Sports tech festival coming to Houston this spring names 2 inaugural partners

game on

Pokatok, which will take place in April 2024 in downtown Houston, named two new partners. Rendering courtesy of Pokatok

A sports-focused festival planning to premiere this spring has named two brand partnerships today.

Pokatok announced its teaming up with Beasley Esports and World Freestyle Football Association for the festival set to take place in downtown Houston on April 4 to 7, 2024.

“We’re building the world’s fair for sports which means showcasing as wide a variety of different sports as we can,” Lawson Gow, Pokatok co-founder, says in the news release, “and these two partners could not be more illustrative of the mix we are trying to achieve.”

Beasley Esports, which owns the Houston Outlaws, Team AXLE, and Juggernaut, will drive esports and gaming at the festival, as well as assist on programming, competitions, and more. The organization will also help coordinate activities — such as meet and greets and competitions — with esport professionals.

“I am most excited to see traditional sports and esports share the big stage — redefining the evolution in sports and technology and spotlighting all the excitement that lies ahead for sports enthusiasts — as it’s never been done before,” Lori Burgess, COO of Beasley ESport, says in the release.

The other newly announced partner, WFFA, will feature programming of its unique sport, freestyle football, which is defined in the release as a fusion of acrobatics, dance, music, and tricks with a football.

“The vibe and energy of what the Pokatok Festival will be, is perfectly in sync with the sport of Freestyle Football and what we do,” Dan Wood, co-founder of the WFFA, says in the release. “With the FIFA World Cup coming to Houston in 2026, it’s a great opportunity for everybody to already experience some other forms of Football related sporting entertainment.”

Pokatok was officially announced earlier this summer by its parent company Gow Companies, founded by Lawson Gow (who is the son of David Gow, InnovationMap's parent company's CEO). The festival will feature a sports tech expo, a film festival, speakers and panels, live music, pitch competitions, and more. The venue will be George R. Brown Convention Center, Discovery Green, and various nearby hotels. The full lineup of events has not yet been released, but interested parties can opt in for pre-sale information online.

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This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Emmanuel Urquieta of TRISH, Ariel Jones of Qualtrics XM, and Lawson Gow of Pokatok. Photos courtesy

3 Houston innovators to know this week

WHO'S WHO

Editor's note: In this week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to three local innovators across industries — from space health research to sports tech — recently making headlines in Houston innovation.


Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta, chief medical officer of TRISH

Emmanuel Urquieta, chief medical officer of TRISH, joins the Houston Innovators Podcast. Photo via LinkedIn

Since 2021, the Translational Research Institute for Space Health has conducted its research on four missions — which has meant an unparalleled access to space health data for TRISH.

“We really saw the value of implementing research in civilians because they are different from your traditional government astronaut,” Dr. Emmanuel Urquieta, chief medical officer for TRISH, says on the Houston Innovators Podcast. “In civilians, you see a more diverse population.”

Urquieta says TRISH's experiments on these missions all fall within a few pillars of space health, including space's effects on sensory motor skills, like balance and motion sickness, as well as mental health, environmental data from the vehicles, vital monitoring, and more. Read more.

Ariel Jones, head of health care provider solution strategy for Qualtrics XM

As the health care industry continues to evolve, experience management technology will play an increasingly important role in addressing health equity gaps and improving the health and well-being of patients across the globe. Photo courtesy

In a guest column for InnovationMap, Ariel Jones, head of health care provider solution strategy for Qualtrics XM, addresses inequalities in health care — and how technology, specifical experience management tech, can help bridge the gap.

"As the health care industry continues to evolve, experience management technology will play an increasingly important role in addressing health equity gaps and improving the health and well-being of patients across the globe," she writes. Read more.

Lawson Gow, co-founder of Pokatok

A new sports festival is headed to Houston next year. Photo courtesy of Pokatok

Pokatok, the recently announced, four-day sports festival is slated to take place April 4-7, 2024.

