View Source | May 14, 2019
A bold proposal for the future of most of the nearly 2,000-mile stretch of land along the United States-Mexico border has been drawing attention.
The ambitious plan, called the Future Energy, Water, Industry and Education Park initiative, details concepts for developing the borderlands by bringing energy and water resources, education, farming, business opportunities and jobs to the region.
This innovation zone would consist of a series of industrial parks, focusing on the infrastructure development to support the testing, production and deployment of technologies and systems to meet growing needs for energy, water and food in both Mexico and the U.S. Along with private business enterprises and public facilities, the energy and water corridor would also include research and education centers.
The idea comes from an informal consortium of about 30 engineers and scientists that includes Arizona State University Regents’ Professors Ronald Adrian and Carlos Castillo-Chavez, a distinguished sustainability scientist in the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability.
Read more about the plan and a Q&A with Adrian, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, in ASU Now.
Top illustration: Courtesy of Purdue University