A group of Houstonians have launched a virtual tutoring platform for students in Kindergarten through eighth grade. Image via teachingtogive.org

Seven local high schoolers took lessons from their own schooling challenges in 2020 to launch a free, virtual tutoring program last month with the goal of helping younger students close learning gaps of their own during this unprecedented academic year ahead.

Dubbed Teaching To Give, the project matches kindergarten through eighth grade students with honor roll high schoolers from Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Strake Jesuit, and Bellaire High School for 30- to 45-minute teaching sessions in core subjects, languages, debate, and arts via Zoom.

Kinder HSPVA sophomore Weillison Hsu, who now serves as president of Teaching to Give, first proposed the idea to fellow piano major and Vice President Hayden Miller at the end of the 2019-20 school year. The 15-year-olds are bright, talented, and artistic, but their freshman years had not come without challenges: First, several of their teachers were required to take a leave of absence, leaving them with long-term substitutes. Then COVID-19 hit, making traditional learning impossible.

It took time to adjust, Miller says, but eventually he and his peers found their stride in the tech-based schooling style that Houston Independent School District has been following for months. Still, they feared the transition for younger students had not been as smooth.

"We have been used to that independence, where in elementary school, and middle school even, you do a lot hands on and in person," Miller says. So, they decided to help in a way that was safe, affordable, and approachable.

"During these times, it's just not possible to make sure that everyone is fully striving," Miller says. "We wanted to make it as easy as possible for parents to use us and to have a stress-free environment, to provide a successful education and set up."

Today, Teaching to Give has held more than 100 free web-based tutoring sessions for kids around the city in subjects from science to piano. They ask on-boarding students to complete a personality and learning style questionnaire and place them with one of their 29 tutors who they predict will work best with for their subject matter and interests. Miller says the minor age difference has allowed their sessions to have real impact.

"It provides a more relatable experience," he says. "A lot of the time we'll have the same interests as our students. We can use that to foster mutual excitement for the subject material."

Still, the group is learning how to teach in a virtual setting as they go.

"It really forces you to think of how you say things to get the result that you want," Miller says. "I think we will all come out of this as better communicators."

Miller, Hsu, and the five other board members — Lina Wu, Amy Park, Fiona Condron, Rushil Chetty, and Ashley Chu — plan to continue to focus on virtual tutoring sessions even after the pandemic ends and limitations on in-person learning lift. Again pulling from their own experience, they know that virtual options can provide big benefits for busy parents and students like themselves.

And in the meantime, they're hoping to start partnerships with a few local lower schools, are accepting applications for additional tutors, and are raising awareness for their new initiative, Project Pencil, which will donate art supplies to the Gregory-Lincoln Education Center in the Fourth Ward.

"Art is something that is universal. It takes away the stress of learning. Also, art lessons and music lessons are very expensive," Miller adds. "We wanted to incorporate that into our classes because that's what our biggest strengths lie in. We wanted to share that passion and provide a way to spread more unity between people. Art has a way of doing that."

Teaching to Give founders (Weillison, Hayden and Lina) virtually meeting with Thomas Porter, HISD Magnet Coordinator for Gregory Lincoln. Image courtesy of Teaching to Give

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Houston hypersonic engine company lands investment from deep-tech firm

super speed

Hypersonic engine technology company Venus Aerospace announced an investment for an undisclosed amount from deep-tech investment firm America's Frontier Fund (AFF).

Venus plans to use the funds to advance its VDR2 engine has the potential to support a commercial flight from Los Angeles to Tokyo in under two hours, according to a statement.

"AFF's investment in Venus Aerospace underscores our focus on supporting American companies that are revolutionizing industries of the future," Jordan Blashek, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of AFF, said in a news release. "With recent hypersonic advancements from China and Russia, safeguarding American innovation and securing our industrial base has never been more urgent. Venus Aerospace is poised to redefine hypersonic flight and ensure America's continued leadership in aerospace innovation."

Venus plans to integrate components of its RDRE engine into the advanced VDR2 engine, increasing efficiency with air-augmentation technology capable of 2,000 pounds of thrust. This will allow the VDR2 engine to operate at wider ranges of speeds and altitudes. The company plans to ground-test the VDR2 in 2025.

Venus also plans to make history this year by conducting the first atmospheric flight of its RDRE engine, which has applications in the space and defense industries.

"AFF's commitment to pioneering technological advancements aligns seamlessly with our mission to enhance American competitiveness in hypersonics,” Sassie Duggleby, CEO and co-Founder of Venus Aerospace, added in the news release. “Their deep-tech expertise and proven track record in scaling innovative companies will be invaluable as we work to achieve our goals."

