Engineering Matters

When an engineer has an idea that could change the world, the world might not immediately be ready for it. That is what Omer Keilaf realised in 2012 when he thought he could revolutionise LiDAR technology while watching an advert for the Xbox Kinect. At that time the world was interested in mobile phone technology, which had little use for bulky LiDAR. Fast forward five years, the buzz had shifted to driverless cars, and Omer knew his time had come. Guest Omer Keilaf, CEO, Innoviz Resources For the white paper, Designing A Level 3 LiDAR for Highway Driving, click hereThe post #160 Autonomous Driving: Solving the Lidar Challenge first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Once infrastructure projects pass a certain value, around 200 to 300 million dollars, data becomes a major challenge. There is no shortage of data in engineering and the complexity goes up exponentially. Data science is becoming increasingly important in an ever more complicated sector. Guests Tom Goldsmith, Product Manager – Lighthouse, Atkins Marianna Imprialou, Principal Data Scientist, Atkins Gyan Mahatme, Operations Lead – Lighthouse, Atkins Richard Robinson, CEO, Atkins Will Squires, Project Director – Lighthouse, Atkins PartnerAtkins, part of the SNC-Lavalin Group, is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies. Employing over 18,000 people across the UK, North America, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe, Atkins utilities the latest technology to deliver major capital projects, and provide expert consultancy for clients across the energy, transportation and infrastructure sectors.The post #159 Dealing with Data first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Potager Farm CEO Mario Gatineau grew up in the French countryside as the son of a beekeeper and botanist. When pesticides used in local farming killed around 80 percent of his father’s bees he dedicated himself to finding new environmentally sustainable ways to produce food. Today he is launching a vertical farm in the heart of Berlin. This controlled environment farming in vertical towers is gaining popularity as the agricultural sector looks for new ways to farm food sustainably. Guests Mario Gatineau, CEO, Potager Farm Douglas Elder, Head of Vertical Farming Solutions, Intelligent Growth Solutions Emily Seward, Head of Data, Intelligent Growth Solutions  Partner Intelligent Growth Solutions is where agriculture and engineering combine. Founded in 2013, IGS brought together decades of farming and engineering experience to create an agritech business with a vision to revolutionise the indoor growing market.The post #158 Vertical Farming at Potager Farm first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The engineering industry is only as good as the talent it can attract and retain. In this Engineering Matters Short we follow the journey of a talented young engineer, who found herself unable to connect with an industry dominated by older white men. Now she is set to host the upcoming E&T Innovation Awards in November, an event that she hopes can celebrate the work of engineers to inspire future generations. She particularly hopes to lift up people who feel they lack a voice. Resources To view the categories and to enter the awards, click here Guest Shini Somara Partner The E&T Innovation Awards celebrates the best of the engineering sector. Planet Earth is facing many challenges as our growing population requires more food and energy, and is constantly using more resources. Something must change. Ultimately, it will be engineers and scientists who solve the problems and pave the way for future generations. Headline sponsor The post SHORT: Celebrating the Work first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Standing on the cliffs of Ireland’s west coast you can feel the reason that Ireland generates more than 35% of its electricity from wind power. But what happens when the wind passes on its way east towards Great Britain? When conditions are poor for renewables, a high penetration in the electricity mix becomes a liability. In this episode we look at how nations can, through cooperation and engineering, support a greater capacity of renewables than would otherwise be possible. The solution is High Voltage Direct Current Interconnectors. But the implications of these cables for the way we generate and use energy, borders on profound. Guests Daniel Abbott, Engineering Manager – Greenlink, WSP in the UK Colin D’Arcy, Commercial Director, Greenlink Norman MacLeod, Technical Director – HVDC, WSP in the UK Paul O’Rourke, Construction Director, Greenlink Resources For more information on the Greenlink project, click here For a University College Dublin article on the idea of a European supergrid, click here Partner The partner for this episode is WSP. As one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consultancies, WSP brings clarity and vision to complex challenges. Its team of global technical specialists and strategic advisers ensure innovative solutions solve complex problems for clients and the communities it serves, meeting both the needs of today and addressing the challenges of the future.The post #157 Interconnectors: The Green Link to Ireland first appeared on Engineering Matters.

