I recently had the pleasure of judging the Moot Corp competition. Teams from all around the world came to Austin to compete for a prize package worth $100,000. Most of these teams are coming from universities from around the world. You know, college kids. My expectations were low.

Two of the four teams that I had the pleasure of seeing absolutely blew me away with their passion, energy, and presentation skills. One of the teams from California all worked in the aerospace industry, went to graduate school on weekends, and incubated the company in their spare time. What spare time? That team is Anson Innovations. If you have a child or a grandparent with asthma (like I do), their product will really hit home. They didn’t win, but I wish them the best in getting funded.

I go through periods of time when I don’t see a lot of innovation happening. This event is a cure for that. If you want to see some great ideas coming out of colleges and universities from all over the world, check out the Moot Corp competitors.

I’m currently at the Austin Clean Energy Venture Summit for what I hope will become an annual event. Many organizations have come together for this event including the Clean Energy Incubator (one track of the Austin Technology Incubator), Austin Energy, and the University of Texas.

The Clean Energy Incubator is helping to grow several clean and green companies. I saw a presentation today from AccuWater that was really astonishing. They have some technology that takes into account local rainfall, weather patterns, and plant types to calculate the optimal mix of irrigation required. The sad truth is that most people over water. These guys can save 25% – 50% of water consumption, and when you add up how many millions of gallons that is for even a few acres of land, the numbers are impressive. Compare that to saving a few gallons a month for the low-flow showerhead. Delaying the building of water treatment plant #4 in Austin would save the city $20M per year.

Austin Energy is leading the nation in programs for energy efficiency. You can get rebates for installing solar in your home, but you probably knew that already. One fact that I found the most impressive is that Austin Energy is now allowing clean energy startups to test their technologies on the grid. That could allow them to prove to venture investors that they are ready for prime time.

The University of Texas has been quietly readying the University of Texas Energy Institute for announcement later this year. There is currently over $750M per year in energy research going on at UT, making it the largest energy research organization in the country. But you don’t hear about that fact. Once the energy institute gets formalized you will certainly be hearing a lot more.