3 Houston innovators to know this week

Who's who

From making major deals to advancing future innovators, here are three Houston leaders to know this week. Courtesy photos

This week's movers and shakers in Houston innovation are dealmakers and leaders — from securing huge partnerships to influencing the next generation of inventors. These are the three innovators to know in Houston this week.

Rakesh Agrawal, CEO of SnapStream

Courtesy of SnapStream

A Houston tech innovator just made a deal with Verizon. Verizon Digital Media Services announced that SnapStream is the "official transition partner" for a product under Volicon Observer, a company that was acquired by Verizon in 2016. SnapStream's CEO Rakesh Agrawal says in a release that the two entities have similar products, features, and even customers, but have always had a respectful relationship.

"SnapStream is known, among other things, for the great support we provide, and we look forward to providing the same high-quality support to Volicon customers," Agrawal says in the release. "We hope to eventually earn the business of current Volicon customers by converting them into SnapStream customers." Read the full story here.

Enrico Ladendorf, founder and managing partner of Pason Power

Courtesy of Pason Power

Another Houston dealmaker is Enrico Ladendorf, founder and managing partner of Pason Power. In layman's terms, Pason Power offers an array of technologies — including AI, IoT, real-time automation — that support energy storage systems throughout a project's lifecycle. Energy storage systems is a wide umbrella that includes everything from the massive systems used to store renewable energy and biofuels, to household batteries, which store electricity.

"We have intelligent energy management system, which is an intelligent brain that sits inside an energy storage system," says Ladendorf. "We have this intelligent, fully-autonomous system that knows the physical operation of (energy storage and drill rigs), and it makes it brain-dead simple." Read the full story here.

Pam Rosen, general manager of the Shell Eco-marathon

Courtesy of Shell

Houstonian Pam Rosen lead Shell's Eco-marathon, which took place from April 3 to 6. Two student teams represented Houston in the competition — one from Rice University and James E. Taylor High School.

"We really needed to get more young people interested in technology careers," says Pam Rosen, general manager of the Shell Eco-marathon. "It [doesn't] even need to be with Shell. It's more about the method, science, and helping [students[ gravitate toward those opportunities."Read the full story here.

Two Houston student teams are competing in Shell's international competition. Courtesy of Shell

2 Houston student teams to compete in Shell’s international eco-friendly driving challenge

Off to the races

What started as a bet in the '30s has evolved into the Shell's Eco-marathon. The competition challenges high school and college students to engineer the fuel-efficient vehicles. And at this year's Shell Eco-marathon Americas, two teams will be representing Houston.

Students from Rice University and James E. Taylor High School are competing in the Shell Eco-marathon Americas, which begins April 3 and wraps up April 6. This year's competition is being held at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California, and will include more than 90 teams from high schools and colleges throughout North and South America.

That's a far cry from the competition's origins. Shell's first fuel efficiency competition took place in 1939, when two Illinois scientists struck a friendly bet over who could engineer a vehicle that ran the furthest on a gallon of gas. The company held an employee competition that year and, save for around a decade and a half in the '70s and '80s, the competition has been held in some capacity every year.

"We really needed to get more young people interested in technology careers," says Pam Rosen, general manager of the Shell Eco-marathon. "It [doesn't] even need to be with Shell. It's more about the method, science, and helping [students[ gravitate toward those opportunities."

The Shell Eco-marathon has adapted with the decades. Students design vehicles that run on gas, diesel, and biofuels, as well as batteries and electricity. Vehicles fueled by GTL (gas-to-liquid) and hydrogen have also competed in the Eco-marathon, Rosen says.

"It kind of ebbs and flows toward what we see the automotive manufacturers trending toward," Rosen says.

The teams from Rice University is a returning presence to the Eco-marathon, while the team from James E. Taylor High School is competing in the Eco-marathon for its first time. Both teams engineered battery-powered electric urban concept vehicles, Rosen says, and describes "urban concept vehicles" as being similar to Smart cars.

The team that takes the top prize in the Americas' urban concept vehicle competition will compete in the Eco-marathon's regional qualifiers in London. As for the lucky winner? They'll head to Italy, where they'll get to drive their vehicle on the racetrack used in the San Marino Grand Prix in Marino, Italy, Rosen says.

Ad Placement 300x100
Ad Placement 300x600

CultureMap Emails are Awesome

Property Showcase

Axiom Space-tested cancer drug advances to clinical trials

mission critical

A cancer-fighting drug tested aboard several Axiom Space missions is moving forward to clinical trials.

Rebecsinib, which targets a cancer cloning and immune evasion gene, ADAR1, has received FDA approval to enter clinical trials under active Investigational New Drug (IND) status, according to a news release. The drug was tested aboard Axiom Mission 2 (Ax-2) and Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3). It was developed by Aspera Biomedicine, led by Dr. Catriona Jamieson, director of the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute (SSCI).

The San Diego-based Aspera team and Houston-based Axiom partnered to allow Rebecsinib to be tested in microgravity. Tumors have been shown to grow more rapidly in microgravity and even mimic how aggressive cancers can develop in patients.