“Pokatok will not only be the largest gathering of the entire sports tech ecosystem, it will also be a true fan festival for sports enthusiasts,” says Gow in the news release. “Everyone speaks the language of sport, it’s an incredibly powerful unifier of our society, and this festival will bring together people from around the world to experience hundreds of events revolving around the new and the next in sport.”

The festival, which has secured support from Houston First, the Greater Houston Partnership, and the Harris County Houston Sports Authority to put on the event, will feature two tracks — one focused on sports innovation and the other surrounding a fan experience. Pokatok X will include an expo and showcase focused on sports innovation, bringing together startups, investors, accelerators, athletes, and industry experts to dive into sports tech. Read more.

A new sports festival is headed to Houston next year. Rendering courtesy of Pokatok

New sports festival reveals plans to take over downtown Houston next spring

pokatok prep

A Houston team announced their plans to bring the “world’s fair for sports” to downtown Houston in April 2024.

Pokatok, the four-day festival, will feature a sports tech expo, a film festival, speakers and panels, live music, pitch competitions, and more. The venue will be George R. Brown Convention Center, Discovery Green, and various nearby hotels, according to the release.

Gow Companies, founded by Lawson Gow (who is the son of David Gow, InnovationMap's parent company's CEO), announced that the team has secured support from Houston First, the Greater Houston Partnership, and the Harris County Houston Sports Authority to put on the event, which is slated to take place April 4-7, 2024. The company also owns Houston Exponential and a sports accelerator called Pokatok Labs.

“Pokatok will not only be the largest gathering of the entire sports tech ecosystem, it will also be a true fan festival for sports enthusiasts,” says Gow in the news release. “Everyone speaks the language of sport, it’s an incredibly powerful unifier of our society, and this festival will bring together people from around the world to experience hundreds of events revolving around the new and the next in sport.”

The festival will take place in April 2024 in downtown. Rendering courtesy of Pokatok

The festival will feature two tracks — one focused on sports innovation and the other surrounding a fan experience. Pokatok X will include an expo and showcase focused on sports innovation, bringing together startups, investors, accelerators, athletes, and industry experts to dive into sports tech.

The Pokatok Fan Festival's track will include product releases, demos for sports technology, sporting events, competitions, tournaments, and more.

Houston is no stranger to hosting major sport events, Harris County - Houston Sports Authority CEO Janis Burke points out in the news release, including the 2023 NCAA Men’s Final Four and the upcoming 2024 College Football National Championship, the 2024 Cricket World Cup, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

"Houston is known as one of the best sports destinations in the world," Burke continues. "As an organization, we are consistently looking for ways to innovate and grow in the sports sector. Events like Pokatok are great for advancing sports within the region and providing unique opportunities for our community!"

Tickets are expected to go on sale in the fall, and the organization is looking for potential speakers and partners. The festival's name derives from sport of pok-a-tok, which dates back thousands of years as the world’s first team sport played throughout Mesoamerica.

“The City of Houston is a sports town to its core and has been host to some of the greatest events and moments in sports,” says Mayor Sylvester Turner in the release. “Pokatok will help further Houston’s vision of being a destination city for global sporting events and innovations. The business community also supports this venture, and I thank them for their involvement and support. This project is an excellent example of local business leaders joining forces to expand the attractions the City has to offer to both residents and visitors.”

Pokatok will take place in and around the George R. Brown Convention Center. Rendering courtesy of Pokatok

This week's roundup of Houston innovators includes Veronica Wu of First Bight Ventures, Kate Evinger of Pokatok, and Jill Chapman of Insperity. Courtesy photos

3 Houston innovators to know this week

who's who

Editor's note: In this week's roundup of Houston innovators to know, I'm introducing you to three local innovators across industries — from synthetic biology to sportstech — recently making headlines in Houston innovation.

Veronica Wu, founder of First Bight Ventures

Photo courtesy of First Bight Ventures

Veronica Wu saw the potential in Houston for a vibrant synthetic biology hub that can propel one of the most exciting field of technology into the future. So, she founded First Bight Ventures to invest in synthetic biology startups in hopes to attract them to Houston.

