3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

This week's Houston innovators to know includes Tudor Palaghita of Camppedia, Robert Kester of Honeywell, and Ed Wooten of Smith. Photos courtesy

This week's Houston innovators to know are all using technology — but in completely different ways and across various sectors.

From creating a circular and sustainable economy for your company's technology to an online platform for your child's various activities — and even a socially distant way of checking temperatures — here is this week's who's who of Houston innovation.

Tudor Palaghita, CEO and founder of Camppedia

Tudor Palaghita has advanced his startup, Camppedia, so that parents can have virtual and in-person activities for their kids this summer. Photo courtesy of Camppedia

Like most of the world, Tudor Palaghita's year isn't going as planned. The founder of Camppedia — an online marketplace and tool for parents finding and managing their kids' activities — was hoping this summer was going to be his company's break-out moment and proof of concept. Instead, he's had to act quickly and pivot to focus on community and virtual opportunities.

"If anything, the pandemic forced us to move a lot of things forward," Palaghita says on the recent episode of the Houston Innovators Podcast. "The focus on the community was also something coming earlier than planned, but it was the most wonderful thing to come out of this. It really feels like everybody came together to give and to help each other."

Camppedia's business model is to give local camp and program providers — mostly small businesses, Palaghita says — a place to seamlessly reach parents. Now, these providers need Camppedia's platform more than ever as parents seek options a as they return to work or continue to look for at-home entertainment for their kids. Click here to read more.

Robert Kester, founder of Rebellion Photonics and president and general manager at Honeywell

Robert Kester found a new use for his temperature monitoring tech he created for the oil and gas industry. Photo courtesy of Honeywell

As the pandemic began to spread across the country, Robert Kester saw an opportunity for his technology he built for the oil and gas industry. Kester founded Rebellion Photonics, which Honeywell acquired in December of last year, and the company's ThermoRebellion temperature software uses infrared imaging technology and artificial intelligence to quickly conduct non-invasive screenings of people before they enter offices, banks, airports, as businesses begin to reopen.

"The key component is our software powered by artificial intelligence," Kester tells InnovationMap. "Our imaging systems leverage a decade of experience in the most advanced imaging technologies for gas leak detection, fire detection, and intrusion monitoring applications. The system features uncooled high-resolution FPA infrared sensors allowing for each pixel to be assessed for temperature."

By Kester's and his team's estimates, the ThermoRebllion system will be ready to deploy as early as June. Click here to read more.

Ed Wooten, director of IT asset disposition at Smith

Building a circular economy for electronics requires attention to detail in the areas of design, buyback, or return systems, advanced recycling and recapturing, durability and repair, and urban mining, writes Ed Wooten. Photo courtesy of Smith

For 20 years, Ed Wooten has worked to help clients figure out how to navigate the processes of buyback, recycling, and repair in order to create sustainable and profitable solutions to reduce e-waste.

"The world produces 40 million tons of e-waste annually, and only 20 percent of that is being disposed of properly," Wooten writes in a guest column for InnovationMap. "A circular economy is a system in which all materials and components are kept at their highest value and where e-waste is essentially designed out of the system."

Wooten gives his advice for creating a circular economy. Click here to read more.

Building a circular economy for electronics requires attention to detail in the areas of design, buyback, or return systems, advanced recycling and recapturing, durability and repair, and urban mining. Christina Morillo/Pexels

Houston expert shares tip for developing a circular economy within your company's tech

Guest column

Many organizations are interested in building a circular economy into their business model but aren't sure what steps to take to achieve this goal. I've worked in the technology industry for over 20 years, helping customers across all industries navigate the processes of buyback, recycling, and repair in order to create sustainable and profitable solutions to reduce e-waste.

The world produces 40 million tons of e-waste annually, and only 20 percent of that is being disposed of properly. A circular economy is a system in which all materials and components are kept at their highest value and where e-waste is essentially designed out of the system.

Building a circular economy for electronics requires attention to detail in the areas of design, buyback, or return systems, advanced recycling and recapturing, durability and repair, and urban mining.

Below, I'll discuss some key building blocks for implementing an effective and efficient circular economy.

Invest in technology that will last

Longevity is essential to maintaining sustainable products, and that is easily achievable through repair and refurbishment services. Upgrading or reworking existing equipment can save you time and money by enhancing its marketability or extending its useful life.

