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The University of Houston ranks 60th on the National Academy of Inventors’ (NAI) list of the Top 100 Universities in the U.S. Granted Utility Patents.

This new list was created to celebrate American innovation and to highlight the universities that play a large role in advancing the innovation ecosystem within the U.S. and beyond.

Utility patents are among the most valuable assets in the world because they give inventors exclusive commercial rights to produce and utilize their technologies.

UH had 32 patents granted last year, and more than 200 granted since 2015. The University is also home to the nation’s top-ranked undergraduate entrepreneurship program and is one of the top 25 royalty-earning universities in the country.

UH joins the University of Texas (3rd), Texas A&M (37th), Texas Tech (tied for 75th) and Baylor (tied for 75th) as the only Texas institutions ranked.

“This recognition further underscores our commitment to innovation and the impactful research taking place at UH,” says Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president of energy and innovation at UH. “It is a testament to the dedication and ingenuity of our faculty, researchers, and students who continue to push the boundaries of knowledge and drive positive change in our world through their hard work and inventive contributions.”

Since 2013, NAI has published a list of the top 100 patent-producing universities worldwide, and UH has made that list seven of the past eight years. This new list is meant to provide a more focused view of the national innovation landscape and the contributions made by U.S. academic institutions.

“As a U.S.-based national academy, it is important to us not only to showcase innovation happening on the broader world stage, but here at home as well,” says Jamie Renee, executive director of the NAI. “Invention has been part of the American experience since the country’s inception, with intellectual property being protected in the Constitution.”

NAI’s Top 100 lists are created using calendar year data provided by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Top 100 placement includes all named assignees listed on the patent.

“Innovation has always been at the heart of U.S. culture and the Top 100 U.S. Universities list allows us to recognize and celebrate the commitment these universities have to the American tradition of invention and protection of IP,” adds Renee.

The National Academy of Inventors is a member organization comprising U.S. and international universities, and governmental and non-profit research institutions, with over 4,000 individual inventor members and fellows spanning more than 250 institutions worldwide.

It was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society.

The NAI has a close partnership with the USPTO that is reflected in their joint mission to expand access to underrepresented individuals and institutions participating in the invention and innovation ecosystem.

Photo by Jon Burke

Innovation and new business incubation at the University of Houston’s Technology Bridge is on a roll

Start Me Up

When Jacob Thomas first came to the University of Houston’s Technology Bridge in 2016, he knew it was the perfect incubator space to grow his company, Alchemy Sciences. The excellent support infrastructure enabled the fledgling oil recovery business to focus on improving its technology, product and business development, and operations.

“Technology Bridge also had the advantage of being located at a premier, research-focused university that afforded the opportunity to collaborate not just with other startups but with groundbreaking innovators on campus,” Thomas says.

And when Hadi Ghasemi, an associate professor in the UH Cullen College of Engineering, launched Elemental Coatings for his revolutionary anti-icing material in 2019, his ideal space was literally minutes from his campus laboratory.

“We have one of the best spaces in town right here near campus,” he says. “From a ready-made workforce to the facilities, it was a unique opportunity that was perfect for us.”

Thomas and Ghasemi aren’t alone in their assessments. They are part of a booming community of entrepreneurs setting up shop in Technology Bridge, Houston’s premier innovation park for technology commercialization, industrial partnerships, and startup development, located adjacent to the UH campus along the Gulf Freeway.

Connecting people and ideas

UH prides itself on spurring innovation, from the first spark of an idea to the transfer of knowledge and technology. The University is home to the nation’s top-ranked undergraduate entrepreneurship program and is one of the top 25 royalty-earning universities in the United States. And for seven of the past eight years, UH has ranked among the top 100 global universities for the number of utility patents issued.

Tanu Chatterji, the associate director of startup development at Technology Bridge, includes those accolades in her pitch to prospective tenants. But it’s the wealth of established relationships with UH researchers and potential employees already on campus that is the biggest selling point.