“We have a moment in time where we can make Houston the global epicenter of synthetic biology and the bio economy," Wu says to a group of stakeholders last week at First Bight's Rocketing into the Bioeconomy event. "Whether its energy, semiconductor, space exploration, or winning the World Series — Houstonians lead. It’s in our DNA. While others look to the stars, we launch people into space.”

At First Bight's event, Wu introduced the company's new team members. Click here to read more.

Kate Evinger, director of Pokatok Labs

Photo courtesy of gBETA

Pokatok Labs — a scale-up program for sportstech startups — is in between its first and second cohorts, and Director Kate Evinger joined the Houston Innovators Podcast to look back at the inaugural class and share what the team is looking for in applications.

"Our mission is to help be a partner with all the exciting things happening in Houston — from the startup entrepreneurship side to the things we're seeing in the sports community — to continue to elevate and uplift the voices here in addition to bringing folks in from all over the world to celebrate the human experience in sports and to continue driving innovation in this space," she says on the show.

Evinger shares more about Pokatok Labs and the potential she sees for Houston to continue evolving as a hub for sports innovation on the podcast. Click here to read more.

Jill Chapman, senior performance consultant with Insperity

Photo courtesy of Insperity

Workplace culture can make or break a company of any size — especially now in this labor market. Making your office environment a place employees feel like they can take paid time off and vacations is key to prevent burnout and turnover. Jill Chapman, senior performance consultant with Insperity, writes in a guest column her tips for fostering this type of environment.

"As small business owners continue to navigate the labor shortage, savvy leaders recognize the significance of retaining existing employees, so it behooves them to encourage PTO usage to foster a highly engaged and energized workforce," she writes. Click here to read more.

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Houston space org to launch experiments aboard first mission into polar orbit

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Houston's Translational Research Institute for Space Health, or TRISH, will send its latest experiments into space aboard the Fram2 mission, the first all-civilian human spaceflight mission to launch over the Earth’s polar regions.

Fram2, operated by SpaceX, is targeting to launch Monday, March 31, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew of four is expected to spend several days in polar orbit aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft in low Earth orbit. TRISH’s research projects are among 22 experiments that the crew will conduct onboard.

The crew's findings will add to TRISH's Enhancing eXploration Platforms and ANalog Definition, or EXPAND, program and will be used to help enhance human health and performance during spaceflight missions, including missions to the moon and Mars, according to a release from TRISH.

“The valuable space health data that will be captured during Fram2 will advance our understanding of how humans respond and adapt to the stressors of space,” Jimmy Wu, TRISH deputy director and chief engineer and assistant professor in Baylor’s Center for Space Medicine, said in the release. “Thanks to the continued interest in furthering space health by commercial space crews, each human health research project sent into orbit brings us closer to improving crew member well-being aboard future spaceflight missions.”

The six TRISH projects on Fram2 include:

  • Cognitive and Physiologic Responses in Commercial Space Crew on Short-Duration Missions, led by Dr. Mathias Basner at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. The crew will wear a Garmin smartwatch and a BioIntelliSense BioButton® medical grade device to track cognitive performance, including memory, spatial orientation, and attention before, during, and after the mission.
  • Otolith and Posture Evaluation II, led by Mark Shelhamer at Johns Hopkins University. The experiment will look at how astronauts’ eyes sense and respond to motion before and after spaceflight to better understand motion sickness in space.
  • REM and CAD Radiation Monitoring for Private Astronaut Spaceflight, led by Stuart George at NASA Johnson Space Center. This experiment will test space radiation exposure over the Earth’s north and south poles and how this impacts crew members.
  • Space Omics + BioBank, led by Richard Gibbs and Harsha Doddapaneni at Baylor College of Medicine. The experiment will use Baylor’s Human Genome Sequencing Center's Genomic Evaluation of Space Travel and Research program to gain insights from pre-flight and post-flight samples from astronauts.
  • Standardized research questionnaires, led by TRISH. The test asks a set of standardized research questionnaires for the crew to collect data on their sleep, personality, health history, team dynamics and immune-related symptoms.
  • Sensorimotor adaptation, led by TRISH. The project collects data before and after flight to understand sensorimotor abilities, change and recovery time to inform future missions to the moon.

