10+ can't-miss Houston business and innovation events for March

Where to be

From startup competitions to thought-provoking panels, here's where you need to be in March. Getty Images

Rodeo has kicked off and spring break is around the corner, which can only mean one thing: March in Houston. The month is chock full of business, entrepreneurial, and innovation-focused events, but we've plucked out over 10 to highlight this month.

If you know of innovation-focused events for February, email me at natalie@innovationmap.com with the details.

March 5 — Unlock Team's Creativity - Innovative Management Tools

Learn new teamwork tools and applications and hear about how companies have changed their organization and manage innovation, creativity, and teamwork.

Details: The event is from 5:30 to 7 pm on Tuesday, March 5, at Station Houston (1301 Fannin St., Suite 2440). Learn more here.

March 5 — Women Who Code Houston Launch

Women Who Code is bringing its network and resources to Houston. Celebrate the launch and network with like-minded, tech-savvy women.

Details: The event is from 6 to 8:30 pm on Tuesday, March 5, at AIG Building's Lobby (2727 Allen Pkwy). Learn more here.

March 6 — From ICOs to STOs: The Nuts & Bolts of Security Token Offerings

New to the innovation scene, Houston Blockchain Alliance, a networking group of blockchain professionals, has its first learning event. This STO Primer Course will provide an introduction to STOs, the applicable rules and regulations governing STOs, fundraising options and the process, timeline and estimated costs to launch a compliant STO.

Details: The event is from 6 to 8 pm on Wednesday, March 6, at Ranch Office (1220 Blalock Rd). Learn more here.

March 6 — Case Study: Digital Transformation in Energy Fortune 500

Who's down for pizza, beer, and talking about the digital transformation process of a Fortune 500 company with the Houston Industrial Digital Transformation & Connected Work meetup group? Dimitri Karastamatis, board adviser of operations at PowerIn Energy will lead the discussion.

Details: The meetup is from 6 to 8 pm on Wednesday, March 6, at ChaiOne HQ (9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 850). Learn more here.

March 7 — Entrepreneurship Education Series: Building a Startup Sales Team

Sales can be tough for entrepreneurs and innovators, so getting a good team in place is crucial. Neal Benedict, president and Founder of Silver Brick Sales Solutions, weighs in on the best steps to take when building your sales team.

Details: The event is from noon to 1:30 pm on Thursday, March 7, at Station Houston (1301 Fannin St., Suite 2440). Learn more here.

March 7 — French American Innovation Day 2019

Promoting innovation collaboration between the United States and France, the conference is organized by the Office for Science & Technology of the Embassy of France in the United States in collaboration with the TMC Innovation in Houston, the French American Chamber of Commerce in Houston and the French Foreign Trade Advisors.

Details: The event is from 7 am to 7 pm on Thursday, March 7, at TMC Innovation Institute (2450 Holcombe Blvd., Suite X). Learn more here.

March 7 — Selling Innovation and Creative Digital Cities

What can we learn from other digital cities? This discussion lead by three different experts will analyze and ideate new ways of innovation.

Details: The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Thursday, March 7, at Techspace - Houston (2101 CityWest Blvd.) Learn more here.

March 8 — Startup Pains: What I Wish I Knew

This monthly series hosted by the University of Houston lets you learn from someone else's mistakes and successes. This month's speaker is Seamus Curran, Ph.D, who is a professor of physics at UH and the CEO of Integricote.

Details: The event is from 4 to 5 pm on Friday, March 8, at the UH Technology Bridge (Innovation Center, building 4, floor 2, 5000 Gulf Fwy). Learn more here.

March 11 — HATCH Pitch Summit 2019 Livestream

Houston-based HATCH Pitch is headed for Austin with its four finalists focused on startups making the world a better place. Read more about the competition here.

Details: The free stream is from 10 am to noon on Monday, March 11, and available here.

March 12 - Info Session: Techstars Energy Accelerator

Energy acceleration can be tough in the industry, but Audun Abelsnes, managing director of Techstars Energy Accelerator, is at your disposal for all your questions.

    Details: The event is from noon to 2:30 pm on Tuesday, March 12, at Station Houston (1301 Fannin St., Suite 2440). Learn more here.

    March 14 — eMan Lunch n' Learn: Boosting Safety & Productivity in O&G by Leveraging IoT

    Every startup can learn from industrial innovation, and eMan works alongside Fortune 500 companies doing just that. Hear from the company's execs about their services, clients, and how they are enabling emerging tech in the industrial space.

    Details: The event is from 11:30 am to 1 pm on Thursday, March 14, at The Cannon (1336 Brittmoore Road). Learn more here.

    March 21 — Visionaries panel: The present is female.

