Houston's Birol Dindoruk, Megan Robertson, Francisco Robles Hernandez and Allison Post have been named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors. Photos courtesy UH and THI.

Houston is home to four new senior members of the National Academy of Inventors.

To be eligible to be an NAI Senior Member, candidates must be active faculty, scientists and administrators from NAI member institutions that have demonstrated innovation and produced technologies that have “brought, or aspire to bring, real impact on the welfare of society,” according to the NAI. The members have also succeeded in patents, licensing and commercialization, and educating and mentoring.

The University of Houston announced that three professors were selected to join the prestigious NAI list of senior members. UH now has 39 faculty members on the NAI list.

“We congratulate these three esteemed colleagues on being named NAI Senior Members,” Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president for energy and innovation at UH, said in a news release. “This recognition is a testament to their dedication, research excellence and pursuit of real-world impact by knowledge and technologies. Their achievements continue to elevate the University as a leader in innovation and entrepreneurship.”

UH’s new senior members include:

  • Birol Dindoruk, the American Association of Drilling Engineers Endowed Professor of Petroleum Engineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Cullen College of Engineering. He is known for his research in carbon capture and storage, fluid-rock interactions and hydrogen storage. He holds three patents.
  • Megan Robertson, the Neal R. Amundson professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at UH’s Cullen College of Engineering. She is developing new polymers and groundbreaking strategies for recycling and reusing plastics. Robertson currently has three patents and two more patent applications pending.
  • Francisco Robles Hernandez, a professor of mechanical engineering technology at the UH College of Technology. He holds four patents, and several others are under review. His work focuses on carbon materials, including pioneering work with graphene and designs with steel and aluminum used in automotives and railroads.

“As an inventor, this is one of the highest honors you can be awarded, so I am very proud to receive it,” Robles Hernandez said in a news release. “UH has been instrumental in supporting my research and innovation efforts, but it’s the creativity of the students here that makes it successful.”

Allison Post, associate director of electrophysiology research and innovations and manager of innovation partnerships at the Texas Heart Institute at Baylor College of Medicine, also made the list.

Post was recognized for her work in biomedical engineering and commitment to advancing cardiovascular care through innovations. Post is the youngest member to be inducted this year.

Other notable Texas honorees include Emma Fan from the University of Texas, Arum Han from Texas A&M and Panos Shiakolas at UT Arlington.

In 2024, Edward Ratner, a computer information systems lecturer in the Department of Information Science Technology at the University of Houston’s Cullen College of Engineering, and Omid Veiseh, a bioengineer at Rice University and director of the Biotech Launch Pad, were named NAI fellows.

The Senior Member Induction Ceremony will honor the 2025 class at NAI’s Annual Conference June 23-26 in Atlanta, Georgia.
With this new grant, UH has a new center for researching bioactive materials crystallization. Photo via UH.edu

Houston innovator receives $5M to establish new center that explores crystallization process

crystal clear initiative

A new hub at the University of Houston is being established with a crystal-clear mission — and fresh funding.

Thanks to funding from Houston-based organization The Welch Foundation, the University of Houston will be home to the Welch Center for Advanced Bioactive Materials Crystallization. The nonprofit doled out its inaugural $5 million Catalyst for Discovery Program Grant to the new initiative led by Jeffrey Rimer, Abraham E. Dukler Professor of Chemical Engineering, who is known internationally for his work with crystals that help treat malaria and kidney stones.

“Knowledge gaps in the nascent and rapidly developing field of nonclassical crystallization present a wide range of obstacles to design crystalline materials for applications that benefit humankind, spanning from medicine to energy and the environment,” says Rimer in a news release. “Success calls for a paradigm shift in the understanding of crystal nucleation mechanisms and structure selection that will be addressed in this center.”

The Welch Foundation, which was founded in 1954, has granted over $1.1 billion to scientists in Texas. This new grant program targets researchers focused on fundamental chemical solutions. Earlier this year, the organization announced nearly $28 million in grants to Texas institutions.

"Support from the Welch Foundation has led to important advances in the field of chemistry, not only within Texas, but also throughout the United States and the world as a whole,” says Randall Lee, Cullen Distinguished University Chair and professor of chemistry, in the release. “These advances extend beyond scientific discoveries and into the realm of education, where support from the Welch Foundation has played a significant role in building the technological workforce needed to solve ongoing and emerging problems in energy and health care.”

Rimer and Lee are joined by the following researchers on the newly announced center's team:

  • Peter Vekilov, Moores Professor, chemical and biomolecular engineering
  • Alamgir Karim, Dow Chair and Welch Foundation Professor, chemical and biomolecular engineering;
  • Jeremy Palmer, Ernest J. and Barbara M. Henley Associate Professor, chemical and biomolecular engineering
  • Gül Zerze, chemical and biomolecular engineering
  • Francisco Robles Hernandez, professor of engineering technology.

