A distinguished career in water research and management in Mexico and Latin America, a science-tech company fostering human-machine collaboration to tackle complex challenges, a project focused on designing a logistics network for the walnut industry, and three student research projects have all been recognized with the 50th Edition of the Rómulo Garza Award for Research and Innovation.

This year’s awardees include researchers Ismael Aguilar Barajas; Mostafa Hajiaghaeikeshteli and Ali Zahedi; and Edgar Arturo Barroso, along with three research projects conducted by postgraduate, undergraduate, and PrepaTec students.

The award was presented by Tecnológico de Monterrey and the company Xignux, organizations where businessman Rómulo Garza served as a board member and founder, to honor the contributions of faculty researchers and students.

The ceremony took place during the Tec Science Summit 2025 at the Monterrey campus.

Dedication to Teaching, Research, and Water Management: The 2024 Rómulo Garza Award

The recipient of the 50th Edition Insignia Award, the highest distinction of the Rómulo Garza Award, was Ismael Aguilar Barajas, a professor at the School of Social Sciences and Government, recognized for his contributions to teaching, research, and water management over his 34-year career at Tec de Monterrey.

“These careers are not built alone; they require the support of many people. Here at Tec de Monterrey, I have found trust, support, and great appreciation for my work,” he stated.

Aguilar Barajas holds a civil engineering degree from Universidad Michoacana and a master’s and Ph.D. from the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is also a Level III researcher in Mexico’s National System of Researchers.

His research and consulting work spans national and international organizations on topics such as urbanization, urban water management, and the Mexico-U.S. border region, collaborating with institutions like Mexico’s National Water Commission, the World Bank, the World Meteorological Organization, and UN-Habitat, among others.

One of his notable works as lead editor, the book Water and Cities in Latin America, was published in English in 2015 by Routledge and in Spanish in 2018 by the Inter-American Development Bank. It earned the 2019 Rómulo Garza Award in the Published Book category.

He also co-authored Water for Monterrey (2019), analyzing water management challenges and opportunities in Nuevo León and Mexico. Additionally, he represents Tec de Monterrey on Mexico’s Water Advisory Council.

“For me, being part of Tec de Monterrey is a huge responsibility—to inspire students to be passionate about their work and push the boundaries of their creativity,” he said.

Enhancing Logistics in the Walnut Industry

Mostafa Hajiaghaeikeshteli and Ali Zahedi, researchers at the School of Engineering and Sciences, received the award in the Published Article in High-Impact Scientific Journals category for their project designing a closed-loop supply chain for the walnut industry.

Their paper, Designing a Sustainable Closed-Loop Supply Chain Network for the Walnut Industry, ranks in the top 3% of citations worldwide in its discipline (Scopus) and has been classified as a Highly Cited Paper in Web of Science. It was published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, a top 5% SJR journal, with a 31.2 CiteScore in Scopus and an impact factor of 16.3.

The network was developed using advanced mathematical models and algorithms, optimizing both direct and reverse logistics to meet market demands and manage returned products for repurposing. The research applied exact and hybrid metaheuristic models to determine optimal locations for factories and distribution centers.

This study and its model provide walnut industry businesses with strategic decision-making tools, enabling them to open new facilities at different levels to meet demand while minimizing operational costs.

“Optimizing an agricultural supply chain can benefit governments, private sectors, and industries alike, while also positively impacting the environment and climate. Our model offers solutions for sustainable growth,” the paper’s author explained.

Human-Machine Collaboration to Solve Complex Problems

Edgar Arturo Barroso, a professor at the School of Social Sciences and Government and founder of the science-tech company Arquitectura de Horizontes, received recognition in the High-Impact Research Leading to Entrepreneurship category.

His venture addresses complex challenges through human-machine collaboration, leveraging AI agents to enhance decision-making across various sectors.

This interaction fosters hybrid intelligence to tackle complex challenges and identify improvement opportunities. The process involves consulting to analyze problems, designing customized AI software systems, and developing models tailored to each client’s needs.

A key component is systems thinking, which examines how different elements and stakeholders interconnect within a problem. The approach also processes vast amounts of data to uncover valuable insights and establishes a multi-user fractal network enabling scalable human-machine collaboration.

With his company, Barroso has collaborated with organizations like the FAO and both private and government entities in areas such as public administration and healthcare.

“Arquitectura de Horizontes is much more than an AI system. It’s about merging complexity sciences with AI in all its forms, incorporating people’s opinions, emotions, environmental impact, and future aspirations. It’s a vessel for transformation—a space where all relevant information comes together to make decisions that guide us toward the future we want,” Barroso explained.

Student Research Project Awards

The Rómulo Garza Award also recognized research projects conducted by postgraduate, undergraduate, and PrepaTec students.

César Daniel Pizarro, a master’s student in Engineering Sciences at the Guadalajara campus, won the 50th Anniversary Edition Award in the postgraduate category for his project Improved Thermal Data Acquisition and Analysis via a Novel Mechatronic Booth and an Upgraded Methodology for Lower-Limb Residuum Applications.

His thesis focuses on developing a booth that autonomously and wirelessly captures thermal images of lower-limb amputees, aiding in the design of prosthetic sockets by enhancing the reliability and reproducibility of thermal data acquisition.

In the undergraduate category, Michael Jinwoo Park, an Industrial and Systems Engineering student, was honored for his project Optimization of the Healthcare Infrastructure Planning in Guanajuato: A Comprehensive Primary Healthcare Units Planning Model.

His research seeks to address the uneven distribution of medical resources in Guanajuato by optimizing the location of primary care units. Using a mathematical model, his project aims to minimize travel distances for patients while maximizing healthcare coverage. Analyzing 853 primary care units, the research provides insights that health authorities can use for strategic investment planning.

In the PrepaTec category, Mauricio Villarreal Rodríguez, from the Eugenio Garza Lagüera campus, conducted the project Toward an Accessible Astrophysics: Proposal for an Amateur Methodology for Studying Eclipsing Binary Stars.

He analyzed Algol, an eclipsing binary star system, using photometry techniques to measure stellar light and determine aspects such as its orbital period and mass. His project automates data collection, reducing the need for constant manual observations, while also making astronomy more accessible to high school students and encouraging interest in astrophysics.

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