Rice Alliance 7th Year Kick Off Reception

Wow, it seems like only yesterday that I was part of literally a handful of folks who sat down on a Saturday morning during the fall of 1999 to attend my first Rice Alliance event.  And yesterday we had the 7th Year Kick Off Celebration.  It was great to see some old friends I had not seen since the Rice Business Plan competition and meet several new folks as well.
 
I am guessing by the size of the crowd that we had in excess of 250 participants and it included a nice group of: entrepreneurs, angel investors, venture capital investors, academic and professional personnel.  Brad Burke and the staff of the Rice Alliance at the Jones School always put on a first class event and yesterday was no exception.  Thanks for the plug on the Fast Tech 50 event Brad!
 
As a side treat I got to meet my congressman, Honorable John Culberson who gave a brief overview and introduction to the keynote speaker of the evening, Dr. Mauro Ferrari.  I was particularly impressed with Congressman Culberson’s understanding of the science and funding aspects of local research and the area of discussion for the evening, Nanotechnology.  Good job Congressman, you understand the topic very well.  Too bad more of your colleagues on the hill can’t get it together as well.
 
And the keynote, Dr. Ferrari, well all I can say is WOW.  I truly believe I was in the company of greatness.  A person one day that may be included among the ranks with other well known innovative scientists (Bell, Westinghouse, etc.).  I thought he did a fantastic job of explaining what he was hoping to accomplish in the Nanotechnology arena.  He also took a moment to introduce his family and the were just adorable as well.  We welcomed them to Houston and I hope they have an enjoyable time in our community.
 
Stay tuned, there will be more coming from this area of Houston in the near future.