Albuquerque is remote from the metropolitan centers of capital and from markets in the United States. Despite these handicaps, state leaders and city officials in Albuquerque are strongly committed to creating a technopolis. There are already some signs of both promise and accomplishment. Our city is rated first as a relatively small metropolitan center with rapid expansion. Thus image becomes reality.
Technology transfer is regarded as a crucial factor for economic development in New Mexico.
Numerous institutions seek to facilitate the entrepreneurship process. Several of UNM's 55 research centers play an active role in technology transfer, such as by facilitating spin-offs. So technology transfer activity is increasingly under way in New Mexico, as Albuquerque moves toward becoming a technology city. The availability of ample technology in a region is a necessary but insufficient factor in the development of a technopolis. Dr. Everett M. Rogers is Regents' Professor, Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico.