A Houston-area company has created an easy-to-use health-check app for employees returning to work. Pexels

A Woodlands-based health services company recently announced a new app that can serve as a self-service pre-screening tool for COVID-19 to be used by employees to return to their workplace.

Axiom Medical created the CheckIn2Work app to make the transition into the workplace after the coronavirus crisis safer and easier, making it simple for businesses and offices to reopen after stay-at-home orders shut down workplaces during the height of the pandemic.

"Given the current challenges we have all experienced with COVID-19, we recognize the workplace will be forever changed," says Axiom Medical President and CEO Mark Robinson. "Our CheckIn2Work app simply adds another layer to protecting the health of team members, customers, and vendors from the risk of infectious disease in the workplace."

The app includes features such as a 24/7 self-service illness screening with the latest screening criteria approved by Chief Medical Officer Scott Cherry. The app also includes immediate access to U.S.-based Clearance Center for exposure/illness alerts, real-time reporting, and ongoing best practices to reduce the spread of the virus in the work environment.

When an app user is flagged as exposed to the virus, Axiom Medical's Rapid Response Contagious Respiratory Illness Assessment Clearance Center professionals can conduct secondary screening procedures via a phone call to confirm cases and eliminate false positives.

The app has 50,000 users already from Axiom's new and existing clients who have signed on to the platform. Some of their partners include BJ Services, Tyson Foods, ISS Facility Services, and Fort Bend Kia, Robinson says it creates safe and healthy facilities for both employees and customers.

"It enables our clients to be appropriately responsive to trying to screen out the infection in their workplace," says Robinson, "It also gives employees confidence that returning to work and exposing themselves to their coworkers is safe while providing customers who have contact with the employees with the confidence who they will be interacting with has been screened and cleared."

For the health services company, keeping employees safe has been the heart of their mission since it was founded more than two decades ago. Axiom Medical markets itself as an employer's outsourced "in house" medical department, managing a complete array of occupational health services such as scheduling exams, verifying results for accuracy, and maintaining records.

"Our focus is on the health of the worker in the workplace," says Robinson. "Both our traditional services and our new service all focus on keeping people as healthy as possible, returning them to work as quickly as possible after an injury or illness keeps them out of the workplace, and making sure they are tested for a variety of risks."

CheckIn2Work is now available on iOS and Android mobile devices including a web portal where employees can check in before work every day to check for symptoms of COVID-19. The app is adaptable with language settings in English and Spanish and allows for customizable questions to fit an organization's needs.

"I hope we can continue to take this seriously and take good precautions," says Robinson. "This is a really horrible disease, it isn't just about the people who die as a result, it's also about those who are permanently disabled because of it. Those weeks in a hospital are mirrored by more weeks in recovery before they can even think about working again."

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Tech giant Apple doubles down on Houston with new production facility

coming soon

Tech giant Apple announced that it will double the size of its Houston manufacturing footprint as it brings production of its Mac mini to the U.S. for the first time.

The company plans to begin production of its compact desktop computer at a new factory at Apple’s Houston manufacturing site later this year. The move is expected to create thousands of jobs in the Houston area, according to Apple.

Last year, the Cupertino, California-based company announced it would open a 250,000-square-foot factory to produce servers for its data centers in the Houston area. The facility was originally slated to open in 2026, but Apple reports it began production ahead of schedule in 2025.

The addition of the Mac mini operations at the site will bring the footprint to about 500,000 square feet, the Houston Chronicle reports. The New York Times previously reported that Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn would be involved in the Houston factory.

Apple also announced plans to open a 20,000-square-foot Advanced Manufacturing Center in Houston later this year. The project is currently under construction and will "provide hands-on training in advanced manufacturing techniques to students, supplier employees, and American businesses of all sizes," according to the announcement. Apple opened a similar Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit last year.

Apple doubles down on Houston with new production facility, training center Photo courtesy Apple.

“Apple is deeply committed to the future of American manufacturing, and we’re proud to significantly expand our footprint in Houston with the production of Mac mini starting later this year,” Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said in the news release. “We began shipping advanced AI servers from Houston ahead of schedule, and we’re excited to accelerate that work even further.”

Apple's Houston expansion is part of a $600 billion commitment the company made to the U.S. in 2025.

Houston energy trailblazer Fervo taps into hottest reservoir to date

Heating Up

Things are heating up at Houston-based geothermal power company Fervo Energy.