TRISH, which is part of BCM’s Center for Space Medicine with partners Caltech and MIT, has launched experiments on numerous space missions to date, including Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket last November and Axiom Space's Ax-3 mission to the International Space Station last January.

Houston lab develops AI tool to improve neurodevelopmental diagnoses

developing news

One of the hardest parts of any medical condition is waiting for answers. Speeding up an accurate diagnosis can be a doctor’s greatest mercy to a family. A team at Baylor College of Medicine has created technology that may do exactly that.

Led by Dr. Ryan S. Dhindsa, assistant professor of pathology and immunology at Baylor and principal investigator at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children’s Hospital, the scientists have developed an artificial intelligence-based approach that will help doctors to identify genes tied to neurodevelopmental disorders. Their research was recently published the American Journal of Human Genetics.

According to its website, Dhindsa Lab uses “human genomics, human stem cell models, and computational biology to advance precision medicine.” The diagnoses that stem from the new computational tool could include specific types of autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy and developmental delay, disorders that often don’t come with a genetic diagnosis.

“Although researchers have made major strides identifying different genes associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, many patients with these conditions still do not receive a genetic diagnosis, indicating that there are many more genes waiting to be discovered,” Dhindsa said in a news release.

Typically, scientists must sequence the genes of many people with a diagnosis, as well as people not affected by the disorder, to find new genes associated with a particular disease or disorder. That takes time, money, and a little bit of luck. AI minimizes the need for all three, explains Dhindsa: “We used AI to find patterns among genes already linked to neurodevelopmental diseases and predict additional genes that might also be involved in these disorders.”

The models, made using patterns expressed at the single-cell level, are augmented with north of 300 additional biological features, including data on how intolerant genes are to mutations, whether they interact with other known disease-associated genes, and their functional roles in different biological pathways.

Dhindsa says that these models have exceptionally high predictive value.

“Top-ranked genes were up to two-fold or six-fold, depending on the mode of inheritance, more enriched for high-confidence neurodevelopmental disorder risk genes compared to genic intolerance metrics alone,” he said in the release. “Additionally, some top-ranking genes were 45 to 500 times more likely to be supported by the literature than lower-ranking genes.”

That means that the models may actually validate genes that haven’t yet been proven to be involved in neurodevelopmental conditions. Gene discovery done with the help of AI could possibly become the new normal for families seeking answers beyond umbrella terms like “autism spectrum disorder.”

“We hope that our models will accelerate gene discovery and patient diagnoses, and future studies will assess this possibility,” Dhindsa added.

Texas robotics co. begins new search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370

International News

Malaysia’s government has given final approval for a Texas-based marine robotics company to renew the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean more than a decade ago.

Cabinet ministers agreed to terms and conditions for a “no-find, no-fee” contract with Texas-based Ocean Infinity to resume the seabed search operation at a new 5,800-square-mile site in the ocean, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in a statement Wednesday. Ocean Infinity will be paid $70 million only if wreckage is discovered.

The Boeing 777 plane vanished from radar shortly after taking off on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people, mostly Chinese nationals, on a flight from Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing. Satellite data showed the plane turned from its flight path and headed south to the far-southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.

An expensive multinational search failed to turn up any clues to its location, although debris washed ashore on the east African coast and Indian Ocean islands. A private search in 2018 by Ocean Infinity also found nothing.

The final approval for a new search came three months after Malaysia gave the nod in principle to plans for a fresh search.

Ocean Infinity CEO Oliver Punkett earlier this year reportedly said the company had improved its technology since 2018. He has said the firm is working with many experts to analyze data and had narrowed the search area to the most likely site.

Loke said his ministry will ink a contract with Ocean Infinity soon but didn’t provide details on the terms. The firm has reportedly sent a search vessel to the site and indicated that January-April is the best period for the search.

“The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of the passengers of flight MH370,” he said in a statement.

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