When it comes to adhering to standards, working within regulations, and ticking boxes, companies are pretty great. It’s how they are set up, and it is how they are used to thinking. But starting around 10 years ago, companies and organisations were asked to look at the world, and the work they do, in a very different way.  Countries began to press companies to consider the impact of their work and their decisions on society and the world at large. But companies are struggling to get to grips with Social Value. Assessing it, understanding it is turning out to be…complicated. This episode is about how to get it right…and how to avoid getting it wrong. Guests Michelle Baker, Associate Director – Social Value, Atkins Sarah Lambshead, Strategic Social Value Regional Lead, Faithful+Gould Resources For our previous episode giving an introduction to social value, click here For the UK Government’s Levelling Up whitepaper, click here Partner Atkins, part of the SNC-Lavalin Group, is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies. Employing over 18,000 people across the UK, North America, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe, Atkins utilities the latest technology to deliver major capital projects, and provide expert consultancy for clients across the energy, transportation and infrastructure sectors.The post #156 Social Value: How to get it Right first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Coral reefs are sometimes called the rainforests of the oceans and support an estimated 25% of all known marine species, but they, and the sponges that inhabit them, are unusually susceptible to changes in the waters and the local microbial community. Coral bleaching is just one of the negative effects of changing world. However, teams from a Brazilian University have launched a project to learn more about the bacteria from different regions and different species. They hope to produce a probiotic cocktail and help troubled ecosystems to recover. But before the team could embark on the mission to cure the world’s coral, the samples needed to be collected. And that meant offshore, deep-water operations. Guests Dermeval Almeida, Senior Project Manager, Fugro Raquel Peixoto, Associate Professor – Marine Science, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology Yasmin Sodre, Proposal Coordinator, Fugro Professor Torsten Thomas, Centre for Marine Science and Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of New South Wales Sydney Resources For more information on the Fugro Aquarius vessel that hosted the expedition, click here Partner Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from Geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #155 Coral and the Hunt for a Cure first appeared on Engineering Matters.

This is the story of a structure so unique that there is nothing like it in the entire world. The Falkirk Wheel in Scotland is the only rotating boat lift ever built. Constructed in the late 1990s as part of the Millennium Link project to connect the Union Canal with the Forth and Clyde Canal it is a shining example of engineering efficiency and iconic design. But behind the elegant form is an intriguing design story that highlights how simple measures can prevent catastrophic failure. Guest Ann Madsen,  Senior Lecturer in Systems Power & Energy, James Watt School of Engineering at the University of GlasgowThe post #154 Falkirk Wheel: The Design Story first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In partnership with Tabsal SCL, Engineering Matters speaks with Javier Saldise about how his Spanish company is taking waste wood and transforming it into structural timber.The post SHORT: Engineering Waste first appeared on Engineering Matters.

What if we could take the waste that no one wants, the kind of waste that is shoved into landfill and turn it into sustainable fuel? Thanks to developments in gasification technology this is now possible at a commercial scale. In this episode we visit the Varennes Carbon Recycling Plant to discover why engineers are so excited about working on this pioneering new technique for recycling the carbon in the waste, which could help decarbonise transportation and lower Canada’s carbon footprint. Guests Ali Ashraf, Project Manager Engineering, Varennes Carbon Recycling Plant Richard Fecteau, Senior Vice President, Energy Resources, WSP Pierre-Olivier Pineau, Professor in Energy Market Policy, HEC Montréal, University of Montréal Andrea Redford, Chief Business Development Officer, Enerkem. Partner The partner for this episode is WSP. As one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consultancies, WSP brings clarity and vision to complex challenges. Its team of global technical specialists and strategic advisers ensure innovative solutions solve complex problems for clients and the communities it serves, meeting both the needs of today and addressing the challenges of the future.The post #153 Recycling Carbon: Biofuels from Waste first appeared on Engineering Matters.

As hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians flee their country which is under attack by Putin’s Russia, we find that the number of forcibly displaced people is at an all-time high. This episode, first run in 2019 and created with Mott MacDonald at the UK Shelter Forum examines the issues affecting shelter provision for refugees. Original Episode 34: Crisis Shelter for Mass Displacement Noorullah Kuchai is a civil engineer, a humanitarian and a refugee twice over. He lived in a tent in a Pakistani refugee camp for a decade and is now dedicating his life to helping people who have been displaced by war like he was. Shelter must be sustainable, durable and socially beneficial for displaced people and the communities that host them. To enable this, collaboration is needed between humanitarians, local governments, academia and technical professionals to bring together those that manage disaster on the ground, and people who are developing better shelter. We head to the UK Shelter Forum in London to find out more about how this knowledge gap is closing. Guests Dima Albadra, Research Associate, University of Bath Tom Corsellis, Executive Director, Shelter Centre Jamie Johnston, Head of Global Systems, Bryden Wood Anne Kerr, Global Head of Cities, Mott Macdonald Nooroola Kuchai, PhD Candidate, University of Bath Dr Francis Moran, Research Associate, University of Bath Brett Moore, Head of Shelter and Settlements, UNHCR Ana Ruiton, Façade Engineer, Mott MacDonald Jake Zarins, Associate Director Disaster Risk Reduction, Habitat for Humanity Resources UK Shelter Forum website Healthy Housing for the Displaced project Engineering Hope The post #152 Crisis Shelter Revisited first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In this week’s episode we will learn about the technologies that have driven the development of electrification for a variety of well-known industrial OEM brands.  