Schedule

Conference & Awards

April 22-23

Session & Speaker Guide

APRIL 22, 2026 — TEXAS INNOVATION AWARDS DINNER

Award Presentations & Networking Reception | Main Program
5:00–6:30 PM | BLUU FOYER
Attendees arrive, check in, and connect with fellow innovators, researchers, industry leaders, and ecosystem partners from across Texas. This opening reception provides an opportunity to build relationships ahead of the evening program.

Welcome & Introduction | Main Program
6:30–7:05 PM | BLUU BALLROOM
Opening welcome to kick off the Awards Dinner, setting the tone for the evening and recognizing the significance of convening leaders from across the Texas innovation ecosystem.
SPEAKER
Newy Scruggs Sports Director — NBC5 (KXAS-TV)
Macy Hill Fort Worth Citycouncilmember, District 7
Rep. Roger Williams U.S. Representative — U.S. Congress (TX-25) (Video) Daniel Pullin Chancellor Texas Christian University

TICA Welcome & Panel Introduction | Main Program
7:05–7:15 PM | BLUU BALLROOM
Welcome from TCU and introduction to the keynote panel, framing the discussion around innovation journeys and the broader Texas ecosystem.
SPEAKER
Tom Wavering Chief University Strategy & Innovation Officer — Texas Christian University

Keynote Panel: From Innovation to Impact | Main Program
7:15–8:15 PM | BLUU BALLROOM
This keynote panel brings together leaders from research, startup, and scaled technology organizations to share their journeys from innovation to impact. Panelists discuss the challenges, inflection points, and decisions that shaped their paths across different contexts — from lab-based research to high-growth startups to global companies.
SPEAKERS
Daniel Pullin Chancellor — Texas Christian University (Moderator)
Stephen Gillett Chairman & CEO — Verily Health (former Alphabet)
Shireen Abdullah Founder & CEO — Yumlish
Dr. Gerard Coté Regents Professor & Director, Center for Remote Health Technologies & Systems — Texas A&M University

Thank You & Preview | Main Program
8:15–8:30 PM | BLUU BALLROOM
Closing remarks to conclude the Awards Dinner, recognize participants, and preview the conference programming on April 23.
SPEAKERS
Newy Scruggs, Sports Director NBC5 (KXAS-TV)
Dr. Jacqueline Navarrete Director, Innovation Network — Texas Christian University

Dessert & Networking Reception | Main Program
8:30–9:30 PM | BLUU BALLROOM
Informal dessert reception providing additional time for attendees to connect, continue conversations, and build relationships across the Texas innovation ecosystem.

APRIL 23, 2026 — TEXAS INNOVATION CONFERENCE

Registration, Breakfast & Networking | Main Program
7:30–8:30 AM | BLUU BALLROOM
Attendees check in, enjoy breakfast, and connect with fellow innovators, researchers, founders, and industry leaders before the day's sessions begin.

Where the Opportunities Are: Navigating Federal, State, and Capital Pathways in Texas | Main Program
8:30–9:30 AM | BLUU BALLROOM
This opening session provides a practical view of how innovation is funded and supported across Texas — from federal programs to state initiatives and private capital. Panelists share how these pathways actually work, where opportunities exist, and how founders and researchers can position themselves to access funding and partnerships.
SPEAKERS
Greg Cox Executive Director of Government Relations — Texas Christian University
Sen. Royce West State Senator Texas Senate District 23
Nathan Cook Senior Director of Government Relations — Rice University
Andrea Coker Chief Advocacy Officer — North Texas Commission

From Disclosure to Spinout: Building the Commercialization Pathway & Deal Structure That Works | Commercialization
9:35–10:20 AM | BLUU AUDITORIUM
An end-to-end roadmap for moving university innovation from early invention disclosure to a signed license or successful spinout. Speakers walk through commercial potential assessment, patent strategy, licensing versus new venture decisions, and the mechanics of spinout creation including equity models, governance, and founder roles.
SPEAKERS
Heidjer Staecker Partner — TreMonti Consulting
Sundeep Mattamana Executive Director for Technology Development and Transfer — UT Medical Branch (UTMB)
Dr. Gerard Coté Regents Professor & Director, Center for Remote Health Technologies & Systems · Texas A&M University
David McClure Managing Director, Licensing, Office of Research Commercialization — Texas Tech University System

Fundraising 101: SAFE vs Priced Rounds & How Investors Really Decide | Funding
9:35–10:20 AM | B L U U B A L L R O O M
A jargon-free walkthrough of the fundraising process at pre-seed and seed — when to raise, SAFE notes versus priced rounds, valuation and dilution basics, building a fundraising narrative, what belongs in a data room, and common mistakes that slow or derail fundraising.

