Today marks the final stop on our tour of the US National Science Foundation-funded Regional Innovation Engines. To round out our adventure, we’re headed to Tempe, Arizona to talk with Brian Sherman, CEO of the NSF Futures Engine in the Southwest.

The NSF Futures Engine represents three states–Arizona, Nevada, and Utah–with a diverse range of landscapes, a large population that includes fifty-eight tribal nations, and a variety of industries from semiconductors to ski resorts and the entertainment hub of Las Vegas. With its resources and environments, the Southwest has both incredible opportunities for rural and urban regenerative economic development and unique challenges.

Join us as Brian talks us through what the NSF Futures Engine in the Southwest is doing to address regional challenges in energy, water, and air systems through building an ecosystem in the American Southwest.

Brian Sherman joined the NSF Futures Engine in the Southwest (formerly the Southwest Sustainability Innovation Engine or SWSIE) as CEO in July 2024. Brian approaches economic development as a social entrepreneur, startup evangelist, and bureaucracy hacker. He believes human-inspired, market-leveraged, data-driven entrepreneurship can create a better world. His work is focused on technology-based economic development, entrepreneurship, early-stage capital formation, technology commercialization, and innovation in public policy, strategy, and finance. 

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• How the Futures Engine is building on Arizona’s history of maximizing efficiency and planning in water use and conservation
• Why the Engine is investing in research on ozone, air quality, and direct air carbon capture
• How the Futures Engine is collaborating with other Regional Innovation Engines to share information and resources as they address shared challenges
• Why addressing the region’s environmental constraints is vital to unlocking economic opportunities that benefit both urban and rural populations
• How the Futures Engine is facilitating market-driven research and capital investment to get innovation out of the lab and into the world 
• The challenges of aligning workforce development programs with the availability of those job opportunities

Learn more about Brian Sherman:

• Connect on LinkedIn

Learn more about Anika Horn:

• Social Venturers
• Sign up for Impact Curator
• Instagram: @socialventurers

Resources:

• NSF Futures Engine in the Southwest
• S07E02: Solving Global Water Challenges from the Great Lakes Region featuring Alaina Harkness
• S07E04: Building a Climate-Ready Future in Colorado and Wyoming featuring Mike Freeman
• S07E06: Powering Ideas That Feed The World with FARMS CEO Dr. Hollie Mackey
• S07E07: The Future of Energy Innovation with Mike Mazzola at the NSF FUEL Engine in Louisiana
• WAVR Technologies
• Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Futures, Merlin Sheldrake