Electric motors, high-frequency battery chargers and motion controllers have made electric and hybrid vehicles more and more ubiquitous. And industry is just getting started. Guests Claes Avasjo, Executive Director, ZAPI GROUP Lloyd Gomm, Vice President Business Development, Delta-Q Technologies Gareth Jones, Application Engineer, ZAPI UK Sarah MacKinnon, Co-CEO and CFO, Delta-Q Technologies Resources If you’re interested in learning more about electrification, ZAPI GROUP will be hosting an online event, The Future of Electrification, in April. Partner ZAPI GROUP is engineering the transition to an all-electric future with a highly integrated product portfolio including motion controllers, electric motors, high-frequency battery chargers and autonomous navigation software for application in full electric and hybrid vehicles. The cutting-edge technologies implemented in its products and the continuous strive for improvement are only two of the many elements that define ZAPI GROUP.The post #151 Electrification: the future of industry first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Green hydrogen, created from renewable energy resources, has been hailed as a panacea to decarbonisation of heat and fluctuation in natural gas prices. But the reality is that not every application will be either cost effective or practically viable. In this episode we explore the case for green hydrogen and find that its success is dependent on the creation of a system where each part of the cycle, from generation to final user is connected. Guests Simon Garlick, Senior Engineer, Low Carbon Technologies, SSE Thermal Dr Rachael Hall, Hydrogen Lead, Atkins Kamran Iqbal, Founder and CEO, Electric Aviation Group Matthew Knight, Project Manager Keadby Hydrogen, SSE Thermal Michael Mollenhauer, Lead Consultant Asset Optimisation, Equinor Leon Prebeau-Menezes, Project Director Keadby Hydrogen, Equinor Gareth Richardson, Low Carbon Technology Lead, Atkins Partner Atkins, part of the SNC-Lavalin Group, is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies. Employing over 18,000 people across the UK, North America, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe, Atkins utilities the latest technology to deliver major capital projects, and provide expert consultancy for clients across the energy, transportation and infrastructure sectors.The post #150 Green Hydrogen: Creating the System first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In the UK in 2020, 80% of freight was moved by road and 90% of passenger miles were travelled by road. It is considered a high-carbon form of transport today, but this is changing as new technology is rapidly making electric vehicles and alternative fuels more attractive.  With the decarbonisation of road transport, its popularity is expected to increase, with traffic levels set to be higher in 2050 than they are today. Even juggernaut investments in rail such as High Speed 2 are expected to take just 1 to 3% of traffic off the Strategic Road Network. But while road transport is targeted for Net Zero by 2050, National Highways is looking even sooner for its maintenance and construction work. Technology will play a key role in this… Guests Andrew Gudge, Operations Director, Re Highways  Robin Hudson-Griffiths, Senior Pavements Advisor – Safety, Engineering & Standards, National Highways Brian Kent, National Technical Director, Tarmac Partner Tarmac is the UK’s leading sustainable construction materials, road contracting and building products business. It leads in the supply of construction material comprising aggregates, asphalt, cement, lime, concrete, road contracting, building products and recycling services.The post #149 Roads: Invention needs Ambition first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Predicting the future is difficult, every year would-be prophets fail to predict major events and over-eager journalists seize on the words of ancient mystics to fill column inches. But there are some people who need to be able to predict what society will need, up to a decade in advance. Developers of skyscrapers need to anticipate economic cycles, people’s tastes, and professional requirements to make sure their buildings appeal to businesses and sectors that might not even exist yet.  If they miscalculate, the project may fail. If they succeed, they can shape entire industries and affect the working lives of tens of thousands. Guests Paul Hargreaves, Construction Director, Lipton Rogers David Healy, Mechanical and Electrical Lead, WSP in the UK Amy Holtz, Director – Head of Sustainability, PLP Architecture Diego Padilla-Philips, Technical Director, WSP in the UK Resources For an earlier episode of Engineering Matters in which we discuss the use of lifts for escaping a fire, click here Partner As one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consultancies, WSP brings clarity and vision to complex challenges. Their team of technical specialists and strategic advisers across the UK is part of a talented global family of expertise. Together, they ensure innovative solutions solve complex problems for our clients and the communities we serve, meeting both the needs of today and addressing the challenges of the future.The post #148 Skyscrapers: Predicting the Future first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In the summer of 2021 record rainfall overwhelmed river systems across Europe. People in the Limburg region of the Netherlands held their collective breath as water levels in the River Meuse rose. Floods in the 1990s had taught them what devastation flooding could bring. Fortunately, the government had already acted, investing in a unique and technically advanced system of dikes to protect communities, a design which had never been used before. The question was would it work? Guests Gert-Ruben van Goor, Senior Project Manager, Fugro Jules Janssen, Project Director, Dura Vermeer Theo Reinders, Project Director, Province of Limburg  Leo Zwang, Service Line Manager Consulting, Fugro Partner Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from Geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #147 Flooding: Making Space for Water first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The 2021 energy crisis saw coal power plants fire into life as natural gas prices spiralled and wind turbines stood idle.  The combination of circumstances emphasised the need for firm power that is also zero carbon. Fortunately, a quiet revolution has been underway in the nuclear industry as Small Modular Reactor (SMR) plans are maturing. With technologies such as Gen IV reactors and fusion still some way in the future, SMRs offer a reliable and affordable route to a robust green grid. Guests Julianne den Decker, Vice President for Project Delivery – Nuclear, SNC-Lavalin James Goodenough, New Nuclear Technologies Lead, Atkins Resources Previous episodes mentioned in this podcast were #64 EDAROTH and #96 Fusion: Britain Builds a Star For more information on the Rolls Royce SMR concept, click here Partner SNC-Lavalin believes designing for the future is about more than predicting what it looks like. It’s about having the know-how and the expertise to turn predictions into projects that deliver results and meet ever-changing needs. That’s what they do every day: for their clients, for their customers and for the sustainable future of business and the world we all operate in.The post #146 Small Modular Reactors first appeared on Engineering Matters.