The University of Houston also received another grant from the Welch Foundation. Megan Robertson, UH professor of chemical engineering, received $4 million for her work with developing chemical processes to transform plastic waste into useful materials.

“For the University of Houston to be recognized with two highly-competitive Welch Foundation Catalyst Grants underscores the exceptional talent and dedication of our researchers and their commitment to making meaningful contributions to society through discovery,” Diane Chase, UH senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, says in the release.

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Houston VC funding surged in Q1 2025 to highest level in years, report says

by the numbers

First-quarter funding for Houston-area startups just hit its highest level since 2022, according to the latest PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. But fundraising in subsequent quarters might not be as robust thanks to ongoing economic turmoil, the report warns.

In the first quarter of 2025, Houston-area startups raised $544.2 million in venture capital from investors, PitchBook-NVCA data shows. That compares with $263.5 million in Q1 2024 and $344.5 million in Q1 2023. For the first quarter of 2022, local startups nabbed $745.5 million in venture capital.

The Houston-area total for first-quarter VC funding this year fell well short of the sum for the Austin area (more than $3.3 billion) and Dallas-Fort Worth ($696.8 million), according to PitchBook-NVCA data.

While first-quarter 2025 funding for Houston-area startups got a boost, the number of VC deals declined versus the first quarters of 2024, 2023 and 2022. The PitchBook-NVCA Monitor reported 37 local VC deals in this year’s first quarter, compared with 45 during the same period in 2024, 53 in 2023, and 57 in 2022.

The PitchBook-NVCA report indicates fundraising figures for the Houston area, the Austin area, Dallas-Fort Worth and other markets might shrink in upcoming quarters.

“Should the latest iteration of tariffs stand, we expect significant pressure on fundraising and dealmaking in the near term as investors sit on the sidelines and wait for signs of market stabilization,” the report says.

Due to new trade tariffs and policy shifts, the chances of an upcoming rebound in the VC market have likely faded, says Nizar Tarhuni, executive vice president of research and market intelligence at PitchBook.

“These impacts amplify economic uncertainty and could further disrupt the private markets by complicating investment decisions, supply chains, exit windows, and portfolio strategies,” Tarhuni says. “While this may eventually lead to new domestic investment and create opportunities, the overall environment is facing volatility, hesitation, and structural change.”

Expert: Texas is building a cybersecurity wall — but it needs more bricklayers

Guest Column

Texas has always been a state that thinks in terms of scale. Big energy, big ambitions and now, big action in cybersecurity.

With the creation of the Texas Cyber Command under the Department of Information Resources, the state is recognizing what many of us in the industry have long understood: cybersecurity is not just an IT issue, it's a matter of public safety and economic resilience. Protecting municipal systems, schools, and critical energy infrastructure from cyber threats is no longer optional. It is essential.

For these efforts to succeed, Texas must invest as much in people as it does in technology. Without a capable, well-trained workforce to carry out the mission, even the strongest cyber strategies will struggle to hold the line.

The scope of the threat

Cyberattacks are not theoretical. In the last year alone, several cities in Texas experienced major ransomware attacks. One incident in Fort Worth took down core city systems, affecting everything from email access to permitting operations. The ripple effects were significant.

The energy sector is also under constant pressure. As a cornerstone of both the Texas and national economy, the it is a high-value target. Hackers are probing systems that manage oil, gas, and renewable energy infrastructure, looking for weaknesses that could be exploited to steal data or disrupt operations.

Texas has responded by centralizing its cyber incident response capabilities. The Texas Cyber Command is a smart step forward. It brings coordination and focus to an increasingly complex landscape. But its effectiveness will depend entirely on the professionals tasked with doing the work. And that’s where the challenge lies.

The workforce gap

Across the U.S., there are an estimated 400,000 unfilled cybersecurity positions. In Texas, more than 40,000 roles remain vacant, according to CyberSeek. These are not just numbers in a report. They represent a growing vulnerability with gaps in frontline defenses against real and persistent threats.

We cannot afford to rely solely on traditional pathways to fill this gap. Four-year degree programs are important, but they are not designed to scale fast enough or flexibly enough to meet today’s needs. Instead, we need to broaden our view of what a cybersecurity talent pipeline looks like and who it includes.

There needs to be an expanded focus on practical, skills-based training that takes high-aptitude individuals, including those from non-traditional backgrounds, and prepares them for success in cybersecurity careers through rigorous hands-on training that reflects the demands of real-world cyber roles. With the right structure and support, people from all walks of life are already proving they can become capable defenders of our digital infrastructure.

The same entrepreneurial spirit that drives innovation in other sectors can be applied to cybersecurity workforce development. We don’t have to wait years to grow the next generation of defenders. We can do it now, with the right focus and investment.

Texas has taken a critical first step by creating the Cyber Command, but if we want to build lasting resilience, we need to address the workforce bottleneck head-on. Cybersecurity needs more than tech…it needs talent.

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Dean Gefen is theCEO, NukuDo, a San Antonio-based cybersecurity workforce development and staffing company.