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


History    Mission    Vision    Values     Board Members   Advisory Board  


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.


Mission
The overall mission of the BNSL is to create bi-national, collaborative partnerships focused on emerging technologies and to promote and implement economic development efforts within the border region from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean; thus, yielding a sustainable, technology-based economy.


Vision
The BNSL will establish strategic bi-national partnerships among the people and entities in the "triple helix"-business, academia, and government-who will work together to promote emerging technologies, address critical border issues, and establish a sustainable, technology-based economy on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The BNSL envisions using distributed facilities and activities appropriate to the strengths and opportunities of specific border regions. While initially focusing its attention on the Paso del Norte, central border region, the BNSL expects to rapidly expand through centers of focus or "nodes" in other regions of the border as opportunities and resources permit.


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.


Board Members



Gabriel Ortiz Hernan - President
Director General, D'Informatica21

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

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

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

Ing. Rolando Gonzalez Barron
President and CEO, Gobar Systems Inc.

C.P. 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)


Hon. Jaime Oaxaca

Chairman - The Oaxaca Group

Robert Sachs

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

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

Ing. Sergio Tagliaprieta

Secretario de Desarollo Economico de Sonora and

President of Industrial Vallera de Mexicali, S.A.

Ricardo Valenzuela 
President, INTERMEX Financial Corporation 

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

Dr. Gerry Yonas
Principal Scientist and Vice President, Advanced Project Group, Sandia National Laboratories

Advisory Board

 

Mike Acosta

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

Ricardo Benavides

Director - Research and Development Center, Servicios Industriales Penoles, S.A. de C.V.

Jose Canales

Consultant

Russell R. Chianelli

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

Gil Cisneros

President and Chief Executive Officer - Chamber of the Americas

Guillermo Fernandez de la Garza

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

Rogelio G. Garza

Director - Facultad de Ingenieria Mecanica y Electrica - Universidad Autonoma de Nuevo Leon

Jesus Gonzalez

Director General - CIMAV

Frank Hoy

Professor - College of Business - University of Texas El Paso

Gary J. Jones

Manager, International Partnership Development - Sandia National Laboratories

Jose Manuel Mascarenas Haas

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

Ron Munden

Partner - EPV Group

Miguel Angel Olin

Corporate Technology Director - Vitro Corporativo

Mike Orshan

President - T2B

Patrick Osio Jr.

Editor - Hispanic Vista

Larry Peterson

Partner/Vice-President - Technology Tree

Homero Ramirez

Quality Assurance Director - Technical Vicepresidency Mexico - CEMEX

Leopoldo Rodriguez

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

Lorenzo Rodriguez

CEO - Team Technologies

 

Jessica Turnley

President - Galisto Consulting Group, Inc.

 

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