“If you are looking to grow a company and plug into a major ecosystem, Technology Bridge is where you want to be. You have access to the talent, expertise, facilities, and resources you need to be successful,” says Chatterji, noting that UH is a Carnegie-designated Tier One research university with 35 faculty members in the National Academy of Inventors.

"The students, faculty and resources at the heart of our ecosystem set us apart from everyone else," says Ramanan Krishnamoorti, UH vice president of energy and innovation.

Right now, Technology Bridge has more than 20 companies utilizing a wealth of amenities, including private and shared incubator lab spaces designed to support chemical, mechanical, and life sciences startups.

The Innovation Center features large, fully equipped and furnished office spaces with open and private areas, conference rooms and collaborative meeting areas, and a common kitchen area.

Additionally, startups receive unmatched access to UH faculty, one-on-one mentorship opportunities, and the full support of the UH Office of Technology Transfer and Innovation to help with funding, workshops, grant development, and commercialization.

“This is an innovation environment that is unique to Houston. We’re all about connecting people and ideas,” Chatterji says.

A community for innovators

To access the benefits of Technology Bridge and enjoy its competitive rental rates, companies are required to fulfill certain criteria. This includes committing to a minimum one-year contract and actively engaging with the UH innovation community at one of three levels: hiring university talent, working collaboratively on projects with faculty or sponsoring research, or commercializing UH intellectual property.

“We’re not looking to give out cheap space to anyone who’s just going to move out in three years,” Chatterji says. “We really want the right partners on board to help us cultivate this ecosystem.”

Technology Bridge is home to a diverse mix of companies, comprising both external organizations and spinoffs founded by faculty, graduate students, and staff. While some ventures are still in the early stages, actively seeking funding and assembling their teams, a handful have already reached the exciting milestone of selling products and are preparing to transition into larger, more permanent facilities.

“The higher the engagement, the higher the discount they get on their lease,” Chatterji says. “On the flip side, there’s incentive for UH to keep these companies within our family so we get to share new ideas and innovations and they can mentor our faculty and students.”

Building for the future

It’s not only innovators who are taking notice of the remarkable developments happening at Technology Bridge.

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, who represents Texas’29th congressional district where Technology Bridge is located, helped secure nearly $3 million in federal funding for infrastructure improvements that will further grow its position as a leader in Houston’s innovation space.

“We have a lot of momentum at Technology Bridge as we continue to support Houston’s growing innovation economy,” says Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president of energy and innovation at UH. “We’re building great partnerships and providing these startups with everything they need to commercialize technologies and be successful.”

Most of the $2.875 million will benefit the UH Industry & International Innovation Hub (UHI), a planned center for industry partner engagement with an investor and mentoring studio and event space.

It will also increase onsite industry and startup capacity and establish workforce development and training rooms. The remaining money will be used to establish The Deck Innovation & Coworking Center, with eight new private offices that will increase lease revenue by a projected 150 percent. The entire project is expected to increase capacity by more than 20 companies.

“No other space in Houston has what we have,” adds Krishnamoorti. “It’s not just the Tech Bridge, it’s the University of Houston Tech Bridge. The students, faculty, and resources at the heart of our ecosystem set us apart from everyone else.”

Success stories

In recent years, startups at Technology Bridge have developed innovations in advanced materials, pharmaceuticals, and food and agriculture, as well as infrastructure and construction, optometry, medical devices, and computer software.

Among their accomplishments are hundreds of groundbreaking inventions such as a plant-based polymer with the potential to replace petroleum-based plastics and revolutionary therapeutics that have had a profound impact on patients worldwide, offering treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and epilepsy.

Thomas’ Alchemy Sciences, renowned for its portfolio of products that enhance the efficiency of oil and gas production in multiple basins across the United States, is now embarking on the early stages of expansion to Latin America. The company recently graduated from Technology Bridge, moving into a larger space to accommodate its growing operations.

“An incubation ecosystem like this is essential for technology startups as they begin their journey” Thomas says. “The proactive staff, modern lab facilities, and associated support system enabled us to conduct experimental work efficiently and was key to our growth over the past five years.”