When Andrew Smyth turned the handle on his clockwork pies on Great British Bake Off in 2016, it brought together two disciplines that had never been combined before. Engineering and baking were combined in the glory of eight mechanised pies. For aerospace engineer Andrew this was just the beginning of a new career as a “bakineer”, a term he invented and has now brought to Netflix in its latest viral cooking programme Baking Impossible. In this podcast we explore how engineering influences Andrew’s work and learn that gingerbread can be designed to withstand seismic loading. Guest Andrew Smyth Twitter: @cakesmyth Instagram: cakesmyth Watch Baking Impossible on NetflixSponsorSupport for this episode came from Groundforce. Groundforce offers offer total solutions to the construction industry dealing in shoring equipment, piling equipment, air pressure testing, trenchless technology, temporary bridges, and EUSR accredited excavation training.Image credit: Jasper WilkinsThe post #145 Andrew Smyth – Engineering with Cake first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In this first episode of the New Year, we are telling a story about renewal. A project in 1950s New Zealand called the Kaituna Cut re-diverted a river, draining wetlands to create pasture.  But working against nature can have negative consequences. The process caused the Maketū estuary to silt, and biodiversity to crash. Now, following a multi-decade campaign led by local Maori groups, a re-diversion of the river has begun the process of restoring the land and water to its former health. Opening music credit: copyright control of this work is controlled by Viking Sevenseas NZ Limited, P.O. Box 152, Paraparaumu, New Zealand Resources For more information on this project on WSP’s website, click here For the Bay of Plenty Regional Council’s project page, click here For a video of the Kaituna River re-diversion opening ceremony, click here For a video on the project’s archaeological work, click here Guests Stephanie Brown, Technical Principal – Planning and Environment, WSP Pim de Monchy, Coastal Catchments Manager, Bay of Plenty Regional Council  Liam Tapsell, Ngati Whakaue ki Maketu Partner The partner for this episode is WSP. As one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consultancies, WSP brings clarity and vision to complex challenges. Its team of global technical specialists and strategic advisers ensure innovative solutions solve complex problems for its clients and the communities they serve, meeting both the needs of today and addressing the challenges of the future.The post #144 Enhancing an Estuary, Restoring a River first appeared on Engineering Matters.

This week we bring you a guest episode from the Planet Beyond podcast. An adventurous spirit in people has made many successful organisations what they are today. To be truly great, we often find these people are guided by a moral compass, possessing core values that provide that relentless pointer to the right way, even when all plans have turned on their head. Fugro’s hydrographic director Mark Sinclair is a man who always knows how to find his way. In 2018 he participated in the Golden Globe Race, a single handed unassisted non-stop around the world race in traditional sailing vessels, using traditional means. No modern technology is permitted, and each skipper is completely alone at sea.  To complete the race is to understand what it means to truly embrace adventure and self-reliance. And the importance of continuously testing ourselves. If we never push the boundaries, they will never advance. Guest host Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro Guests Don McIntyre, Chief Executive Officer, Golden Globe Race Mark Sinclair, Hydrographic Director – Asia Pacific, Fugro Resources For more episodes of the Planet Beyond podcast, click hereThe post #143 Learning From Adventure first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Humans can feel that we have built a world to live in that is above and apart from nature. We concrete the ground, we regulate the temperature of our spaces, and we shield ourselves from storms.  But increasingly wild and frequent weather events are making us doubt the endurance of our fortress of glass, steel, and stone. Faced with the environmental triple threat of carbon emissions, biodiversity loss and flooding, engineers and scientists are increasingly looking to nature for solutions. In this episode we are travelling to Scotland, to a marshy stretch of land on the Firth of Forth to learn about one of these solutions. A project that could change the way we think about the management of our coastline. The site is called Skinflats RSPB Reserve and is part of a managed realignment of the existing coastline to allow tidal waters to once again inundate an area of land that was previously reclaimed from the seas. It will boost biodiversity, protect from flooding, and might be an ideal carbon store. Guest William Austin, Professor – School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St AndrewsThe post #142 Blue Carbon: The Forgotten Store first appeared on Engineering Matters.

By the end of 2021, 8 billion doses of COVID19 vaccine had been administered around the world. This achievement has only been possible thanks to world leading scientific research creating vaccines in record breaking time. However not many people realise that this is only part of the story. To get these vaccines into the arms of the global population meant that manufacturing faced a challenge it had never seen before. It was a problem that only engineers could solve, like pharmaceutical manufacturing engineer Alice Kan. Guests Alice Kan, Director, Kan Do VenturesThe post #141 Setting up a Vaccine Factory first appeared on Engineering Matters.