    Forget this "future" stuff. Get ready for b8ta Houston's next Founders Series is all about the ladies in honor of International Women's Month. Four female leaders will take the stage to talk about the challenges they face and obstacles they've overcome.

    Details: The panel is at 6:30 pm on Thursday, March 21, at b8ta Houston in the Galleria (5115 Westheimer Road, #c3575). Learn more here.

    March 26 — WeWork Labs Houston Launch Party

    Houston has a new space for startups to incubate, accelerate, and receive mentorship thanks to WeWork and Alice. Read all about the new WeWork Labs location here. To celebrate, the organization is hosting a little shindig.

    Details: The celebration starts at 6 pm on Tuesday, March 26, at WeWork Downtown Houston (708 Main Street, 10th Floor). Learn more here.

    March 28 — 2019 H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge - Startup Competition

    Ten Rice University-affiliated teams — from students to recent alumni — are competing for $60,000 and other prizes. Click here to learn more about the finalists and the judging panel.

    Details: The event is from 6 to 9 pm on Thursday, March 28, at Rice University (Liu Idea Lab For Innovation & Entrepreneurship — Cambridge Office Building). Learn more here.

    March 28 — Houston Open Innovation Conference

    The third annual Houston Open Innovation Conference is a full day conference where businesses, government entities and academic representatives can collaborate to spark more development, collaboration and dialogue for the city.

    Details: The conference is from 8:30 am to 4 p.m on Thursday, March 28, at Houston Exponential (410 Pierce St.). Learn more.

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    Houston lands $14M in latest CPRIT grants to advance cancer, lab-on-chip research

    cancer funding

    Thanks to a $4 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, the University of Houston has recruited a top-tier researcher developing AI-powered lab-on-a-chip technology for early cancer detection.

    Tianhong Cui, a professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities and an adjunct professor of physiology and biomedical engineering at the Mayo Clinic, specializes in microelectromechanical systems and advanced manufacturing at microscale and nanoscale levels. In addition to lab-on-a-chip systems, Cui focuses on biosensors and water sensors.

    Lab-on-a-chip devices deliver big results in a tiny package

    The CPRIT grant supports Cui’s development of a microscale lab-on-a-chip system for early cancer detection and post-therapy monitoring.

    “Lab-on-a-chip technology crams an entire lab’s worth of functions into a tiny device roughly the size of a USB stick,” according to Built In.

    Common uses for the technology include medical diagnostics, point-of-care testing, and environmental monitoring.

    Lab-on-a-chip work being carried out at UH and elsewhere in Houston promises to revolutionize cancer detection and treatment. For instance, Houston biotech company iBiochips, a spinout from the Houston Methodist Research Institute, makes lab-on-a-chip devices that bolster cancer detection and therapy.

    Four local organizations gain $10 million in CPRIT grants

    Four other Houston-area organizations received an additional $10 million in grants in CPRIT’s latest round of funding:

    • University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center received two $2 million grants to recruit researchers Zheqi Li of Harvard University’s Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Nikolaos Koundouros of Weill Cornell Medicine.
    • Rice University received one $2 million grant to recruit researcher Maria Akoppyan, formerly of the University of Southern California.
    • UT Medical Branch at Galveston received one $2 million grant to recruit researcher Cristina Santarossa of Johns Hopkins University.
    • Houston-based biopharma company Pulmotect received one $2 million grant to support better outcomes for cancer patients by activating immunity in the lungs as a first line of defense against germs.

    The funding was part of $35 million in new CPRIT grants for institutions and companies across Texas approved at the organization's most recent meeting. To date, CPRIT has awarded more than $4.2 billion in grants.

    “These awards support research across the cancer continuum from prevention to new classes of therapeutics,” said Dr. Scott Hiebert, chief scientific officer of CPRIT, said in a news release. “The work of these investigators will impact the lives of Texans across the state.”

    2 Houston high schools soar as America's best for 2026, says U.S. News

    Honor Roll

    Houston ISD's Carnegie Vanguard High School is standing tall as one of the 25 best high schools in America, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2026-2027 Best High Schools rankings.

    DeBakey High School for Health Professions also ranks among the top 100 nationally, and 23 more Houston-area schools join them at the top of the class in Texas.

    Each year, U.S. News evaluates approximately 27,000 public high schools on six factors: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance, and graduation rates.

    The highest ranking public schools provide the best educational environments where "students demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math, reading and science state assessments, earned qualifying scores on an array of college-level exams, and graduated in high proportions."

    "Every student deserves a pathway to success, and that journey often begins with selecting the right school," said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., managing editor for education at U.S. News. "The 2026-2027 Best High Schools rankings empower families with the valuable data and transparency they need to help make the best educational choices for them. We are proud to offer this essential resource to help shape the next generation of college-ready students."