Elemental Coatings, a company founded on technology pioneered by Ghasemi at his UH lab, produces anti-icing surfaces with exceptional durability, even in the harshest environmental conditions. After four years at Technology Bridge, Ghasemi said the company will double its workforce and move into a bigger facility early next year.

“When we started this journey, there were maybe two companies at Technology Bridge, so it’s been amazing to see this growth,” says Ghasemi. “Access to a knowledgeable workforce, along with the facilities and support for intellectual property protections and patents, was essential for us and is crucial for any startup.”

Photo courtesy of UH

New energy institute from UH and Shell will put Houston at the center of innovation

The Great Energy Transfer

Two years ago, Texas’ failing electrical grid became a global sensation and the state was thrust into the spotlight of the developing energy crisis conversation.

This past year, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine again brought the push for alternative sources with a renewed sense of urgency to the top of agendas as oil became scarce.

Moving the energy industry into the future will require a deep investment not only in developing new and greener technology and infrastructure, but also in a dynamic and motivated new workforce.

This core concept forms the foundation of the UH energy initiative. It was with this common objective in mind that the University of Houston, Shell USA Inc., and Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. began discussions about how to usher in a new energy era.

“What they were looking at was what really is important for both entities going forward,” says Joe Powell, Shell’s former chief scientist and chemical engineer. “And what type of collaboration could help achieve some of these very significant societal goals — which involve decarbonization and a move to the circular economy — but then also the problem of workforce development and how we excite students to choose careers in energy.”

In 2022, the two entities came together to open the Energy Transition Institute at UH, with Powell named as its founding executive director. The institute will lean on a $10 million initial donation from Shell and a total of at least $52 million overall in contributions. Through a just and equity-driven pathway, the institute will focus on the production and use of reliable, affordable, and cleaner energy.

“Energy is the lifeline of the world’s economy — in order to improve human development, you need to have access to affordable, reliable energy,” says Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president of energy and innovation at UH. He sees the institute playing a pivotal role in a societal reckoning about the impact of climate change. “We’re thinking about the global challenge of improving quality of life for the 11 billion people who will be on the planet by 2100.”

Taking shape
The institute will focus on four key workstreams. First, it will recruit expert faculty to collaborate with researchers across UH as they dive into the energy transition.

Second, it will seek to impact policymakers through education and public-private partnerships. A new UH Energy Transition Index will track the industry’s progress. Recruitment of policy-minded faculty will assist in the efforts.

“There’s a lot of headline debate about who’s responsible for global warming and what the solution should look like,” says Powell. “What we want to be at the University of Houston is a trusted voice in the conversation to really show some of the complexity and trade-offs.”

Third, as the institute looks to become the global academic leader of the energy transition, it will keep equity at its core, informing policies that address our most pressing challenges to provide secure, reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy for all.

As one of the most diverse public research universities in the country, it will seek to combat issues in all communities, from the disproportionate environmental health risks that hit low-income communities to the burdens of energy infrastructure and affordability.

Efforts will include developing relationships with other universities and institutions that serve communities impacted by these inequities and collaborating with grassroots organizations to research and address environmental justice initiatives and energy equity.

Finally, the institute will emphasize workforce and talent development by helping the current workforce better understand topics on sustainability, facilitating opportunities with Shell and other partners and integrating experts from Shell into UH experiential learning programs.

“We’re really here to empower the various schools and departments within the University of Houston by having a magnet to expand both the research dimension in this space of energy and circularity but also in the workforce development and student training aspects,” Powell says. “We’re looking to have Houston as a center of innovation, similar to what you see in Silicon Valley and in Boston for medicine.”

As the institute takes shape, it will focus research efforts on three key areas, cementing its reputation as the “Energy University:” hydrogen, carbon management, and circular plastics.

The institute will work closely with UH’s Hewlett Packard Enterprise Data Science Institute. “Data science will be driving a lot of new innovation and ways of working in the new energy and circularity economy,” Powell says.