High Speed 2 is the UK’s latest transport megaproject. Billed as the largest ever investment in the country’s rail, its first phase will link London in the south via 230km of high-speed rail with Birmingham in the West Midlands. With a focus on innovation and new technologies available, the project is determined to avoid the mistakes of the past. Immersive virtual reality, emotion sensing, and eye-tracking will come together to revolutionise the way we design stations. Guests Heather Donald, Innovation Manager, High Speed 2 Carolina Morales, Project Manager, WSP in the UK David Watts, Managing Director, Mima Kevin White, Technical Director – Information Modelling, WSP in the UK Partner As one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consultancies, WSP brings clarity and vision to complex challenges. Their team of technical specialists and strategic advisers across the UK is part of a talented global family of expertise. Together, they ensure innovative solutions solve complex problems for our clients and the communities we serve, meeting both the needs of today and addressing the challenges of the futureThe post #140 HS2 and the Golden Thread of Station Design first appeared on Engineering Matters.

At 4.1GW Berwick Bank is planning to become the largest offshore windfarm in the world. This is enough generating capacity to power Scotland’s homes twice over and it would play a critical role in meeting the UK’s wind energy targets. But in order to move ahead it must overcome a range of challenges from obtaining planning consent to understanding the incredibly complex and variable ground conditions. Project owner SSE Renewables, and its supply chain will be tested like never before. Guests Richard Holland, Geotechnical Package Lead Engineer Berwick Bank Wind Farm, SSE Renewables Alex Meredith, Project Director Berwick Bank Wind Farm, SSE Renewables Pamela Phillips, Project Manager Berwick Bank Wind Farm, SSE Renewables Julia Roope, Global Business Development Manager Offshore Wind, Fugro Mark Schreiber, Project Director, Fugro Partner  Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from Geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #139 Offshore Wind: Scotland’s World Leader first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Ever since the beginning of the space age, scientists and engineers have considered the role extra-terrestrial resources could have to supporting missions of exploration and science. However, early missions to space and the moon were too brief to benefit from in-situ supplies. Now with a new drive to return to the Moon, this time to stay, and as we prepare to push on to Mars, space resources will play a critical role. New technologies, new skills, and the support of an innovative private sector have led experts to dust off older ambitions for the exploitation of space resources. Resources are the main engine of our technological society on Earth, and they will soon fulfil that role as we push out into space. Resources For more information on the Space Resources Roundtable, click here For more information on the Space Resources courses offered by the Colorado School of Mines, click here Guest Angel Abbud-Madrid, Director of the Centre for Space Resources, Colorado School of MinesThe post #138 Space Resources: The Next Leap first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Two years ago the world was preparing for COP25 in Madrid, and we released this episode (#36) about a calculator that was helping countries around the world to lower their greenhouse gas emissions and create more sustainable energy systems. Just as relevant now as it was then, and for the benefit of newer listeners, we are re-running the episode this week. When Professor David MacKay of Cambridge University wrote a book about sustainable energy in 2009, he could not have realised that this ground-breaking text would go on to form the basis for a calculator that could save the world from climate catastrophe.  By investigating the true impact of energy demand and supply on carbon emissions he provided much needed transparency on the link between energy and the climate. Today his calculator has spread throughout the world from the UK across Europe, through Asia all the way to Australia – and take up is increasing.   This episode was made at the 2050 Global Calculator Conference, Windsor, UK in 2019. Try out the 2050 Calculator here Guests Laura Aylett, Programme Manager 2050 Calculator, Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Sam Friggens, Senior Consultant Energy Strategy and Innovation, Mott MacDonald Quoc Khanh, Senior Energy Consultant, 2050 Calculator, Vietnam Jenny McInnes, Deputy Director for Partnerships & Capability, BEIS Koen Meeus, Climate Change Section, DG Environment, Belgium Madeleine Rawlins, Programme Leader 2050 Calculator, Mott MacDonald Anna Stephenson, Senior Energy Advisor, DFID Hoang Van Tam, Deputy Head, Office for Climate Change and Green Growth, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Vietnam Professor Yufeng Yang, Asian Development Bank/Imperial College Partner  Mott MacDonald is a U$2bn engineering, management and development consultancy involved in:  solving some of the world’s most urgent social, environmental and economic challengeshelping governments and businesses plan, deliver and sustain their strategic goalsresponding to humanitarian and natural emergenciesimproving people’s lives  Its expertise by sector includes buildings, communications, defence, education, environment, health, industry, mining, oil and gas, power, transport, urban development, water, wastewater and more. Its skills encompass planning, studies and design, project finance, technical advisory services, project and programme management, management consultancy and beyond.The post #137 The Calculator that Could Still Save the World first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In the 20 years before Covid-19 the proportion of 17- to 20-year-olds with a driving licence fell from nearly half to less than a third. Even before lockdowns and remote working, the way people moved was changing. As we organise for the future, we need to understand that the decisions on what to build and what to invest in will have a direct impact on people’s behaviour. Investing in infrastructure for cars, encourages car use; building cycle lanes encourages cycling. The complexity increases with the growth of the digital world into our daily lives. In this episode we look at a vision-led approach to transport planning, and new ways of thinking about our journeys. Guest Glenn Lyons, Mott MacDonald Professor of Future Mobility, UWE Bristol Sponsors Support for this episode came from Maplesoft and Groundforce.  