Bi-national Sustainability Laboratory Click Here For English Click Here For Spanish

 

History   Mission    Vision    Values     Board Members   Advisory Board   Team


History
The concept for the BNSL has its antecedents in an earlier bi-national technology program-the Materials Corridor Initiative-supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and Mexico's Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT). The Materials Corridor Initiative (MCI) focused on advanced materials and materials processes that were energy efficient and environmentally friendly (sustainable) and involved eight U.S. Universities in the four U.S. Border States, several national laboratories and their Mexican counterparts. The MCI was designed to develop and bring new materials and processes to a commercially "deployable" level for job/wealth creation. Of 23 projects supported over a five year period, 12 were considered at the end as deployable-two of which actually became new start-up businesses in the border region.

Starting a few years later but in parallel with the MCI, the BNSL concept began to take shape in the late 1990's within Sandia National Laboratories' Advanced Concepts Group as they examined border stress and opportunity disparity issues. The BNSL was viewed as an opportunity for the U.S.-Mexico border region where, by fostering sustainable economic development, greater border stability, security and transparency could be achieved. At the outset the BNSL was, and still is, championed by five key institutions: CONACYT, the U.S. Department of Commerce/Economic Development Agency (EDA), the Fundación México-Estados Unidos para la Ciencia (FUMEC), New Mexico's Economic Development Department (EDD), and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). A plan to create the BNSL evolved during the early 2000's with the strong leadership of FUMEC and Sandia, combined with the efforts of many other organizations, government officials, and policy-makers.

In 2003 the BNSL was incorporated as a non-profit entity (the BNSLi) and officially opened its doors on September 1, 2005. As a bi-national, non-profit entity, the BNSL is now capable of accepting funding from public and private institutions in both the U.S. and Mexico as well as able to take the necessary steps to advance its mission.

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Mission
The mission of the BNSL is to effect permanent economic transformation for the US-MX border region by: the creation of high-impact growth companies and support infrastructure, employment of global best practices for the cultivation of innovation and entrepreneurship, and partnerships with regional institutions and leading expert organizations worldwide.

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Vision
The BNSL envisions creating an economically rich and vibrant United States/Mexico border anchored by innovative and competitive enterprises.


Mantra
Growing regional wealth through innovation.

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Values
"Sustainability" in the BNSL name signifies a focus on environmental and energy sustainability as well as economic sustainability. The BNSL sees these goals as mutually compatible since environmentally friendly and energy efficient technologies are generally positive attributes of any successfull enterprise. The BNSL strongly values partnerships with the full spectrum of business entities from start-ups to fully mature and multinational corporations who have an entrepreneurial and creative vision. While primarily focusing its effort on emerging, and, thus, potentially culture-changing technologies, the BNSL will also include appropriate small business start-ups, if they satisfy or significantly contribute to the technology-growth goals of the region.

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Board Members



Gabriel Ortiz Hernan - President
Director General, D'Informatica21

Al Zapanta - Vice President
President & CEO, U.S.-Mexico Chamber of Commerce

Lucinda Vargas - Treasurer/Secretary
CEO, Plan Estratégico de Juarez, A.C.

Jennifer Sue Bond
Senior Advisor, International Policy Studies, Council on Competitiveness

Jorge de los Santos
Director of Pan American Initiatives and Special Advisor to the President, Office of Pan American Initiatives, Arizona State University

Rolando Gonzalez Barron
President and CEO, Gobar Systems Inc.


Alfredo Román González Fernández*
Secretario de Desarrollo Economico y del Empleo Tamaulipas (*Represented by: Dr. Julio Martínez Burnes; Director General, Consejo Tamaulipeco de Ciencia y Tecnología)

William Harris

President & CEO - Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz)

Jaime Oaxaca

Chairman - The Oaxaca Group

Jaime Parada

President & CEO - Instituto de Innovación y Transferencia de Tecnología de N.L.

Eduardo Rodríguez

Business Management Strategist - Strategic Communication Consulting Group

Pablo Rudomin

Emeritus Researcher - Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional (CINVESTAV)

Robert Sachs

Co-owner and Chairman/CEO - Team Technologies Inc.

Sergio Tagliaprietra

Secretario de Desarollo Economico de Sonora and

President of Industrial Vallera de Mexicali, S.A.

Mary Walshok
Associate Vice Chancellor--Extended Studies, University of California San Diego

Gerry Yonas
Mind Research Network

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Advisory Board

 

Mike Acosta

Director Border Office - U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Science (FUMEC) - University of Texas at El Paso

Ricardo Benavides

Servicios Industriales Peñoles

Scott Bryant

Executive Director - Micro and Nanotechnology Commercialization Education Foundation (MANCEF)

Luis Cárdenas

Director Operativo - Instituto de Innovacion y Transferencia de Tecnologia (I2T2)

Lawrence Chavez

Venture Partner - Flywheel Ventures

Russell R. Chianelli

Professor - Deparment of Chemistry - University of Texas at El Paso

Gil Cisneros

President and Chief Executive Officer - Chamber of the Americas

Jackie Mitchell Edwards

Chief Operating Officer - The Paso del Norte Group

Guillermo Fernández de la Garza

Executive Director - U.S. - Mexico Foundation for Science (FUMEC)

Rogelio G. Garza

Director - Centro de Innovación, Investigación y Desarrollo de Ingeniería y Tecnología - Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon

Jesus González

Director General - CIMAV

Frank Hoy

Director - Collaborative for Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Cecilia Levine

CEO - MFI International

Julio Martínez Burnes

Director General - Consejo Tamaulipeco de Ciencia y Tecnología (COTACYT)

Jose Manuel Mascareñas Haas

Director Ejecutivo - Fundacion Margarita Miranda De Mascarenas, A.C.

Ron Munden

Partner - EPV Group

Miguel Angel Olin

Retired

Mike Orshan

Solar Sales Director - Patriot Solar Group, Cobham Satcom

Patrick Osio Jr.

Editor - Hispanic Vista

Larry Peterson

Partner/Vice-President - Technology Tree

Homero Ramírez

Quality Assurance Director - Technical Vicepresidency Mexico - CEMEX

Jorge A. Ramos

Chief Economist - The Paso del Norte Group

Leopoldo Rodríguez

Chairman of the Board of Governors - U.S. - Mexico Foundation for Science (FUMEC)

Lorenzo Rodriguez

President - Senda Micro Technnologies

Paul Short

Verge Fund

 

Jessica Turnley

President - Galisto Consulting Group, Inc

Steve Walsh

UNM Anderson School of Management

 

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Team

Dr. Paul Maxwell

Executive Director and CEO
pmaxwell@bnsl.org

Mike Acosta
Program Associate
acosta@fumec.org

Lidia Caraveo

Project Assistant
acaraveo@gmail.com

Gordon Cook

Special Projects Coordinator
gcook@bnsl.org


Dr. Alberto Correa

Project Consultant
acorrea@bnsl.org

 

Pablo Cuevas

Regional Technical Director - Matamoros
pcuevas@bnsl.org

Dr. Gary Jones

Associate
gjones.nm@comcast.net

 

 

Nancy Lowery

Technical Coordinator
nlowery@bnsl.org

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