Three events will include opportunities for the media.
The Spark Conference at Texas Tech University's Innovation Hub at Research Park will include three events with designated interview and participant availability for media members.
The first event is the Lightning Round Reception.
WHAT: The Lightning Round Reception is a high-energy event in which startups will present elevator pitches to community members for their votes. The audience elects the winner.
WHEN: 4-5:45 p.m. Thursday (April 27)
WHERE: Innovation Hub atrium, 3911 4th St.
EVENT: Media members can interview the winner, community members or participating companies. Also available to interview is TOOR founder Junior Desinor, who appeared on ABC's "Shark Tank" television show and is one of the judges for The Spark Conference.
The second event is the National Academy of Inventors Dinner.
WHAT: The dinner will honor 38 inventors who hold at least one awarded U.S. patent, elevating them to membership within the new local chapter of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI). This event is by invitation only, but media members are welcome to come and learn more about the process of invention that is essential to quality of life for all.
WHEN: 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday (April 27)
WHERE: Jones AT&T Stadium, west side
EVENT: The NAI now has 757 fellows throughout the world, including two currently at Texas Tech, Robert V. Duncan and Mindy Brashears.
Media members can interview any inventor with a patent or speak with Duncan about the new local NAI chapter.
The third event is the awards ceremony that will close the conference.
WHAT: Winners of the iLaunch competition will be announced and seed funding for Spark Fund participants as well as the winners of the Global Laboratory Global Laboratory for Energy Asset Management and Manufacturing (GLEAMM) Innovation Showcase will be awarded.
WHEN: 1-2 p.m. Friday (April 28)
WHERE: Innovation Hub, 3911 4th St.
EVENT: Media members can interview the winners of the iLaunch competition and the GLEAMM Innovation Showcase as well as recipients of Spark Funds.
The Innovation Hub at Research Park and its partners, including, the Texas Tech Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, the Texas Tech Rawls College of Business, the Texas Tech Office of the Chancellor, Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, Office of Research Commercialization, Dickenson Wright, the Texas Tech Office of the President and Chalker Flores, LLP, are supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
CONTACT: Taysha Williams, program director, Innovation Hub at Research Park, Texas Tech University, (806) 834-2134 or taysha.williams@ttu.edu
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