Venus Aerospace believes these innovations can “strengthen U.S. leadership in aerospace, defense, and energy innovation."

Venus also aims to use its engine technology to power the Stargazer M4, the world's first Mach 4 reusable commercial aircraft and a prime example of advanced propulsion systems.

The company launched in 2020 and has gained $78.3 million in total investments, according to Pitchbook data.

Houston manufacturer names location of its $193.7 million facility

coming soon

Houston-based manufacturer of high-temperature superconducting wires MetOx International Inc. will build a major production facility in Chatham County, North Carolina, which is expected to create 333 jobs, and invest $193.7 million in the state.

MetOx is a leader in High Temperature Superconducting technology (HTS), which is an advanced power delivery technology that is capable of transmitting extremely high power at low voltage with zero heat generation or energy loss. The technology is assisting in the energy sectors like power transmission, distribution, and grid expansion.

“Establishing our new large-scale manufacturing facility in Chatham County is a pivotal step toward securing a reliable, domestic supply of HTS wire for the development of critical infrastructure in the United States,” Bud Vos, CEO of MetOx, says in a news release. “This facility will not only deliver transformative energy technologies that strengthen our grid and reduce carbon emissions but also create high-paying manufacturing jobs in a community eager to lead in innovation. We are proud to partner with North Carolina to drive forward a resilient energy future built on cutting-edge science and strong local collaboration.”

The new facility is funded in part by an $80 million investment from the United States Department of Energy, which the company announced in October. In September, the company closed $25 million in a series B extension round.

In late 2024, MetOx also announced that it received an undisclosed investment from Hawaii-based Elemental Impact, which is a leading climate-focused investment platform. As a national implementation partner for the EPA's $27 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, Elemental Impact has received $100 million to deploy later-stage commercialized technologies according to the company.

The funding is expected to advance the expansion of MetOx’s Houston production line and the deployment of its HTS wire, which can make transmission cables up to ten times more efficient than traditional copper cables and will be used at the North Carolina facility.

“Building domestic manufacturing capacity for critical grid technologies is essential for America’s energy future," Danya Hakeem, vice president of Portfolio at Elemental Impact, says in a news release. “MetOx’s expansion in Houston demonstrates how we can simultaneously advance grid modernization and create quality manufacturing jobs. Their technology represents exactly the kind of innovation needed to unlock the next wave of clean energy deployment.”

The project in North Carolina will be facilitated with a Job Development Investment Grant formally awarded to a new company being created by MetOx. In the 12-year term of the grant, economists in the Department of Commerce estimated the project will grow North Carolina’s economy by $987.8 million.

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This article originally was published on our sister site, EnergyCapital.

Houston Nobel Prize nominee earns latest award for public health research

Prized Research

Houston vaccine scientist Dr. Peter Hotez can add one more prize to his shelf.

Hotez — dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine and professor of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology at Baylor College of Medicine, co-director of the Texas Children’s Center for Vaccine Development (CVD) and Texas Children’s Hospital Endowed Chair of Tropical Pediatrics — is no stranger to impressive laurels. In 2022, he was even nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his low-cost COVID vaccine.

His first big win of 2025 is this year’s Hill Prize, awarded by the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (TAMEST).

Hotez and his team were selected to receive $500,000 from Lyda Hill Philanthropies to help fund The Texas Virosphere Project. The endeavor was born to help create a predictive disease atlas relating to climate disasters. Because the climate crisis has ushered in changes to the distribution of diseases, including dengue, chikungunya, Zika, Chagas disease, typhus and tick-borne relapsing fever, it’s important to predict outbreaks before they become a menace.

Rice University researchers are collaborating with Hotez and his team on a project that combines climate science and metagenomics to access 3,000 insect genomes. The goal is to aid health departments in controlling disease and informing policy.

The Hill Prize, which is being awarded to six innovators for the first time, thanks to a $10 million commitment from the philanthropic organization, is intended to back ideas that are high-risk and high-reward. Each of the projects was chosen for its potential real-life impact on some of Texas's — and the world’s — most challenging situations. Hotez’s prize is the first Hill Prize to be given in the realm of public health. The additional winners are:

  • Hill Prize in Medicine: Kenneth M. Hargreaves, D.D.S., Ph.D., The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
  • Hill Prize in Engineering: Joan Frances Brennecke, Ph.D. (NAE), The University of Texas at Austin
  • Hill Prize in Biological Sciences: David J. Mangelsdorf, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS), UT Southwestern Medical Center
  • Hill Prize in Physical Sciences: James Chelikowsky, Ph.D., The University of Texas at Austin
  • Hill Prize in Technology: Robert De Lorenzo, M.D., EmergenceMed, LLC
Read about other Houston-area researchers recognized by TAMEST here.