Rework service providers can replace components inside servers or PCs and rebuild them with new parts to meet your requirements. These services can boost your operations' speed or improve your servers' or PCs' performance through upgrading, while also saving your organization money by not having to purchase all-new equipment.

Recover value through the secondary market

When equipment must be replaced or retired, many electronic devices can be remarketed, either as whole products or individual parts. This system not only keeps electronics in use and out of landfills — it can also serve as an additional revenue stream for your organization.

Finding the right IT asset disposition partner is crucial for maximizing your return on investment. It can pay dividends to provide high-exposure opportunities to a vast network of customers through a mix of online sales, e-commerce tools, and inside sales when selling your retired equipment.

Utilize advanced recycling and recapturing programs

Retired electronics that are not remarketable can be collected and have their components reintegrated into new products, creating a closed-loop production system. ITAD partners who are certified to recognized green standards, such as R2 or e-Stewards, can ensure that IT equipment that no longer has value will be responsibly recycled.

No matter what industry you're in, a qualified ITAD partner can help optimize your organization and support your goals. From data centers to server rooms and beyond, sustainable solutions are available to manage the equipment you need to retire in compliance with all regulatory guidelines.

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Ed Wooten is Smith's director of ITAD, or IT asset disposition.

Accenture and Plug and Play Tech Center made strategic hires in Houston. Plus, a local expert shares how important electronics recycling is. Courtesy photos

3 Houston innovators to know this week

Who's who

The movers and shakers of the Houston innovation world did a lot of extra moving and shaking last week. This week's Houston innovators to know include two new hires within the ecosystem.

Thomas Rubenak, senior principal at Accenture Ventures

Thomas Rubenak is senior principal of Accenture Ventures. Courtesy of Accenture

Thomas Rubenak has watched Houston's startup scene blossom over his career. Now, as senior principal at Accenture Ventures, he gets to help startups connect with Accenture and its clients.

"It's a win-win-win," Rubenak tells InnovationMap. "The client gets the benefit of having the best of the best and the startups get amazing exposure to companies they might not have been able to get in front of. And, Accenture is happy because it gets to serve the client." Read more about Rubenak and his new gig at Accenture.

Payal Patel, director of corporate relations at Plug and Play

Payal Patel, former director of business development at Station Houston, has joined Plug and Play as director of corporate partnerships. Courtesy of Payal Patel

Plug and Play Tech Center has made its first Houston hire. Payal Patel, who was preciously the director of business development at Station Houston, is now the director of corporate partnerships at Plug and Play.

"As I've gotten to know Plug and Play, what I've been most impressed with is the resources and capabilities they have," Patel says. "They've got great Fortune 500 corporate partners, they work and know the best tech startups all over the world, and they have a strong investment capability. I'm excited that those resources and capabilities are coming to Houston." Read more about the new hire and Plug and Play's plans for Houston.

Ed Wooten, director of ITAD at Smith

Wooten oversees IT asset disposition for Smith. Courtesy of Smith

Ed Wooten is in the business of safe, efficient, and responsible electronics disposal. In a world with cybersecurity threats around every corner, making sure your devices are responsibly disposed of is so important. Wooten wrote a guest article for InnovationMap about some of the lesser-known aspects regarding IT asset disposition.

"I've worked in the technology industry for over 20 years, helping customers across all industries ensure the proper and secure disposal of their equipment," writes Wooten. "I specifically want Houston businesses to be aware of some of the less-obvious facts when it comes to electronics recycling and disposal — and for them to know that trusted, locally based IT asset disposition (ITAD) services are available." Read more of Wooten's piece here.

Here's what you need to know before you toss out your old computers. Walter Zerla/Getty Images

5 things to know before you get rid of your company's old electronics

Guest column

It's important for all companies to take certain factors into consideration before they get rid of their excess electronics. I've worked in the technology industry for over 20 years, helping customers across all industries ensure the proper and secure disposal of their equipment. I specifically want Houston businesses to be aware of some of the less-obvious facts when it comes to electronics recycling and disposal — and for them to know that trusted, locally based IT asset disposition (ITAD) services are available.

The world produces 40 million tons of e-waste annually, and only 20 percent of that is being disposed of properly.

Electronic waste and its environmental effects are a serious global issue. When businesses go through technology refreshes, much of their equipment ends up sitting in landfills; this can be avoided, though. Like other widely used materials, such as glass, paper, and plastic, excess electronics and their parts can be recycled, too.