SPEAKERS
Shahbano Imran Entrepreneur-in-Residence · Differential
Rodney D'Souza Executive Director, Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation · TCU
Neeley School of Business
Trey Bowles Co-Founder & Managing Partner · 1845 Venture Studio
Mark Crumblish CEO & Co-Founder · Eagle Venture Studio
Cody Merrill Founder · King's Compass

1 → 10: Enterprise Pilots, Pricing, and Getting to Repeatable Revenue | Growth
9:35–10:20 AM | BECK/GEREN
Focused on moving past the 'pilot plateau,' this session covers choosing the right early
customers, structuring pilots that prove value, pricing for sustainability, and building a sales process that doesn't depend entirely on the founder.
SPEAKERS
Melissa Acosta Executive Director, Research, Innovation & Sponsored Programs · JPS
Health Network
Samantha Snabes Co-Founder & CEO · re:3D
Elyse Dickerson Co-Founder & CEO · Eosera
Eric Adolphe Founder & CEO ·Forward Edge-AI

Statewide Collaboration: R1/R2 Innovation Partnerships & Shared
Infrastructure Model | Partnerships
9:35–10:20 AM | CHAMBERS
Focused on practical models for statewide collaboration — how R1 and R2 universities can share commercialization resources, jointly support startups, co-develop industry partnerships, and build shared infrastructure for entrepreneurship and translational research
SPEAKERS
Victor Fishman Execuive Director· Texas Research Alliance
Janet Donaldson Vice Predident of Research Abiline Christian University
Jon McCarry Executive Director, Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation University of North Texas
Gilroy Vandentop Texas A & M Semiconductor institute Texas A & M University Eo Eric Adolphe Founder & CEO ·Forward Edge-AI

Launch: 0 → 1: Building the First 10 People and the First 10 Customers | Commercialization
10:25–11:10 AM | BLUU AUDITORIUM
A tactical session on the practical realities of the earliest startup phase: deciding who to hire first, avoiding expensive mistakes, building a lightweight operating rhythm, and turning initial interest into paid pilots or revenue
SPEAKERS
Caitlin McMinn Executive Director TechFW
Dylan Jones Founder & CEO LYX
Clayton Shephard Co-Founder & CTO Skylark Wireless
Rajini Anachi CEO & President AvaWatz

The VC / Growth Lens: What Makes a Startup Investable After Seed | Funding
10:25–11:10 AM | BLUU BALLROOM
An investor-focused session explaining how venture firms and growth investors evaluate startups after seed and what milestones founders must hit to earn a Series A — traction quality, market selection, defensibility, sales efficiency, retention, and team composition.
SPEAKERS
Jeremy Vickers Ph.D., Chief of Staff to the Chancellor Texas Christian University
Steve Guengerich Senior Advisor for Innovatipn and Commercialization University of Texas at Dallas.
Sushma Vadlamannati Founder & Managing Partner ZScale Capital
Erich Broksas Chief Strategy Officer & Partner Builders + Backers James Spann Founder & Managing Partner Boyd Street Ventures

Pricing, Packaging & Go-to-Market: Turning Pilots Into Repeatable Revenue | Growth
10:25–11:10 AM | BECK/GEREN
A practical playbook for turning early pilots and one-off deals into a repeatable go-to-market engine — choosing a pricing model, packaging the product clearly, and positioning value to win deals without racing to the bottom on price.
SPEAKERS
Ken Corbit Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, Marketing TCU Neeley School of Business.

