Editor's note: On this summer holiday week, we’re revisiting a conversation with Ramanan Krishnamoorti, the vice president of energy and innovation at the University of Houston, that originally ran in May of 2023.

Last week, the University of Houston announced a new partnership with the Houston Angel Network to activate more investors with deep connections to school.

The new partnership will be based in UH's Tech Bridge, a near-campus hub that aims to support tech commercialization, industrial partnerships, and startup development.

“Investors play a vital role in the startup ecosystem and this initiative gives our alumni a rapid path to becoming angels. Our vision is to activate more investors with deep connections to UH who support world-class innovation in our community and beyond,” says Ramanan Krishnamoorti, the university’s vice president for energy and innovation, in a news release.

Last year, Krishnamoorti joined the Houston Innovators Podcast to share an overview of the university's commitment to implementing initiatives that serve Houston's innovation community, including announcing plans to develop a new central campus hub for innovation.

"What we really need at the university today is to bring innovation — which tech transfer is a piece of — and connect that to real-world challenges to deliver what the world needs, which is talented folks delivering new innovative, entrepreneurial, or intrapreneurial programs," Krishnamoorti says the episode.

For Krishnamoorti, so much of what is happening on campus is directly in line with what's happening city wide in Houston. There's a need to encourage more innovation and entrepreneurship, he says, and Houston already has what it takes to do it.

"As a city, we're known to solve problems," he says on the show. "We don't talk about things here, we get stuff done. That's been the calling card for the city."

Listen to the re-published episode of the conversation below and tune in next week for a new episode of the podcast.