Harnessing hydrogen
Some see hydrogen as a top candidate for the future of clean energy, but squeezing out the full potential of the most abundant element in the universe will take much more research and development. With the Energy Transition Institute, the University of Houston is taking a step to lead the vector into the future.

Proponents of hydrogen point to its capacity to fuel cars and heat homes while reducing carbon emissions. The institute’s efforts will focus on industrial, storage, and transportation capabilities. Powell sees hydrogen powering heavy-duty transportation, improving air quality by pumping trucks with hydrogen made from clean energy sources. “You can think of it as the diesel fuel of the future,” he says.

One of the biggest challenges to the continued growth of wind and solar is the disparity in its availability — across regions and countries. Hydrogen, again, can help. Hydrogen can be transported through gas pipelines or in liquid form via ships, making it a leading option to store and transfer renewables.

Powell says he’s already been working with regions and countries with abundant wind and solar opportunities. He sees South America, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand as leaders.

“Essentially, bringing in the energy from regions of the world that have the most intense and durable wind and solar, and distributing it to areas that don’t have quite as good local resource access,” he says.

Of course, there’s value in transferring energy via hydrogen even before the global renewable energy infrastructure reaches maturity.

Had the technology been available and policy interests aligned, the U.S. and other allies could have easily shipped energy reserves last year when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused an energy crisis throughout Europe.

As the institute gets its footing, it won’t be the only hydrogen-focused entity in the city.

In 2021, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law earmarked $7 billion to create 6-10 clean hydrogen hubs nationwide.

UH is the lead academic partner on a proposal, the Hydrogen Transition (LIGH2T) Hub, in partnership with the Southern States Energy Board and the National Energy Technology Laboratory, as well as other organizations. Of the 79 applicants across the country, LIGH2T was one of just 33 projects encouraged to move forward with a full application. Already, the Texas Gulf Coast region produces about a third of the hydrogen used in the U.S., according to Houston Public Media.

“When you think about hydrogen, two-thirds of all the hydrogen pipelines, 95 percent of the hydrogen infrastructure is here in the greater Houston region,” Krishnamoorti says. “If we want to take that next huge leap and start to integrate both incumbent and new technologies, this is where we’ve got the infrastructure in place.”

Carbon, plastics, and beyond
For all the discussion over the past two decades around plastics, we recycle only about 8 percent of all plastic waste today. Meanwhile, 4percent leaks back into the environment, damaging wildlife ecosystems.

“The question is,” Powell says, “how do you reengineer that economy so that there are incentives to be recycling material and not have it lost as waste that falls outside of the system?”

If there’s a place tailor-made to tackle the problem, it’s Houston. No city in the world has a larger concentration of petrochemical manufacturing facilities.

But the challenge is a stout one; while some plastics can be mechanically recycled, others need to go through a chemical conversion process, requiring significant energy as they’re broken down into new materials and made ready for reconstruction. Hence, the institute’s central theme is about creating a cleaner and more efficient system of collection, sourcing, and sorting.

Over time, Powell envisions a complete transformation of the plastics life cycle. Today, the products are largely made from crude oil and, for the most part, thrown into landfills at the end of their life.

In the future, we’ll have “complex multicomponent recycle streams” that reuse the waste material, incorporating clean energy and human-made approaches, like direct air capture of carbon dioxide to curb greenhouse gases. “That’s a very exciting area,” Powell says. “It’s a little bit less developed in terms of having integrated solutions laid out.” That just means there’s opportunity for leadership.

Whether focusing on circular plastics, decarbonization, or advancing hydrogen initiatives, the institute will look to keep the state at the center of conversation on the future of energy and climate change. Since the failure of the state’s electrical grid two years ago, the headlines and social media images here haven’t always been flattering.

But for all its imperfections, Texas has something other regions do not: a global voice. “How do we keep Houston’s ecosystem and Texas’ ecosystem at the forefront of transforming the world?” asks Krishnamoorti. “We’ve been seen as the energy leaders. We’ve not necessarily been seen as the sustainable energy leaders.”