Industry Partnerships That Work: Sponsored Research, Pilots, & Joint
Development | Partnerships
10:25–11:10 AM | CHAMBERS
Practical case studies on how universities and startups build partnerships that move beyond conversations into real pilots, sponsored research agreements, and joint development projects. Speakers cover partner identification, scope definition, IP protection, and designing pilots that scale.
SPEAKERS
Shawn Farrell Executive Director, Corporate Engagement & Strategic Partnerships Texas Christian University
Tony Boccanfuso President & CEO · UIDP (University-Industry Demonstration Partnership).
Denise Canales Executive Director, Innovation & Industry Relations · Texas A&M
University–Fort Worth
Rebecca Sardharwala Sr. Manager, Cyber Security Engineering · Lockheed Martin Sean Crotty Associate Professor of Geography · Texas Christian University

From Lab to Scale: What Kills Deep-Tech Commercialization (and How to
Avoid It) | COMMERCIALIZATION
11:15 AM–12:00 PM | BLUU AUDITORIUM
This session examines the most common reasons research-driven ventures stall — lack of a real customer problem, slow iteration cycles, misaligned incentives, overreliance on grants, unclear IP strategy, insufficient manufacturing pathways, and underestimating regulatory constraints.
SPEAKERS
Marcus Wolfe G. Brint Ryan Professor of Entrepreneurship & Academic Director, Murphy Center · University of North Texas
Andrew Maas Assistant VP for Technology Transfer, Discovery to Impact · University of
Texas at Austin
Aaron Barker Partner & Head of Venture Best, Texas · Michael Best & Friedrich LLP Suchi Acharya Founder & CEO · AyuVis Research
Erik Halvorsen Partner · pH Partners

SBIR/STTR Playbook: Non-Dilutive Funding for Research-Driven Startups | FUNDING
11:15 AM–12:00 PM | BLUU BALLROOM
A step-by-step roadmap for winning SBIR/STTR and related non-dilutive funding programs —identifying the right agency and solicitation, building a compelling commercialization plan,structuring technical milestones, and using non-dilutive awards to de-risk the business forfuture venture investment. Led by two-time Tibbetts Award winner and national SBIR/STTR expert.
SPEAKERS
Tom Wavering Chief University Strategy & Innovation Officer · Texas Christian University

10 → 100: Hiring Leaders, Culture, and Operational Cadence | GROWTH
11:15 AM–12:00 PM | BECK/GEREN
This session focuses on what changes when startups move from a small founding team to a real company — how to hire leaders without losing founder speed, create a culture that supports execution, set operating rhythms (OKRs, weekly cadence, metrics), and avoid common 'scale traps.
SPEAKERS
Adriana Ocampo Senior Founder & CEO · T.I.A. Ltd. Co
Spencer Traver Director of Marketing · Sustainmen
Ben Perkins Managing Partner · pH Partners
Pradeepkumar Govindasamy Co-Founder, President & CEO · QualiZeal

Corporate Innovation & Procurement: How to Win Pilots in Energy, Health,
and Defense | PARTNERSHIPS
11:15 AM–12:00 PM | CHAMBERS
This session focuses on how procurement and innovation teams evaluate new technology, what makes a pilot succeed, and how to design pilots that convert into repeat business in regulated, high-stakes industries
SPEAKERS
Gina Ford CEO · BioNTX
Shaun Six President & CEO · UTSI International
Jon Northrup Co-Founder & CEO · Stingray Therapeutics
William Buras Senior Director, Life Sciences R+D · Tietronix Software

Lunch Keynote: Texas Economic Development & Innovation | MAIN PROGRAM
12:05 –1:00 PM |BLUU BALLROOM
Terry Zrubek, Deputy Executive Director of the Texas Economic Development & Tourism Office, provides an inside look at how the state drives economic development and innovation across Texas — including the strategic plan "Bigger. Better. Texas." covering business growth, investment attraction, workforce development, and infrastructure.
SPEAKERS
Terry Zrubek Deputy Executive Director, Economic Development & Tourism · Office of the Governor of Texas

Bus Tour: Fort Worth Medical Innovation District | BUS TOUR
1:15–4:00 PM |DEPARTS BLUU ENTRANCE
A guided bus tour of Fort Worth's Medical Innovation District, showcasing the region's
growing health sciences and biotech ecosystem — including the facilities, research
institutions, and companies driving medical innovation in North Texas
Shawn Farrell Executive Director, Corporate Engagement & Strategic Partnerships — Texas Christian University

Bus Tour: Alliance, TX Innovation Corridor| BUS TOUR
1:15–4:00 PM |DEPARTS BLUU ENTRANCE
A guided bus tour of Alliance, Texas — one of the largest master-planned industrial and
commercial developments in the U.S. — highlighting the logistics, advanced manufacturing, and technology companies that make up this thriving North Texas innovation corridor
Greg Cox Executive Director, Executive Director of Government Relations — Texas Christian University

All afternoon sessions will be located directly across the street at the TCU Football Stadium in The Legends Club.

