Editor's note:Another week has come and gone, and it's time to round up the top headlines from the past few days. Trending Houston tech and startup news on InnovationMap included innovators to know, Trailblazer Award recipient announced, the region is praised for its coworking spots, and more.
4 Houston innovators to know this week
This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Tatiana Fofanova of Koda Health, Rafael Verduzco of Rice University, and Sujata “Su” Bajaj and Dakisha Allen of Yuvo Health. Photos courtesy
In last week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to four local innovators across industries — from digital health to research — recently making headlines in Houston innovation. Continue reading.
New surfing lagoon paradise to bring ocean-perfect waves to Houston
Surf's up soon for Houstonians thanks to this new innovative development. Rendering courtesy of Beach Street Development
Thanks to its relative proximity to the coast, Houston has always enjoyed an underground surf culture (be it shortboarding, longboarding, or even tanker surfing). Now, those who walk the nose and shred can at a new, world-class surf destination coming to Generation Park in north Houston.
HTX Surf will ride into Generation Park in fall of 2024, per an announcement by creators Beach Street Development, the company pushes the barefoot life with its man-made surfing lagoons.
Why the north Houston locale, versus closer to Galveston? Beach Street notes in press materials that the lagoon park is a mere 10 minutes from Bush Intercontinental Airport, making for easy access for visitors from all over. Continue reading.
2022 Trailblazer Award recipient named for Houston Innovation Awards
Blair Garrou will be recognized as the 2022 Trailblazer Award recipient at the Houston Innovation Awards Gala on November 9. Photo courtesy
In less than a month, InnovationMap and Houston Exponential will honor dozens of movers and shakers within the Houston innovation community at the 2022 Houston Innovation Awards — and the first award recipient has officially been named.
Blair Garrou, managing director and founder of Houston-based venture capital firm Mercury, has been named the 2022 Trailblazer Award honoree. This award was established to honor a Houston innovation leader and advocate who's making a lasting impact on the Houston innovation community.
"I am very honored to be nominated and named the Trailblazer Award recipient. As many of us who contribute to Houston’s innovation community know, it’s a decades-long commitment," Garrou says. Continue reading.
Houston researchers create unprecedented solar energy technology that improves on efficiency
Two researchers out of the University of Houston have ideated a way to efficiently harvest carbon-free energy 24 hours a day. Photo via Getty Images
Two Houstonians have developed a new system of harvesting solar energy more efficiently.
Bo Zhao, the Kalsi Assistant Professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Houston, along with his doctoral student Sina Jafari Ghalekohneh, have created a technology that theoretically allows solar energy to be harvested to the thermodynamic limit, which is the absolute maximum rate sunlight can be converted into electricity, as reported in a September article for Physical Review Applied.
Traditional solar thermophotovoltaics (STPVs), or the engines used to extract electrical power from thermal radiation, run at an efficiency limit of 85.4 percent, according to a statement from UH. Zhao and Ghalekohneh's system was able to reach a rate of 93.3 percent, also known as the Landsberg Limit. Continue reading.
Report: Houston, Texas rank as top locations for coworking space
Both the city and state appear on a new report on best places for coworking. Photo via Getty Images
Attention all Houston-based remote workers, small business owners, and startups — if you're looking for flexible office space, you're in the right place.
Both the city and state have landed on CoworkingCafe's list of the best places for coworking in the country. With 652 reported coworking spots, Texas ranks as the No. 2 state — behind California 1,188 coworking spots and ahead of Florida's 629 and New York's 589 offices.
Houston ranks as eighth best metro for coworking with 208 coworking facilities. The Dallas-Fort Worth area ranked a few spots ahead of the Bayou City, coming in at No. 5 with 261 coworking spots. Austin also makes the top 2 with a reported 97 coworking spots, earning the No. 19 spot. Continue reading.