“In terms of tumor growth, we see a doubling in growth of these little mini-tumors in just 10 days,” Jamieson explained in the release.

Rebecsinib took part in the patient-derived tumor organoid testing aboard the International Space Station. Similar testing is planned to continue on Axiom Station, the company's commercial space station that's currently under development.

Additionally, the drug will be tested aboard Ax-4 under its active IND status, which was targeted to launch June 25.

“We anticipate that this monumental mission will inform the expanded development of the first ADAR1 inhibitory cancer stem cell targeting drug for a broad array of cancers," Jamieson added.

According to Axiom, the milestone represents the potential for commercial space collaborations.

“We’re proud to work with Aspera Biomedicines and the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute, as together we have achieved a historic milestone, and we’re even more excited for what’s to come,” Tejpaul Bhatia, the new CEO of Axiom Space, said in the release. “This is how we crack the code of the space economy – uniting public and private partners to turn microgravity into a launchpad for breakthroughs.”

Houston ranks No. 4 for HQ relocations and more innovation news to know

Trending News

Editor's note: The top recent Houston business and innovation news includes a high ranking for Houston HQs, an innovative exoskeleton designed for children with cerebral palsy, and incoming drones for Walmart delivery. Catch up on the 5 most-read InnovationMap stories from the latter half of June 2025 below:

1. Houston ranks among top 5 cities for corporate HQ relocations in new report

Houston attracted 31 new corporate headquarters from 2018 to 2024, according to a new report from CBRE. Photo via Getty Images

The Houston area already holds the title as the country’s third biggest metro hub for Fortune 500 headquarters, behind the New York City and Chicago areas. Now, Houston can tout another HQ accolade: It’s in a fourth-place tie with the Phoenix area for the most corporate headquarters relocations from 2018 to 2024.

During that period, the Houston and Phoenix areas each attracted 31 corporate headquarters, according to new research from commercial real estate services company CBRE. Continue reading.

2. Texas plugs in among states at highest risk for summer power outages in 2025

A new study puts Texas at No. 2 among the states most at risk for power outages this summer. Photo via Getty Images

Warning: Houston could be in for an especially uncomfortable summer.

A new study from solar energy company Wolf River Electric puts Texas at No. 2 among the states most at risk for power outages this summer. Michigan tops the list. Continue reading.

3. Houston team develops innovative soft skeleton for kids with cerebral palsy

UH BRAIN and TIRR Memorial Hermann have developed the MyoStep soft exoskeleton to address motor impairments caused by cerebral palsy. Photo courtesy UH.

A Houston team has introduced the MyoStep soft exoskeleton for children with cerebral palsy.

The soft skeleton aims to address motor impairments caused by cerebral palsy that impact children’s ability to participate in physical activities, self-care and academics. Continue reading.

4. CPRIT grants $22M to bring top cancer researchers to Houston

CPRIT recently granted $93 million to 61 organizations and scientists, including many in Houston, to advance cancer research. Carter Smith/Courtesy of MD Anderson

Several prominent cancer researchers are coming to the Houston area thanks to $22 million in grants recently awarded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT).

The biggest CPRIT recruitment grant — $6 million — went to genetics researcher Jean Gautier. Gautier, a professor of genetics and development at Columbia University’s Institute for Cancer Genetics, is joining the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to continue his research. Continue reading.

5. California company to launch Walmart drone delivery in Houston

California company to launch Walmart drone delivery in Houston

Walmart Supercenters in Houston will offer Wing drone delivery services by this time next year. Photo courtesy Wing.

California-based Wing will soon touch down in Houston.

The drone delivery company has partnered with Walmart Supercenters in Houston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando and Tampa. According to a news release, Wing’s drone delivery services will be available at 100 Walmart stores across the selected markets by this time next year. Continue reading.

Chevron enters the lithium market with major Texas land acquisition

to market

Chevron U.S.A., a subsidiary of Houston-based energy company Chevron, has taken its first big step toward establishing a commercial-scale lithium business.

Chevron acquired leaseholds totaling about 125,000 acres in Northeast Texas and southwest Arkansas from TerraVolta Resources and East Texas Natural Resources. The acreage contains a high amount of lithium, which Chevron plans to extract from brines produced from the subsurface.

Lithium-ion batteries are used in an array of technologies, such as smartwatches, e-bikes, pacemakers, and batteries for electric vehicles, according to Chevron. The International Energy Agency estimates lithium demand could grow more than 400 percent by 2040.

“This acquisition represents a strategic investment to support energy manufacturing and expand U.S.-based critical mineral supplies,” Jeff Gustavson, president of Chevron New Energies, said in a news release. “Establishing domestic and resilient lithium supply chains is essential not only to maintaining U.S. energy leadership but also to meeting the growing demand from customers.”

Rania Yacoub, corporate business development manager at Chevron New Energies, said that amid heightening demand, lithium is “one of the world’s most sought-after natural resources.”

“Chevron is looking to help meet that demand and drive U.S. energy competitiveness by sourcing lithium domestically,” Yacoub said.

---

This article originally appeared on EnergyCapital.

View All Listings