Law firms, health centers, financial institutions, and many other types of businesses aren't necessarily expected to break down electronics and recycle pieces themselves. All businesses, though, are obligated to work with a trusted IT asset disposition partner when disposing of or replacing electronic equipment to ensure that best practices for removal are followed.

Recycling and disposal experience matter when it comes to ensuring compliance with federal and environmental laws. 

Major countries around the globe, including the United States, have implemented strict recycling laws. Especially in recent years, the federal government has placed a heavy emphasis on proper electronics disposal practices. New tech products and their upgraded versions are released constantly, replacing older equipment with the latest and greatest.

For businesses, technology refreshes are often large-scale, requiring a major equipment overhaul. When mass amounts of products are left to contend with, it's easy (and common) to overlook key details. It is important to note that some environmental laws will vary by state and even by city ordinance.

Companies should partner with an ITAD professional that prioritizes reliability and is certified to a recognized, international recycling standard. e-Stewards certification offers a great example of globally responsible recycling practices that operate in accordance with specific laws. The right ITAD partner can help companies protect their overall brand integrity while staying in compliance with recycling laws.

The only way to ensure that sensitive information is safely eliminated is to wipe or shred drives.   

The rise of data breaches in the U.S. — both small and large — is concerning. Breaches often take place because hardware is handled improperly. Technology refreshes are very common, usually occurring about every two to five years for businesses.

Across office spaces, millions of megabytes of data are stored on employees' equipment. All devices, from PCs to desk phones, house potentially sensitive company information. The drives in computers are usually most at risk for compromising data. Fortunately, data can be safely removed by wiping information off the hardware or shredding it to unrestorable size.

Value can be recovered from excess electronics. 

Depending on the equipment and hardware specifications, some electronics can be remarketed as whole products or sold for their individual parts. Excess electronics are often resold at a small percentage of their original purchase price, though. But, when monetary value can be recovered from parts, companies can invest recouped revenues into new equipment.

The secondary market for excess IT equipment is quite large. Partnering with an ITAD professional that has the right network and connections can help customers achieve maximum return on investment for their equipment.

Local, on-site disposal solutions are conveniently available.  

Proper electronics recycling is easy when you partner with a trusted, experienced IT asset disposition professional. Instead of having product shipped to warehouses, companies can elect for disposal solutions to come to them. Shred trucks can wipe and destroy data off of about a thousand hard drives or SSDs per hour.

Serving as an extension of an ITAD professional's warehouse, shred trucks offer the same quality of services, but are fully mobile. On-site data sanitization services, complete with certificates of wiping and destruction, can be included. A company's IT equipment can be securely removed and documented without ever having to leave its premises.

As a facilities manager, IT supervisor, CTO, or CIO, if you don't already have a technology recycling program in place, you should start assessing your needs. If you do have an IT asset disposition program in place, make sure your partner is thoroughly qualified. The five disposal facts I've listed should serve as a guidepost for industry best practices.

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Ed Wooten is Smith's director of ITAD, or IT asset disposition.

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Elon Musk's SpaceX reports profit as AI and satellite businesses booms

Booming Business

SpaceX reported a bigger quarterly profit than expected on Tuesday, October 20, as its satellite communications and artificial intelligence businesses boomed.

The company, run by Elon Musk, posted a profit for the three months through September 2026 of $4.4 billion, or 35 cents per share, reversing a year-ago loss and easily topping Wall Street's expectations. Revenue soared to $14.6 billion, up 161%.

On a conference call with analysts, Musk suggested a merger with his electric car company Tesla might be in the works, something that has been rumored for months. He said both companies formed “special committees” of independent directors to discuss the issue, though he played down the chances of an imminent deal.

“Some people out there assume that a SpaceX and Tesla merger is a certainty,” he said. “I think that would be overstating it.”

The AI business became SpaceX's largest by revenue in the third quarter, although the Starlink satellite service remains the biggest profit generator.

“They beat across all metrics and the Starlink business looks to be accelerating,” said Dan Ives, an analyst at Yorkville Ives. “This is just what (Wall) Street wanted.”

The stock rose 7.5% in after-hours trading.

Musk also told analysts that for next month's launch of its Starship rocket, SpaceX will attempt to grab both the booster and ship with mechanical arms upon return to base, a key step toward demonstrating it can reuse the massive spacecraft.

“The only way that we can extend consciousness beyond Earth on a sustained basis is with a fully reusable orbital launch vehicle,” Musk said, calling the attempt, if successful, “a massive technology milestone.”