Maplesoft is the leading provider of high-performance software tools for engineering, science, and mathematics. Before you can build a machine, you need a prototype. With MapleSim advanced simulation software from Maplesoft, the prototype can start earlier thanks to the power of a digital model. If you want to speed up your machine building and testing, contact Maplesoft for a free trial of the MapleSim simulation software. Visit their website at MapleSim.com. Groundforce offers offer total solutions to the construction industry dealing in shoring equipment, piling equipment, air pressure testing, trenchless technology, temporary bridges, and EUSR accredited excavation training. YourSolution, created by Groundforce Shorco, is an interactive standard solutions design tool. Created to offer easy access to standard solutions, saving time and effort to receive a temporary works design.The post #136 The Future of Mobility first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Decarbonisation of transportation and shipping will require us to leverage improvements to green technologies and adapt to new ways of thinking and organising. It will require us to make different choices, on an individual and collective level. This is the final episode in our series of specials in the run up to COP26. We will learn about a new concept known as a Transport-Energy Nexus, we will learn about how government is advised on the best climate policies and we will learn about a new hydrogen hub planned for the North East England. Guests Eoin Devane, Senior Analyst, Climate Change Committee Craig Lucas, Director of Energy Transformation, Mott MacDonald Kim Yates, UK & Europe Sustainability Lead, Mott MacDonald Resources To read Transport Decarbonisation Plan, click here To read the 6th Carbon Budget from the Climate Change Committee, click here For more information on the IPCC Report, click here For the Tees Valley Multi-Modal Hydrogen Transport Hub Masterplan, click here To visit the Moata Carbon Portal, click here Partner Mott MacDonald is a global engineering, management and development consultancy. Its purpose is to improve society by considering social outcomes in everything they do, relentlessly focusing on excellence and digital innovation, transforming their clients’ businesses, our communities and employee opportunities.The post #135 COP26: Decarbonising Transport first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The world is in a climate emergency and as its inhabitants, we have a narrow window of opportunity to take control. And the infrastructure industry has a fundamental and important role to play in reducing global emissions. In this episode, the third of our series leading up to COP26, we look at some ambitious targets companies can adopt if they want to function responsibly in a climate-conscious world. Guests Abi Clifford, Graduate Environmental Advisor, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure Liz Nicholson, Director, Forest Canopy Foundation Henry Reynolds, Environmental Advisor, Morgan Sindall Infrastructure Partner Morgan Sindall Infrastructure is a major British construction company. Its customers trust its expertise and proven capability to deliver projects in a responsible, safe, innovative, and ethical manner. Morgan Sindall Infrastructure’s expert teams are united by a collective belief that better engineered, sustainably designed, lower carbon and responsibly delivered infrastructure shapes a better social and economic future for all.The post #134 COP26: Working in a Climate Conscious World first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Early in the morning of 6 July 2013 a freight train carrying 7.7 million litres of crude oil derailed, destroying downtown Lac Megantic, a small town in Quebec, Canada. The disaster claimed 47 lives and destroyed over 30 buildings and condemning a further 36.  As part of the rebuilding efforts, the town saw an opportunity to build back better and decided to embrace the green economy. A large part of the plan involved the creation of a microgrid. This is the second episode of our series in the run-up to the climate conference COP26, to be held in Glasgow from next week. In this episode we will learn about the ‘sad opportunity’ of Lac Megantic, the efforts to rebuild in keeping with the principles of sustainability, and the strategic position microgrids could hold in the electricity networks of the future. Guests Ioannis Andronikidis, Solar Photovoltaic and Battery Storage Lead, WSP in the UK David-Olivier Goulet, Project Engineer for Integrating New Technologies, Hydro Quebec Simon Pelchat, National Lead – Battery Energy Storage and Microgrids, WSP  Mathieu Pepin, Project Manager – Downtown Reconstruction, Ville Lac Megantic Stephane Vachon, Director of the Economic Development Bureau, Ville Lac Megantic Resources For a WSP case study on the Lac Megantic project, click here and for one by Hydro Quebec, click here For analysis on the upsurge in microgrid development, click here For information on the municipality of Lac Megantic (in French), click here Partner The partner for this episode is WSP. As one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consultancies, WSP brings clarity and vision to complex challenges. Our team of global technical specialists and strategic advisers ensure innovative solutions solve complex problems for our clients and the communities we serve, meeting both the needs of today and addressing the challenges of the future.The post #133 COP26: The Legacy of the Lac Megantic Disaster first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Every year buildings around the world are responsible for 13.6bn tonnes of carbon equivalent to 40 percent of all emissions. These are generated by the materials that shape them, the energy that illuminates them and the molecules that heat them.  