With the help of the Energy Transition Institute, that could change.

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NASA signs on latest tenant for new Exploration Park campus, now underway

space hub

Exploration Park, the 240-acre research and commercial institute at NASA's Johnson Space Center, is ready for launch.

Facilities at the property have broken ground, according to a recent episode of NASA's Houston We Have a Podcast, with a completion date targeted for Q4 2026.

The research park has also added Houston-based KBR to its list of tenants. According to a news release from the Greater Houston Partnership, the human spaceflight and aerospace services company will operate a 45,000-square-foot food innovation lab at Exploration Park. KBR will use the facility to focus on customized food systems, packaging and nutrition for the low Earth orbit economy.

“Exploration Park is designed for companies in the space ecosystem, such as KBR, to develop, produce, and deploy innovative new technologies that support space exploration and commerce,” Simon Shewmaker, head of development at ACMI Properties, the developer behind Exploration Park, said in the GHP release. “This project is moving expeditiously, and we’re thrilled to sign such an innovative partner in KBR, reflecting our shared commitment to building the essential infrastructure of tomorrow for the next generation of space innovators and explorers.”

NASA introduced the concept of a collaborative hub for academic, commercial and international partners focused on spaceflight in 2023. It signed leases with the American Center for Manufacturing and Innovation and the Texas A&M University System for the previously unused space at JSC last year.

“For more than 60 years, NASA Johnson has been the hub of human space exploration,” Vanessa Wyche, NASA Johnson Space Center Director, said in a statement at the time. “This Space Systems Campus will be a significant component within our objectives for a robust and durable space economy that will benefit not only the nation’s efforts to explore the Moon, Mars and the asteroids, but all of humanity as the benefits of space exploration research roll home to Earth.”

Texas A&M is developing the $200 million Texas A&M Space Institute, funded by the Texas Space Commission, at the center of the park. The facility broke ground last year and will focus on academic, government and commercial collaboration, as well as workforce training programs. ACMI is developing the facilities at Exploration Park.

Once completed, Exploration Park is expected to feature at least 20 build-to-suit facilities over at least 1.5 million square feet. It will offer research and development space, laboratories, clean rooms, office space and light manufacturing capabilities for the aerospace, robotics, life support systems, advanced manufacturing and artificial intelligence industries.

According to the GHP, Griffin Partners has also been selected to serve as the co-developer of Exploration Park. Gensler is leading the design and Walter P Moore is overseeing civil engineering.

Houston cleantech co. plans first-of-its-kind sustainable aviation fuel facility

coming soon

Houston-based Syzygy Plasmonics announced plans to develop what it calls the world's first electrified facility to convert biogas into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

The facility, known as NovaSAF 1, will be located in Durazno, Uruguay. It is expected to produce over 350,000 gallons of SAF annually, which would be considered “a breakthrough in cost-effective, scalable clean fuel,” according to the company.

"This is more than just a SAF plant; it's a new model for biogas economics," Trevor Best, CEO of Syzygy Plasmonics, said in a news release. "We're unlocking a global asset class of underutilized biogas sites and turning them into high-value clean fuel hubs without pipelines, costly gas separation, or subsidy dependence.”

The project is backed by long-term feedstock and site agreements with one of Uruguay's largest dairy and agri-energy operations, Estancias del Lago, while the permitting and equipment sourcing are ongoing alongside front-end engineering work led by Kent.

Syzygy says the project will result in a 50 percent higher SAF yield than conventional thermal biogas reforming pathways and will utilize both methane and CO2 naturally found in biogas as feedstocks, eliminating the need for expensive CO2 separation technologies and infrastructure. Additionally, the modular facility will be designed for easy replication in biogas-rich regions.

The new facility is expected to begin commercial operations in Q1 2027 and produce SAF with at least an 80 percent reduction in carbon intensity compared to Jet A fuel. The company says that once fully commercialized the facility will produce SAF at Jet-A fuel cost parity.