SpaceX hopes to get Starship on a regular launch pattern in preparation for NASA's upcoming lunar missions.

The company already has huge contracts with the federal government, and House Democrats have called for investigations into those contracts and Musk’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency. Musk has spent $276 million since July in support of Republican candidates.

In a filing for its initial public offering in June, SpaceX warned that a change in control of Congress could have a “material and adverse impact on our growth and competitive position.”

Musk recently drew criticism from politicians in Washington after speeds for a military version of SpaceX's satellite communications service were slowed for Ukraine following President Donald Trump's deal to get more diesel oil from Russia amid a push to end the war. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that it was Musk who ordered the slowdown, impeding Ukraine’s use of drones along the front. SpaceX did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment on the Journal story.

Both Trump and Musk have denied responsibility for the slowdown.

As midterm elections near, Musk on Monday promised to give one share of SpaceX to “every kid in America” next year, though he provided no details on how the distribution would be carried out. With communities nationwide protesting the construction of large data centers and concerns about AI safety, AI companies are trying to build goodwill. Anthropic pledged to commit 5% of its shares to a new “public benefit” fund.

SpaceX shares have been under pressure over concerns that the company was spending too much on major projects to compete with rivals such as Anthropic. The company said capital expenditures totaled $19.6 billion last quarter, nearly triple the figure from a year earlier, and it forecast spending would grow to $35 billion to $40 billion in the current quarter.

Shares of SpaceX closed Tuesday at $147.79, down from a peak near $201 after its IPO, which made Musk the world’s first trillionaire at the time. But the share prices for SpaceX and Tesla have since dropped, reducing his net worth to $925 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

Tesla reports third-quarter financial results Wednesday. Last week, Tesla unveiled a new Roadster sports car that in some versions may include thrusters allowing it to briefly fly using SpaceX technology — though experts say anything usable for drivers is a long shot.

These 5 trailblazing Houston startups are leading the energy transition

meet the finalists

Houston is home to a growing number of startups reshaping what it means to be called the "Energy Capital of the World."

As part of the 2026 Houston Innovation Awards, our Energy Transition Business category honors those innovative startups that are providing solutions within renewables, climatetech, clean energy, alternative materials, circular economy and more.

Five clean energy startups have been named finalists for the 2026 award. The finalists, selected by our esteemed panel of judges, range from a lower-emission steel producer to a diagnostics platform developer working to support batteries used in data centers.

Read more about these innovative businesses, their initiatives, and their inspirational founders below. The 2026 winners will be announced on InnovationMap.com in mid-November.

Capwell Services

Methane capture company Capwell Services works to eliminate vented oil and gas emissions economically for operators. According to the company, methane emissions are vented from most oil and gas facilities due to safety protocols, and operators are not able to capture the gas cost-effectively, leading operators to emit more than 14 million metric tons of methane per year in the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 2022, Capwell specializes in low and intermittent flow vents for methane capture.

The company began as a University of Pennsylvania senior design project led by CEO Andrew Lane. It has since participated in programs with Greentown Labs, the Rice Clean Energy Accelerator and the Creative Destruction Lab Energy Cohort at Texas A&M University. The company moved to Houston in 2023 and raised a pre-seed round. It deployed two commercial units this year, according to its application.

FlowCellutions

Energytech startup FlowCellutions is developing a chemistry-agnostic diagnostics platform for flow and metal-air batteries supporting data centers and critical infrastructure. The platform is designed to help reduce operating costs, prevent failures and costly downtime, and extend battery lifetime from approximately seven years to more than 30 years. It has deployed four paid pilots and plans to take insights from the programs to develop its next-gen sensor platform technology.

CEO Becca Segel founded the company in 2022. It is a member of Greentown Labs, and Segel was a 2025 Activate Fellow. The company has raised over $2 million in non-dilutive funding and received a $1.5 million NSF SBIR Fast-Track award earlier this year.

Hertha Metals

Hertha Metals produces lower-cost, lower-emission steel and high-purity iron. The company has developed a single-step process that uses natural gas as a direct reductant instead of metallurgical coal, which cuts production costs by more than 25 percent and emissions by up to 50 percent, according to the company. The same process produces high-purity iron needed for high-purity steels and rare earth magnets. The company says it aims to "re-industrialize America’s production of critical materials."