As countries gather in Scotland at COP 26 for the world’s biggest climate change conference, we are releasing a series of episodes detailing some of the challenges facing the world, and some of the opportunities afforded by engineering. In this episode we explore how to decarbonise the built environment and find out that it all starts with making carbon visible. Guests Annabel Clark, Associate Director, Faithful & Gould  Peter Dunn, Associate Director, Faithful & Gould Julie Godefroy, Head of Sustainability at the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) Ruth Hynes, Associate Design Researcher, Atkins Stuart Mclaren, Net Zero Director for Infrastructure, Atkins Partner Atkins, part of the SNC-Lavalin Group, is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies. Employing over 18,000 people across the UK, North America, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe, Atkins utilities the latest technology to deliver major capital projects, and provide expert consultancy for clients across the energy, transportation and infrastructure sectors.The post #132 COP26: Decarbonising Buildings first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Modern construction cranes are highly optimised. They’re designed to lift as much as possible, as far or as high as possible, while being able to fit into tight spaces when needed. To work safely and efficiently, they need to spread the weight of the load, and the crane, down to the ground they stand on, evenly and predictably. A lift planner calculates how best to do this with the equipment available within the site constraints. Once, lift planners would work with two-dimensional drawings (or computerised tools) to map how a crane and its load would move through a job site. And they’d need to refer to a ‘load chart’ to check the crane’s capacity at each of these points. But paper is unwieldy, so a new tool has been developed to make lifting calculations easier and quicker. Guests Wolfgang Boos, Product Manager, Liebherr Andrew Lloyd, Lead Lifting Engineer, Select Plant Hire Christoph Mai, Crane Planner Product Manager, Liebherr Partner The Liebherr Group is a family-run technology company with a broadly diversified product portfolio, which includes a total of 13 product segments. It is the global market leader for mobile and crawler cranes.  Resources For more information on Crane Planner 2.0, click hereThe post #131 Cranes: How to Plan a Lift first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The money flowing in to new construction technology is unprecedented. In the in the five years from 2009 to 2014, $8 billion was spent on digital investments to boost productivity, improve design and optimise project management. But in the following five years – 2014 to 2019 – this more than tripled, with investors pouring more than $25 billion into construction tech. We often hear that construction is a laggard when it comes to adopting technology, but in this episode we will learn about the incredible challenges facing construction companies as they pivot from famine to feast. We will learn why exactly construction has become the new darling of Venture Capitalists, what this means for the future, and what still stands in the way of a truly digitalised industry. Guests Frank Malangone, Executive Director – Industry Strategy and Innovation, Oracle Construction and Engineering Geoff Roberts, Director of Energy Industry Strategy, Oracle Construction and Engineering Jeff Herriman, Managing Director, Ascentage Group Sherief Elabd, Director of Industry Strategy & Innovation, Oracle Construction and Engineering Resources For the McKinsey report on construction efficiency, click here For an article on the capital flowing in to construction technology, click here For the importance of platforms in adapting technology to the worksite, click here, Partner Oracle is a multinational data and computing company headquartered in Texas, USA. In engineering and construction, it develops technology to connect teams, processes, and data across the construction project and asset lifecycle. Boost productivity, increase control, mitigate risk, and unlock insights to improve performance across your projects and programs.The post #130 Navigating New Construction Technology first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Bradford in the North West of the UK was at the heart of the industrial revolution. Its world class textiles industry made it one of the richest cities in the world. But now it needs a new vision for the future and in this episode we have partnered with WSP to discover how the UK’s youngest city by demographic spread, is embarking upon a new strategy for clean green growth. A strategy that could create new opportunities for young people and form a blueprint for low carbon development around the world. Guests Ashley Dunseath, Head of Masterplanning, WSP in the UK Jason Longhurst, Strategic Director for Place, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council Tanya Vital, Actor and Founder of Vital Culture UK Partner As one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consultancies, WSP brings clarity and vision to complex challenges. Their team of technical specialists and strategic advisers across the UK is part of a talented global family of expertise. Together, they ensure innovative solutions solve complex problems for our clients and the communities we serve, meeting both the needs of today and addressing the challenges of the futureThe post #129 A Vision for Clean Growth in Bradford first appeared on Engineering Matters.