Fervo recently drilled its hottest well so far at a new geothermal site in western Utah. Fewer than 11 days of drilling more than 11,000 feet deep at Project Blanford showed temperatures above 555 degrees Fahrenheit, which exceeds requirements for commercial viability. Fervo used proprietary AI-driven analytics for the test.

Hotter geothermal reservoirs produce more energy and improve what’s known as energy conversion efficiency, which is the ratio of useful energy output to total energy input.

“Fervo’s exploration strategy has always been underpinned by the seamless integration of cutting-edge data acquisition and advanced analytics,” Jack Norbeck, Fervo’s co-founder and chief technology officer, said in a news release. “This latest ultra-high temperature discovery highlights our team’s ability to detect and develop EGS sweet spots using AI-enhanced geophysical techniques.”

Fervo says an independent review confirms the site’s multigigawatt potential.

The company has increasingly tapped into hotter and hotter geothermal reservoirs, going from 365 degrees at Project Red to 400 degrees at Cape Station and now more than 555 degrees at Blanford.

The new site expands Fervo’s geologic footprint. The Blanford reservoir consists of sedimentary formations such as sandstones, claystones and carbonates, which can be drilled more easily and cost-effectively than more commonly targeted granite formations.

Fervo ranks among the top-funded startups in the Houston area. Since its founding in 2017, the company has raised about $1.5 billion. In January, Fervo filed for an IPO that would value the company at $2 billion to $3 billion, according to

Axios Pro.

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This article originally appeared on EnergyCapitalHTX.com.

11 Houston researchers named to Rice innovation cohort

top of class

The Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (Lilie) has named 11 students and researchers with breakthrough ideas to its 2026 Rice Innovation Fellows cohort.

The program, first launched in 2022, aims to support Rice Ph.D. students and postdocs in turning their research into real-world ventures. Participants receive $10,000 in translational research funding, co-working space and personalized mentorship.

The eleven 2026 Innovation Fellows are:

Ehsan Aalaei, Bioengineering, Ph.D. 2027

Professor Michael King Laboratory

Aalaei is developing new therapies to prevent the spread of cancer.

Matt Lee, Bioengineering, Ph.D. 2027

Professor Caleb Bashor Laboratory

Lee’s work uses AI to design the genetic instructions for more effective therapies.

Thomas Howlett, Bioengineering, Postdoctoral 2028

Professor Kelsey Swingle Laboratory

Howlett is developing a self-administered, nonhormonal treatment for heavy menstrual bleeding.

Jonathan Montes, Bioengineering, Ph.D. 2025

Professor Jessica Butts Laboratory

Montes and his team are developing a fast-acting, long-lasting nasal spray to relieve chronic and acute anxiety.

Siliang Li, BioSciences, Postdoctoral 2025

Professor Caroline Ajo-Franklin Laboratory

Li is developing noninvasive devices that can quickly monitor gut health signals.

Gina Pizzo, Statistics, Lecturer

Pizzo’s research uses data modeling to forecast crop performance and soil health.

Alex Sadamune, Bioengineering, Ph.D. 2027

Professor Chong Xie Laboratory

Sadamune is working to scale the production of high-precision neural implants.

Jaeho Shin, Chemistry, Postdoctoral 2027

Professor James M. Tour Laboratory

Shin is developing next-generation semiconductor and memory technologies to advance computing and AI.

Will Schmid, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Postdoctoral 2025

Professor Alessandro Alabastri Laboratory

Schmid is developing scalable technologies to recover critical minerals from high-salinity resources.

Khadija Zanna, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Ph.D. 2026

Professor Akane Sano Laboratory

Zanna is building machine learning tools to help companies deploy advanced AI in compliance with complex global regulations.

Ava Zoba, Materials Science and Nano Engineering, Ph.D. 2029

Professor Christina Tringides Laboratory

Zoba is designing implantable devices to improve the monitoring of brain function following tumor-removal surgery.

According to Rice, its Innovation Fellows have gone on to raise over $30 million and join top programs, including The Activate Fellowship, Chain Reaction Innovations Fellowship, the Texas Medical Center’s Cancer Therapeutics Accelerator and the Rice Biotech Launch Pad. Past participants include ventures like Helix Earth Technologies and HEXASpec.

“These fellows aren’t just advancing science — they’re building the future of industry here at Rice,” Kyle Judah, Lilie’s executive director, said in a news release. “Alongside their faculty members, they’re stepping into the uncertainty of turning research into real-world solutions. That commitment is rare, and it’s exactly why Lilie and Rice are proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them and nurture their ambition to take on civilization-scale problems that truly matter.”