Hertha Metals was founded by CEO Laureen Meroueh in 2022 and emerged from stealth last year with more than $17 million in venture capital funding. The company closed a $133.65 million Series A this month and also broke ground on its $100M high-purity iron factory known as Chalyx in Conroe.

Mars Materials

Clean chemical manufacturing business Mars Materials is working to convert captured carbon into resources, such as carbon fiber and wastewater treatment chemicals. The company develops and produces its drop-in chemical products in Houston and uses an in-licensed process for the National Renewable Energy Lab to produce acrylonitrile, which is used to produce plastics, synthetic fibers, and rubbers.

Founded in 2019 by CEO Aaron Fitzgerald, CTO Kristian Gubsch, and vice president of operations Trey Sheridan, the company has secured over $7.2M in financing and is backed by Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy, Shell, Black & Veatch, and other organizations. It won in the Minority-founded Business Category in last year's Houston Innovation Awards.

Solidec

Chemical manufacturing company Solidec has developed autonomous generators that extract molecules from water and air and convert them into pure chemicals and fuels that are free of carbon emissions on-site, eliminating the need for transport, storage, and permitting. The company was founded around innovations developed by Rice University associate professor Haotian Wang.

The company was selected for the Chevron Technology Ventures’ Catalyst Program, Greentown Labs, NSF I-Corps and was part of the first cohort of the Activate Houston program. It won first place at the 2024 startup pitch competition at CERAWeek. Solidec was founded in 2023 by Wang, who serves as an advisor, CEO Ryan DuChanois, and CTO Yang Xia. It closed a $2.5 million seed round in 2025.

Houston businessman and philanthropist to receive legendary Texas award

Making History

The Texas State History Museum Foundation (TSHMF) has set the date for its 23rd annual Texas Independence Day Dinner and unveiled the 2027 recipients of its prestigious History-Making Texan Award, which includes a prominent Houston businessman.

Since 2005, the organization has honored "living Texas legends whose contributions to the state and the nation have been truly historic and exceptional in scope and nature." Past galas have recognized prominent Texas figures such as former presidents George H.W. and George W. Bush and former first ladies Barbara and Laura Bush, as well as H-E-B chairman Charles Butt, among others.

The two 2027 History-Making Texan Award recipients are Texas Historical Commission chairman, businessman, and philanthropist John L. Nau, III, and trailblazing Texas actor, director, producer, and writer Taylor Sheridan. The 2027 gala will be held at the Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin on March 2, Texas Independence Day.

"Our honorees are national leaders whose accomplishments have elevated Texas’ distinctive place on the national and international stage," Debbie Raynor, dinner chair and TSHMF Trustee, said in a statement. "John L. Nau, III and Taylor Sheridan have each, in very different ways, helped tell the Texas story — one through the preservation of our history and treasured places, the other through the power of storytelling that has brought Texas and the American West to audiences around the world.

"Nau is the former chairman and CEO of Silver Eagle Beverages, one of the largest Anheuser-Busch distributors in the U.S. He has served as chairman of the Texas Historical Commission since 2015. Raynor said Nau's "commitment to preservation" extends further than his protection of Texas historic sites "to the stewardship and conservation of the land itself, including his bay area lodge in South Texas and his ranch in West Texas.

"[Nau's] leadership and lifelong dedication to history have earned him national recognition, but perhaps his greatest legacy is his determination to ensure that the stories and places that shaped Texas endure for generations to come," Raynor said.Quadruple-threat filmmaker Sheridan is most widely recognized for his award-winning neo-Western TV series Yellowstone and its associated spin-offs 1883, 1923, Marshals, and Dutton Ranch. Raynor hailed Sheridan for his success in bringing a "remarkable new dimension to the way the world sees Texas and the American West."

"As a creator, writer, director, and executive producer of some of television’s most successful series, he has captured the imagination of audiences across the globe while bringing the people, landscapes, traditions and enduring spirit of the West into millions of homes," she said. "And he does more than tell the Texas story — he lives it, as a native Texan, accomplished horseman and steward of two legendary Texas ranches."

A release estimates about 450 "business, political, and community leaders" attend the Texas Independence Day Dinner each year, and proceeds will benefit the Bullock Museum's educational programs and special projects.

The 2027 Texas Independence Day Dinner will take place March 2, 2027, at the Bullock Museum in Austin. A VIP reception will start at 6:30 pm, followed by a 7 pm reception, and 7:30 dinner and program.

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This article first appeared on CultureMap.com.

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