Blaine Hill/The Hub@TTU
Tanner Warmoth contributed to this article.
With eight commercial tenants and many opportunities for entrepreneurial students, the Texas Tech Innovation Hub is forging ahead as the core of a future research colossus.
The building on Fourth Street, which opened in August, cost almost $26 million to build, show documents obtained by the Hub@TTU through a Texas Public Information Act request.
The Innovation Hub leases out space and hosts conferences and start-up events, said Carrie Romo, interim director of Tech’s Research Park. Owned by Texas Tech, it is the first of six planned buildings at the 40-acre park.
“We’re hoping that there will be a need for it,” Romo said. “We’re pushing for filling this one, which is going really well.”
Chromatin, Year One, The Kinetic Accelerator, The Office of Research and Commercialization, Small Business Development Center, MicroZap, Newpark, and Motion Energy are the current tenants at the Innovation Hub. Romo is in talks with two other companies about renting space.
Romo said The Innovation Hub is a great place for companies looking to rent out a lab, either temporarily while theirs is being built or for extended periods.
Texas Tech has allotted 40 acres to expand the Research Park. Blaine Hill/The Hub@TTU
The Innovation Hub has an expansive art collection, featuring colorful pieces based on research conducted by Texas Tech employees. To see the artwork, check out “The Art of Innovation.”
The rental spaces are customizable, Romo said. The office-space areas have pressure-locking walls that are movable and adjustable. That way, all tenants have complete control over the appearance of their space.
There are also multiple Biosafety Level 2 labs , along with spaces that could be made into level 2 labs if the tenant chooses, Romo said.
“It’s a place where you have a combination of commercial spaces and students spaces,” said Saba Nafees, graduate vice president of the Student Government Association and a doctoral student in mathematical biology.
Nafees visits the park on weekends and at any other time when she can to work on her projects. She also collaborates with others.
“Say, you’re developing an app or a software or something and you want to have a place where you and your friends can work together,” Nafees said. “You can go to the research park anytime and utilize the facility there and the resources there.”
Blaine Hill/The Hub@TTU
Nafees said students who want to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors can ask Carrie Romo for access into the building.
Because much of the work done at The Innovation Hub is confidential, Romo said, there is keycard access into most of the building.
“We don’t want people just walking off the street and walking all around and being able to walk into people’s labs,” Romo said.
Nafees said Tech students are fortunate to be here during a time of entrepreneurial momentum. She hopes The Innovation Hub will help Tech attract more entrepreneurial students.
“It’s the hub where people can create, make and collaborate,” Nafees said.
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