Editor's note: Houston innovators made headlines this month with carbon capture breakthroughs, a cost-effective Parkinson's treatment, and workspace wellness products. Read more about these recent breakthroughs, developments, and launches — and the innovators behind them — below. Emmie Casey and Tomi Kuye, Rice University Two Rice University undergraduate engineering students have developed a non-invasive vibrotactile glove that aims to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease thro...| InnovationMap
Five Houston universities have been named among U.S. News and World Report's just-released list of best universities in the nation for 2026, with Rice University landing on top in Texas.| CultureMap Houston
Seven institutions in the Houston area have lost nearly $60 million in grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that were aimed at funding health research. The Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project identified 37 cancelled or frozen NIH grants worth $58.7 million that were awarded to seven Houston-area institutions. The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston suffered the biggest loss — five grants totaling nearly $44.8 million. The Harvard University T.H. Chan Schoo...| InnovationMap
Houston's Ion District is set to expand with the addition of a nearly 200,000-square-foot research and technology facility, The Arc at the Ion District. Rice Real Estate Company and Lincoln Property Company are expected to break ground on the state-of-the-art facility in Q2 2026 with a completion target set for Q1 2028, according to a news release. Rice University, the new facility's lead tenant, will occupy almost 30,000 square feet of office and lab space in The Arc, which will share a plaz...| InnovationMap
Investors at the Rice Alliance Energy Tech Venture Forum have named the 10 most-promising startups among the group of 100 clean tech companies participating in the event. The 22nd annual event was held yesterday, Sept. 18, at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business and was part of the second Houston Energy and Climate Startup Week. The most-promising startups will receive $7,000 in in-kind legal services from Baker Botts. The 10 most-promising companies included: Houston-based X...| Energy Capital
From massage chairs to meditation zones, campus recreation departments across the country are creating recovery spaces that help students, faculty| Campus Rec Magazine
Pothik Chatterjee was named executive director of Rice University's and Houston Methodist's Digital Health Institute, effective May 1.| InnovationMap
Three Houston startups were granted awards from NASA this month to develop new technologies for the space agency.| InnovationMap
Greentown Labs has named Lawson Gow as its Head of Houston.| InnovationMap
Rice University’s OpenStax and Microsoft are partnering to integrate the nonprofit’s content with the tech giant’s AI innovation, known as Learning Zone.| InnovationMap
A new analysis of planet formation models estimates the odds of a theoretical Planet Nine orbiting our sun at 40% given proper conditions.| The Debrief
While virtual reality has progressed leaps and bounds in the past few years, with motion-based inputs and a plethora of promising VR headsets close on the horizon, our ability to actually feel what we see in virtual worlds remains limited – especially in the consumer space. But a team of…| New Atlas
Rice University has secured part of a nearly $35 million federal grant aimed at commercializing a bioelectric implant for treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity.| InnovationMap
A team of Rice University engineers has developed a reactor design that can decarbonize ammonia production, produce clean water and potentially have applications in further research into other eco-friendly chemical processes.| Energy Capital
Lithium is a finite resource, and the more we lock inside rechargeable batteries, the less we have to use. A new speedy method to free the element from such sources could be a game changer in terms of the material's availability.| New Atlas
