for a new segment where Kate features a new Rice student each month to talk to them about a Rice-related passion project. This month's featured student is undergraduate McMurtry senior Alex Curylo.
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In the first episode of this three-part series, Stephen Klineberg discusses the research found in his book “Prophetic City: Houston on the Cusp of a Changing America,” covering the early days of Houston up until the oil bust in 1982. Klineberg is a professor emeritus of sociology at Rice and the founding director of the Kinder Institute for Urban Research. His surveys of Houston over the last 40 years have captured the city’s transformation, and why Houston, as he puts it, “is where, for better or worse, the future of our nation is going to be worked out.”
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With the huge political divide in the United States, fears around how to vote safely during a pandemic and the recent passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the upcoming presidential election is unlike anything we’ve seen before. What will it take for Americans to feel safe while voting in the wake of COVID-19? What are the concerns around mail-in voting, and are they valid? In this episode, Robert Stein, the fellow in urban politics at Rice’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Lena Grohlman Fox Professor of Political Science, discusses his research on voting in a pandemic, mail-in voting and what it truly means to exercise your right to vote.
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When people say they don’t see color when it comes to race, is this actually a dangerous social lie that means people don’t have to be held accountable? Colorblindness is “premised upon problematic thinking that has framed race relations in the United States… [and is] based upon the assumption difference is a problem to solve, but in wiping out difference we allow whiteness to remain normative,” says Anthony B. Pinn, the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities, professor of religion and director of the Center for African and African American Studies. In this episode, Professor Pinn discusses the fallacy of colorblindness as an anti-racist solution, the sustainable changes hip hop has created for the Black community, and what the global Rice community can do to fight racial injustice.
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The killing of George Floyd has caused global protests around racial injustice and white supremacy. How does the stress of racial trauma play out in the lives of people in Black and Brown communities? What can we do as a global Rice community to fight racial injustice? Join guest host Vanity Hill, assistant director of alumni regional outreach, as she explores these topics with Tony Brown, sociology professor, race and racism scholar and director of the Racism and Racial Experiences Workgroup.
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COVID-19 is constantly on our minds and on our screens. How has the history of contagion media shaped the way we respond to and think about pandemics like this? How do we handle the shifting paradigm of health communications in a digital age? In this episode, Kirsten Ostherr, director of Rice’s Medical Humanities Program and Medical Futures Lab, discusses representation, social media, marginalized communities and the dangers of misinformation around the global crisis.
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How can ants teach us to be more efficient? Most of us think of ants as a picnic pest on the hunt for food, but ants are actually members of societies that function as complexly as ours with divisions of labor and specialties. They grow their own food on a mass scale, develop pesticides and prepare in case of food scarcity, all without ever experiencing a traffic jam. In this episode, Rice Associate Teaching Professor and Evolutionary Biologist Scott Solomon will discuss his research into what makes ant colonies such a successful model for efficiency.