“We believe NovaSAF represents one of the few viable pathways to producing SAF at jet parity and successfully decarbonizing air travel,” Best added in the release.

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This article originally ran on EnergyCapital.

Houston company ranks No. 13 worldwide on Forbes Global 2000 list

World's Biggest Companies

More than 60 Texas-based companies appear on Forbes’ 2025 list of the world’s 2,000 biggest publicly traded companies, and nearly half come from Houston.

Among Texas companies whose stock is publicly traded, Spring-based ExxonMobil is the highest ranked at No. 13 globally.

Rounding out Texas’ top five are Houston-based Chevron (No. 30), Dallas-based AT&T (No. 35), Austin-based Oracle (No. 66), and Austin-based Tesla (No. 69).

Ranking first in the world is New York City-based J.P. Morgan Chase.

Forbes compiled this year’s Global 2000 list using data from FactSet Research to analyze the biggest public companies based on four metrics: sales, profit, assets, and market value.

“The annual Forbes Global 2000 list features the companies shaping today’s global markets and moving them worldwide,” said Hank Tucker, a staff writer at Forbes. “This year’s list showcases how despite a complex geopolitical landscape, globalization has continued to fuel decades of economic growth, with the world’s largest companies more than tripling in size across multiple measures in the past 20 years.”

The U.S. topped the list with 612 companies, followed by China with 317 and Japan with 180.

Here are the rest of the Texas-based companies in the Forbes 2000, grouped by the location of their headquarters and followed by their global ranking.

Houston area

  • ConocoPhillips (No. 105)
  • Phillips 66 (No. 276)
  • SLB (No. 296)
  • EOG Resources (No. 297)
  • Occidental Petroleum (No. 302)
  • Waste Management (No. 351)
  • Kinder Morgan (No. 370)
  • Hewlett Packard Enterprise (No. 379)
  • Baker Hughes (No. 403)
  • Cheniere Energy (No. 415)
  • Corebridge Financial (No. 424)
  • Sysco (No. 448)
  • Halliburton (No. 641)
  • Targa Resources (No. 651)
  • NRG Energy (No. 667)
  • Quanta Services (No. 722)
  • CenterPoint Energy (No. 783)
  • Coterra Energy (No. 1,138)
  • Crown Castle International (No. 1,146)
  • Westlake Corp. (No. 1,199)
  • APA Corp. (No. 1,467)
  • Comfort Systems USA (No. 1,629)
  • Group 1 Automotive (No. 1,653)
  • Talen Energy (No. 1,854)
  • Prosperity Bancshares (No. 1,855)
  • NOV (No. 1,980)

Austin area

  • Dell Technologies (No. 183)
  • Flex (No. 887)
  • Digital Realty Trust (No. 1,063)
  • CrowdStrike (No. 1,490)

Dallas-Fort Worth

  • Caterpillar (No. 118)
  • Charles Schwab (No. 124)
  • McKesson (No. 195)
  • D.R. Horton (No. 365)
  • Texas Instruments (No. 374)
  • Vistra Energy (No. 437)
  • CBRE (No. 582)
  • Kimberly-Clark (No. 639)
  • Tenet Healthcare (No. 691)
  • American Airlines (No. 834)
  • Southwest Airlines (No. 844)
  • Atmos Energy (No. 1,025)
  • Builders FirstSource (No. 1,039)
  • Copart (No. 1,062)
  • Fluor (No. 1,153)
  • Jacobs Solutions (1,232)
  • Globe Life (1,285)
  • AECOM (No. 1,371)
  • Lennox International (No. 1,486)
  • HF Sinclair (No. 1,532)
  • Invitation Homes (No. 1,603)
  • Celanese (No. 1,845)
  • Tyler Technologies (No. 1,942)

San Antonio

  • Valero Energy (No. 397)
  • Cullen/Frost Bankers (No. 1,560)

Midland

  • Diamondback Energy (No. 471)
  • Permian Resources (No. 1,762)
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A version of this article originally appeared on CultureMap.com.