    Top ranking Houston schools
    Carnegie Vanguard High School once again leads in Texas as the No. 2 best high school, and soared as No. 25 in U.S. News' national list of the best high schools, up from No. 42 last year.

    DeBakey High School for Health Professions is the 9th best high school in Texas and ranks No. 91 nationally (down from No. 75 last year).

    Three more local schools ranked among the best STEM schools in the country: Memorial High School in Spring Branch ISD (No. 86), Seven Lakes High School in Katy ISD (No. 96), and Dulles High School in Fort Bend ISD (No. 99).

    In U.S. News' ranking of the best charter schools, four Houston-area schools made the top 100: Spring Branch ISD's Westchester Academy for International Studies (No. 62), Harmony School of Innovation - Katy (No. 72), Harmony School of Discovery - Houston (No. 78), and YES Prep - North Central (No. 100).

    Other Houston-area schools that rank among the 100 best in Texas are:

    • No. 17 – Kerr High School, Alief ISD, Houston
    • No. 24 – Young Women's College Prep Academy, Houston ISD
    • No. 25 – Kinder High School for Performing and Visual Arts, Houston ISD
    • No. 31 – Challenge Early College High School, Houston ISD
    • No. 39 – Westchester Academy for International Studies, Spring Branch ISD, Houston
    • No. 44 – Tomball Star Academy, Tomball ISD
    • No. 45 – Harmony School of Innovation - Katy
    • No. 46 – North Houston Early College High School, Houston ISD
    • No. 51 – Eastwood Academy, Houston ISD
    • No. 52 – Seven Lakes High School, Katy ISD
    • No. 54 – Harmony School of Discovery - Houston
    • No. 55 – Energy Institute High School, Houston ISD
    • No. 56 – Spring Early College Academy, Spring ISD
    • No. 63 – Sharpstown International School, Houston ISD
    • No. 66 – YES Prep - North Central, Houston
    • No. 73 – Tompkins High School, Katy ISD
    • No. 76 – YES Prep - Southeast, Houston
    • No. 80 – Harmony School of Innovation - Sugar Land
    • No. 81 – Clements High School, Fort Bend ISD, Sugar Land
    • No. 82 – Houston Academy for International Studies, Houston ISD
    • No. 86 – Jordan High School, Katy ISD
    • No. 88 – Victory Early College High School, Aldine ISD, Houston
    • No. 96 – Clear Horizons Early College High School, Clear Creek ISD, Houston

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    This article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.

    Intuitive Machines lands $600M satellite deal, NASA ‘spacecraft bus’ contract

    space deals

    Houston-based space infrastructure company Intuitive Machines has scored two astronomical deals.

    The deals add to the company’s soaring success. As of June 30, Intuitive Machines had a record-high $1.8 billion backlog of orders, a $1.5 billion increase from the end of last year. The current backlog includes orders for more than 80 spacecraft.

    The company, which went public in 2023, expects this year’s revenue to total $900 million to $1 billion. In the first half of 2026, Intuitive Machines generated nearly $393 million in revenue.

    Intuitive Machines estimates its total available market is valued at more than $150 billion.

    $600 million-plus deal represents ‘important milestone’

    On Monday, Intuitive Machines said it picked up a $600 million-plus deal to develop three commercial satellites for an undisclosed customer over the course of about two years.

    Intuitive Machines says it will design, manufacture, set up and support several spacecraft “for a critical communications infrastructure mission.”

    Steve Altemus, the company’s CEO, says the deal represents “an important milestone for Intuitive Machines and reflects the confidence our customers place in our ability to deliver high-performance spacecraft for a broad range of mission needs.”

    Company nails down NASA deal for ‘spacecraft bus’

    A day after announcing the $600 million-plus deal, Intuitive Machines said it secured a new contract with NASA.

    Intuitive Machines says NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California will use the company’s IM 300 “spacecraft bus” for an EAGLE-VSWIR Earth observation mission. The mission is scheduled to launch in 2028.

    Aside from supplying the IM 300 bus, Intuitive Machines will carry out mission support services.

    The low-Earth-orbit mission will be equipped with Intuitive Machines’ hyperspectral visible to shortwave infrared (VSWIR) instrument. This technology sees colors and details that aren’t visible to the human eye.

    The instrument is “designed to perform surface biology and geology observations from Earth orbit while demonstrating technologies that could support future lunar and Mars exploration missions,” Intuitive Machines says.

    Intuitive Machines builds mission-critical spacecraft, systems, and infrastructure for business and government customers. To date, the company has produced more than 300 spacecraft, delivered over 575 pounds of payload to the moon and launched about 100 satellites.

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