From Breakthrough to Business: Building Category-Defining Companies in
Texas | MAIN PROGRAM
1:15 –2:05 PM | TCU FOOTBALL STADIUM-LEGENDS CLUB
This founder-led panel explores what it takes to build a successful, category-defining company in Texas — from early breakthroughs to market traction and scale, covering early customer validation, capital strategy, hiring, and partnerships.
SPEAKERS
Troy Billett Innovation Fund Manager · McKinney Economic Development Corporation
Nick Cardwell VP of Product & Advanced Research · Venus Aerospace
Shane Hanes Principal · Hanes Ventures
Will Edwards Co-Founder & CEO · Firehawk Aerospace

From Recognition to Action: Commercialization Pathways for Awarded
Researcher | ACTIVATION LABS
1:15 –2:05 PM | TCU FOOTBALL STADIUM-LEGENDS CLUB-LOGE CLUB
Designed for researchers ready to move from recognition to action. Participants work through key commercialization decision points — licensing vs. spinout, near-term funding pathways, pilot opportunities, and industry engagement — using a guided framework.
SPEAKERS
Andrew Maas Assistant VP for Technology Transfer, Discovery to Impact · University of
Texas at Austin
Brent Schultze Director, Office of Technology Commercialization · University of Texas at Dallas

Scaling What Matters: Capital, Customers, and Partnerships at Texas Scale | MAIN PROGRAM
2:10 –3:00 PM | TCU FOOTBALL STADIUM-LEGENDS CLUB
This session examines how startups and research-driven ventures scale successfully in Texas by aligning capital, enterprise customers, and strategic partnerships — winning large customers, structuring pilots that convert, and avoiding common breakdowns as companies grow.
SPEAKERS
Dr. Marcellis Perkins Strategy and Innovation Fellow · Texas Christian University
Dr. Tiffany Tremont President & CEO · Silotech Group
Rick Beattie Chief Revenue Officer · NetRise
Mark Piening SVP Business Development & Growth · Protopia AI

Investor Readiness & Deal Progression Lab | ACTIVATION PROGRAM
2:10 –3:00 PM | TCU FOOTBALL STADIUM-LEGENDS CLUB-LOGE CLUB
Founders work in small groups with investors and advisors to assess investor fit, refine near-term milestones, and map next steps following investor matchmaking conversations, focused on deal progression and follow-through rather than pitching.
SPEAKERS
Jonathan Randall Venture Associate · Capital Factory
Darrel Frater Founder & Managing Partner · TGN Ventures

The Future of Innovation in Texas: What's Next for Universities, Startups,
and Industry | MAIN PROGRAM
3:05 –3:55 PM | TCU FOOTBALL STADIUM-LEGENDS CLUB
This forward-looking session explores what's next for Texas innovation — priority sectors, emerging opportunities, workforce and talent pipelines, and how R1 and R2 institutions can collaborate more effectively. Concludes with a call to action and shared vision for the year ahead.
SPEAKERS
Paul O'Brien CEO & Founder · Startup Economist
Bobby Ahdieh Dean, Anthony G. Buzbee Endowed Dean's Chair & VP for Professional
Schools and Programs · Texas A&M University School of Law
Ed Curtis Founder & CEO · YTexas
Tom Wavering Chief University Strategy & Innovation Officer · Texas Christian University

University–Industry Deal Lab: Turning Conversations into Pilots | ACTIVATION PROGRAM
3:05 –3:55 PM | TCU FOOTBALL STADIUM-LEGENDS CLUB-LOGE CLUB
This lab brings together university leaders, corporate partners, and startups to convert
conference conversations into concrete pilot or partnership opportunities, outlining pilot scope, IP and contracting considerations, and ownership timelines for next
SPEAKERS
Jason Byrne Senior Director, Corporate & Foundation Relations · Texas Christian University
Tony Boccanfuso President & CEO · UIDP (University-Industry Demonstration Partnership)

Close-Out Networking Happy Hour | MAIN PROGRAM
4:00 –5:00 PM | TCU FOOTBALL STADIUM-LEGENDS CLUB
The conference concludes with an informal networking happy hour, providing attendees an opportunity to connect, reflect on key insights from the day, and continue conversations with founders, researchers, investors, and industry leaders from across the Texas innovation ecosystem.