cosmic coogs

University of Houston launches bigger, better agreement with Johnson Space Center

UH System Chancellor Renu Khator and JSC Director Vanessa Wyche sign an extension of a longtime partnership.

Photo courtesy of University of Houston

A new partnership between a leading university and NASA is taking our Space City moniker to new heights.

The University of Houston System and Johnson Space Center have announced the expansion of a longtime partnership for joint research, technology development, technology transfer, training and educational and outreach initiatives.

This means a system-wide effort from all schools: University of Houston, University of Houston-Downtown, University of Houston-Clear Lake and University of Houston-Victoria. The new initiative spans undergraduate, graduate, and joint research programs, per press materials.

At a recent event, University of Houston System chancellor Renu Khator ceremonially signed the agreement at Johnson Space Center with JSC Director Vanessa Wyche. Loren Blanchard and Richard Walker, presidents of UH-Downtown and UH-Clear Lake, respectively, also attended.

“Houston is ‘Space City,’ so it’s important for students and faculty in relevant disciplines across the UH System to have opportunities to engage in and be exposed to real world space flight-related research and technology development with NASA,” said Khator at the ceremony. “These are the kinds of projects that shape lives and create innovations for the greater good.”

To address the greater good, this partnership will encompass science, engineering, technology and business disciplines that are vital for human and robotic spaceflight missions, aerial and ground-based research, including data analytics, cybersecurity and other emerging technologies – all areas facing critical workforce shortages, a release notes. Entrepreneurship students at UH, for example, are currently working to commercialize various NASA technologies.

How does NASA benefit? Wyche noted that this agreement will “enable JSC to reduce gaps in mission relevant technology development essential for future human spaceflight missions and inspire and engage students in aeronautics, space and science.”

Not surprisingly, given their proximity, UH-Clear Lake and NASA have enjoyed a symbiotic relationship ever since the Manned Spacecraft Center (now Johnson Space Center) was formed in 1961. UH-Downtown, meanwhile, will work with the NASA Office of STEM Engagement to target students and identify learning opportunities and provide connections to NASA’s missions and work through seminars, campus-wide open houses, classroom visits, and more.

“We are eager to partner and collaborate with the University of Houston system in vital research and technology development initiatives that will enable us to meet our nation’s exploration goals and advance human spaceflight as we work to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis,” Wyche added.

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Jobs report

Texas clocks in as No. 7 best state to find a job, new report says

Photo by The Jopwell Collection on Unsplash

It's easier to find a job in Texas than in nearly any other state.

If you’re hunting for a job in Texas amid a tough employment market, you stand a better chance of landing it here than you might in other states.

A new ranking by personal finance website WalletHub of the best states for jobs puts Texas at No. 7. The Lone Star State lands at No. 2 in the economic environment category and No. 18 in the job market category.

Massachusetts tops the list, and West Virginia appears at the bottom.

To determine the most attractive states for employment, WalletHub compared the 50 states across 34 key indicators of economic health and job market strength. Ranking factors included employment growth, median annual income, and average commute time.

“Living in one of the best states for jobs can provide stable conditions for the long term, helping you ride out the fluctuations that the economy will experience in the future,” WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo says.

In September, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Texas led the U.S. in job creation with the addition of 195,600 jobs over the past 12 months.

While Abbott proclaimed Texas is “America’s jobs leader,” the state’s level of job creation has recently slowed. In June, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas noted that the state’s year-to-date job growth rate had dipped to 1.8 percent, and that even slower job growth was expected in the second half of this year.

The August unemployment rate in Texas stood at 4.1 percent, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Throughout 2025, the monthly rate in Texas has been either four percent or 4.1 percent.

By comparison, the U.S. unemployment rate in August was 4.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2025, the monthly rate for the U.S. has ranged from 4 percent to 4.3 percent.

Here’s a rundown of the August unemployment rates in Texas’ four biggest metro areas:

Austin — 3.9 percent
Dallas-Fort Worth — 4.4 percent
San Antonio — 4.4 percent
Houston — 5 percent

Unemployment rates have remained steady this year despite layoffs and hiring freezes driven by economic uncertainty. However, the number of U.S. workers who’ve been without a job for at least 27 weeks has risen by 385,000 this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in August. That month, long-term unemployed workers accounted for about one-fourth of all unemployed workers.

An August survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York showed a record-low 44.9 percent of Americans were confident about finding a job if they lost their current one.

This story originally was published on our sister site, InnovationMap.

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