Phoenix and its neighboring municipalities may not come to mind when most think of the places where high-tech is booming. Somewhat off the radar, the region has grown into an innovation hub in areas such as autonomous vehicles, drone technology and advances in semiconductor manufacturing — helped along by science and engineering progress stemming from contributions from Arizona State University researchers, including the Fulton Schools. The management consulting firm Bain Global’s head of technology says the emerging innovation hub stature is largely a result of the close proximity of Phoenix’s favorable business climate and an attractive tech industry ecosystem and ASU’s strong engineering program.