To conduct leading edge astrophysical research, educate the public, and create its spectacular and highly popular shows based on real science, the American Museum of Natural History’s Hayden Planetarium augments its own computing with the extensive supercomputer capabilities available through the National Science Foundation high performance computing Centers, such as the San Diego Supercomputer Center.

The Mexican Life Sciences Initiative was launched by the Council on Competitiveness in the spring of 2005 to foster the development of the life sciences sector in Mexico and facilitate partnerships between U.S. and Mexican institutions. It was initially conceived at the U.S.-Mexico Partnership for Prosperity meeting in Guadalajara in June 2004.

The Regional Innovation Initiative, in partnership with the Council’s global team and Global Bioeconomy Consulting, performed a cluster study of the Life Sciences sector in Mexico. The study analyzed the regional capacity in the life sciences sector in three regions: Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. This report provides recommendations to support the growth of the industry in these regions.

The Council Recommends that:

• Congress set national criteria for transmission siting by creating independent regional planning authorities overseen by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

• FERC require regional planning authorities to allocate costs to construct and upgrade transmission regionally, spreading costs across all jurisdictions served by the new lines.

This regional report examines the composition and performance of the Atlanta-Columbus regional economy, how industry clusters developed and innovation arose, how clusters affected the region’s economic future, and how the region can establish a strategy and action program to drive its economy and clusters forward. The framework employed and the lessons learned apply to many regions of the country.