Draft:Rosario Sanchez

Dr. Rosario Sanchez
Dr. Rosario Sanchez is a senior scientific researcher at Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI).. and graduate faculty at the Water Management and Hydrological Sciences Program at Texas A&M University focusing on foreign affairs, transboundary water resources and water policy.

Born in Saltillo, Mexico, she earned a bachelor's degree in international relations from Tecnológico de Monterrey in 1998 and has a Master's Degree in Diplomatic Studies from Matias Romero Institute in 2000. Subsequently, Dr. Sanchez expanded upon her professional knowledge as a diplomat, earning a PhD in Water Management and Hydrological Sciences from Texas A&M University in 2009 and becoming a scientist bridging the gap between policy and science.

She developed the Transboundary Water Portal jointly with Instituto Mexicano de Tecnología de Agua (IMTA) that aims to train stakeholders to share data on transboundary groundwater systems.

She is the founder and Director of the Permanent Forum of Binational Waters (PFBW) which is a binational network of scientists that working of transboundary water issues. She is the Principal Investigator of the Transboundary Aquifer Assessment Program (TAAP) for the State of Texas and Co-Chair of the Transboundary Aquifers Commission of the International Association of Hydrogeologists (Welcome - Transboundary Aquifer Commission . She also provides consultancy to the federal governments of both countries, border states and the private sector in terms of transboundary water resources, integrated water resources management, and resilience analysis.

She has been an advisor in water, labor, and foreign affairs for the Federal Congress of Mexico, and Director of Public Affairs for the Coahuila State Government.

She was also the Director of the Protection Sections of the Consulates of Mexico in Denver, Colorado in 2002 and in Yuma, Arizona in 2000.

Research
Her recent research outlining the complete map of transboundary aquifers between Mexico and the United States was integrated in the latest IGRAC (International Groundwater Resources Association Center )  map of transboundary aquifers over the world.

She is particularly known for her work on underground water resources at transboundary level between Mexico and the United States. She published the first map of transboundary aquifers between Mexico and the United States in 2016 and then a most analytical and detailed analysis of transboundary groundwater resources between the two countries in 2018   and 2021. She also developed the Effective Transboundary Aquifer Areas (ETAAs) approach that identifies sensitive transboundary areas, or hot spots of attention within the boundaries of an aquifer (Reference: . Sanchez, R., Rodriguez, L., & Tortajada, C. (2020). Effective Transboundary Aquifer Areas: An Approach for Transboundary Groundwater Management. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 1– 19.

She coined the term transboundariness for the first time in 2017 to represent the strategic value that an aquifer acquires when it happens to be located at the border among different countries which has been referred and used recently in the literature: The transboundariness approach and prioritization of transboundary aquifers between Mexico and Texas which has been referred and used recently in the most current literature Environments.

In 2023, Dr. Sanchez contributed as the Editor of the UNESCO latest publication on transboundary aquifers, where the first ever map of transboundary aquifers between Mexico and the United States was published.

Recognitions
She was recognized as the 50 most influential people in the State of Coahuila in 2019  and published numerous papers relating to transboundary aquifers and water management. In 2021, her paper was selected as a featured publication in the Journal Water, Transboundary Aquifers between Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas, Mexico, and Texas, USA: Identification and Categorization

She has been awarded the Entrepreneur Award from Tecnológico de Monterrey in 1998.

She has been included in Marquis Who's Who, in 2023 highlighted as one of the top scientists in the United States.