Amy Price If you haven't had time to go through all of the excellent panel submissions for SXSW Eco 2013 we've got good news for you: we're extending the voting period until Monday, May 27 at 11:59 PM CST. There are a ton of exciting sessions on the diverse array of topics that we cover each October, from biomimicry to energy to urban agriculture. Also this year for the first time, we're adding workshops to our program as well as other break-out events such as mentor sessions, an entrepreneur/investor ping pong tournament, the Place by Design competition and more. This year is poised to be the best one yet for SXSW Eco, and you've still got time to choose the programming you want! Vote now.

SXSW Eco is excited to announce that the Pike Powers Laboratory & Center for Commercialization will be supporting the Startup Showcase by providing independent product performance testing for companies selected to present at SXSW Eco in the categories of Green Tech and Clean Web.

With nearly 80 TB of high speed Dell computing systems and sophisticated National Instruments, Schneider and Intel product testing equipment, the Pike Powers Lab offers specialized capabilities for companies developing, testing and validating a wide range of consumer electronics, software and energy applications that incorporate metrology, building controls, solar photovoltaics, natural gas fuel cell, energy storage, machine-to-machine, vehicle charging, big data management and disaggregation technologies. As of earlier this week, Pike Powers Lab will be teaming up with the Circuit of the Americas to install an energy measurement system at the facility. The partnership also gives the Lab and its clients access to the track's 1,500-acre site for R&D efforts.

The Finalists of the Startup Showcase will have the opportunity to have their product vetted at this renowned facility and will be able to include the results of the product testing in their presentation, thereby providing the Judging panel with independent performance testing results to assist them in their evaluation of presenting companies. After the event, participants will be able to use this valuable information for their own business purposes.

For winners of the Green Tech (Seed + Series) and Clean Web categories, the Pike Powers Lab will provide 40 hours of free product development and/or performance verification testing.

For more information, visit pikepowerslab.com.

Yesterday investors from across the country congregated in Houston to check out the new class of startups launching at SURGE Day 2. The SXSW Eco team was there, excited to meet the Green Tech and Clean Web companies presenting at the event, including Bractlet, Dynamo Micropower, Energy Informatics, Optimitive and Weave.

We were proud to cohost the after party for these incredible entrepreneurs and investors on the veranda of the beautiful Sam Houston Hotel. The party served as a reunion for the Startup Showcase Advisory Board, with many members in attendance, including Kirk Coburn of SURGE, Blake English and Rob Thompkins of SVB, Clark Jernigan of Austin Ventures, Kevin Kopczynski of Rockport Capital, Andrew Tickett of the San Antonio Clean Energy Incubator and Willem Rensink of the Shell Game Changers.

Special thanks to SURGE, our cohost for the party; SoftLayer, the event's sponsor; and to the Rice Alliance for helping put together another amazing event.

Jerry James Stone is a sustainable food blogger at CookingStoned.TV, where he develops vegetarian and vegan recipes. We asked Jerry a few questions about what’s cooking in his kitchen and his hopes for Eco 2013.

What are you reading right now?

Lots and lots of cookbooks. I'm probably the only person who reads the Art of French Cooking like it is Great Expectations. But in all seriousness, I just started Vegan Before Six by Mark Bittman. I haven't gotten very far (damn distracting cookbooks!) but I am excited to dive into it. Even as a vegetarian of 23 years, I wouldn't mind being more vegan than I am.

What has been the best moment of the past month for you?

My food blog was featured in the Huffington Post this month and wow, what an honor. I started this vegetarian food blog about 5 months ago because I am very interested in sustainable food choices and showing people that eating veggie doesn't have to be boring. Having the Huff Po notice after just a few months is a big deal to me.

I believe we can change the world through food. It's this total nexus for our energy usage, water, how we treat the planet, and ourselves. Our food system touches everything we do and everything we do touches our food system. And for that reason alone it has my devoted attention.

SXSW Eco is travelling to Houston Wednesday, May 22 to attend SURGE DAY '13, the demo day for the energy software accelerator SURGE. After an exciting day of demonstrations, we're co-hosting the official after party in partnership with our friends at SURGE and SoftLayer. We can't wait to meet new members of Houston's bustling energy and green tech communities and see some familiar faces. Space is extremely limited but as of this posting there are still a few spots available. RSVP Now!

Teaming up with the Rocky Mountain Institute for the SXSW Eco Party in Boulder was a great get for the Eco Team. Attendees at the party were from a wide variety of industries including energy, education, architecture & design, food, conservation and even the music industry. For a relatively small town Boulder boasts a bustling community of like-minded individuals who are committed to preserving the natural resources that surround their beautiful city and beyond. We are all looking forward to continuing many of the conversations we started last night at SXSW Eco in October.

We are excited to announce the first round of Judges for the SXSW Eco Startup Showcase. These renowned investors will help us select the winners of the Showcase. Brook Porter of Kleiner Perkins, Ryan Kottenstette of Khosla Ventures, Bob Metcalfe, UT Professor of Innovation and inventor of Ethernet, will be among the five judges in the Green Tech category. Blake Burris, CEO and Chief Hacktivist at The Cleanweb Initiative, will be one of the judges in the Clean Web Category. Stay tuned for announcements in the Social Impact category. Read more.

Women Leaders in Sustainable Design // Cassie Wright As many of you know, all SXSW events use PanelPicker to crowdsource a large portion of their programming content. The two primary benefits of PanelPicker are that anyone can submit an idea and that anyone can vote on the sessions they would like to see. The PanelPicker sessions are ultimately determined by a mixture of SXSW community votes, the SXSW Eco Staff and our Advisory Board. To vote on sessions you must first create a SXSW user account. Don't miss this opportunity to choose the sessions you find most compelling for SXSW Eco 2013! Vote now!

Rachel BargeRachel Barge, Partner and Head of Communications at venture firm and design studio Greenstart, will be bringing her amazing talent and energy to the SXSW Eco Startup Showcase this year as the emcee. Rachel helps seed-stage Clean Web startups get their messages in front of the right audiences. An entrepreneur herself, she founded her first social enterprise at 22, a consultancy that raised $16M for energy efficiency and clean energy projects, then directed the Business Council on Climate Change and went on to serve as Executive Director of CleantechU. Recently named a “30 under 30” in Energy by Forbes, she is a recipient of the David Brower Youth Award, Wild Gift Fellowship and is a Morris K. Udall Scholar. She holds a BS in Conservation and Resource Studies and Forestry from UC – Berkeley.

The University of Texas at Austin‘s Center for Sustainable Development is pleased to announce the inaugural “Design Futures” Public Interest Design (PID) Student Leadership Forum. The event will be held at UT-Austin, May 28-June 1, 2013. It will unite a select group of multi-disciplinary students and emerging leaders in the PID field.

The forum will explore the emergence of PID in history, and will examine a range of issues related to skills development and best practice in this rapidly emerging field. Established leaders in the field will share their perspectives on the theory, practice, and experience of PID across the world through explorations of different models of practice and how to approach different topics such as affordable housing, public space, international development, and more. Take a look at the agenda for an up-to-date list of speakers and events.