As the regions of space around Earth become increasingly crowded with new satellites, the most popular orbits of all are becoming hazardous. Beyond a point, the crowding will reach a level at which a collision between two objects would result in a cascade. The initial collision would lead to yet more collisions until Low Earth Orbit is a cloud of hypersonic bullets of shrapnel. That is the doomsday scenario predicted by NASA scientist Donald Kessler in 1978. But new technologies are being developed that enable companies and agencies to know precisely where their assets are in real time. Not only protecting against collisions, but improving outcomes and enabling new applications for Earth monitoring.   New Space is here, and a range of technologies is being deployed to improve our lives and the environment back down on Earth. Guests Ane Aanesland, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, ThrustMe Mark Heine, Chief Executive Officer, Fugro Javier Tegedor, Global Navigation Satellite System Scientist, Fugro Pieter van Duijn, Chief Technology Officer, Loft Orbital Tyler Jones, Senior Advisor – National Infrastructure, Norwegian Space Agency Resources For more information on the SpaceStar technology mentioned in this episode, click here To read the European Space Agency’s latest Space Environment Report, click here Partner This episode is produced in partnership with Fugro. Fugro is the world’s leading Geo-data specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from Geo-data to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #128 Positioning Satellites in New Space first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In today’s episode we are looking from the dawn of engineering to the modern day, at ‘tools for thinking’. These are the intellectual methods and the physical tools that engineers have used throughout history to work through their ideas and prove viability. Each advance makes it possible to work with numbers in new ways, and the theories produced makes for more efficient mental labour, allowing for the development of new tools. Now an innovation is allowing one of most powerful modern computational tools to be used in a way that truly suits the way engineers actually work. Guests Laurent Bernardin, CEO, Maplesoft Margaret Hinchcliffe, Senior GUI Developer, Maplesoft Samir Khan, Product Manager – Maple Flow, Maplesoft Resources For more information on the Maple Flow tool, click here Partner Maplesoft is the leading provider of high-performance software tools for engineering, science, and mathematics. Its product suite reflects the philosophy that given great tools, people can do great things.The post #127 Tools for Thinking first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Vienna, the capital city of Austria is also known worldwide as The City of Music and this musical metropolis is fine tuning the way that it constructs underground. In order to expand its metro system it has turned to the use of hydraulic props to hold back the pressure from the earth during construction of a critical new station. These innovative supports create less waste than other temporary measures. Less waste means less carbon and less carbon means less global warming. Guests Peter Richardson, Director Major Projects, Europe, Groundforce Tony Gould, Consultant and former Technical Director, Groundforce  Mark Whitmore, General Manager for Major Projects division of Groundforce Shorco  Partner This episode is created in partnership with Groundforce Shorco Groundforce Shorco are market leaders in excavation support safety, providing a wide range of products from trench boxes to high end hydraulic propping solutions. With 40 years of experience its people provide first class support from initial enquiry to project completion; linked with an award-winning technical service department, Groundforce Shorco fulfils customer’s excavation solutions throughout UK, Ireland and mainland Europe.The post #126 Propping up Vienna first appeared on Engineering Matters.

New software using AI is enabling planners to identify options for engineering projects that are beyond the realms of human imagination. Traditionally, solutions are studied individually at great time and cost but budgets and timelines are more constrained than ever before. At the same time planners are being asked to incorporate more factors into identifying the best solutions from emissions profiles to social value. One thing we do have more of today though is data and in this episode we hear that AI can help the industry to use it more effectively in the very early stages of projects to explore more and create better solutions. Guests Sharon Darcy, Director, Sustainability First Chris Harman, Technical Director, Atkins Harry Hunter, Associate Director Digital Transformation, Atkins Grzegorz Marecki, CEO and Founder, Continuum Industries Partner Atkins, part of the SNC-Lavalin Group, is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies. Employing over 18,000 people across the UK, North America, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe, Atkins utilities the latest technology to deliver major capital projects, and provide expert consultancy for clients across the energy, transportation and infrastructure sectors.The post #125 Artificial Intelligence in Project Planning first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Intensive farming leads to nutrients seeping into the groundwater and into rivers. These enriched waterways deliver immense quantities of nutrients to coastal seas and cause algae to bloom, overwhelming the ecosystem. Fortunately, blue mussels can feed on these algae and also provide a sustainable food source both for humans and for the agriculture and aquaculture industries.  Carefully located mussel farms can solve two problems at once and perhaps save our seas. © Main image courtesy of Montgomery Guests Harald Sveier, Risk and Insurance Manager, Leroy Seafoods Katherine Richardson, Professor of Biological Oceanography, University of Copenhagen Maren Moltke Lyngsgaard, Marine Consultant, WSP Partner The partner for this episode is WSP. As one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consultancies, WSP brings clarity and vision to complex challenges. Our team of global technical specialists and strategic advisers ensure innovative solutions solve complex problems for our clients and the communities we serve, meeting both the needs of today and addressing the challenges of the future. Resources To buy a copy of the Danish language cookbook mentioned in this episode, click here For a database of the carbon cost of various foods in Denmark, click here Maren is features on page 17 of WSP’s 2020 environmental, social and governance report, click hereThe post #124 Mussels: How to Save the Seas first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The world is on the brink of a climate related disaster. The solution requires a combination of engineering disciplines that do not come together very often. But they must, because the challenge is so enormous that the future of the human race quite literally depends on it. Wheat, rice, sweetcorn, and soybean currently provide two thirds of human caloric intake worldwide. But the world is changing. In the face of rising global temperatures, crop yields are expected to fall… with each additional degree of warming, wheat production alone will fall by 6%, rice by 3.2%, soybean by 3.1% and sweetcorn by 7.4%. In this episode we are talking about a new kind of farming. It combines a range of engineering and scientific disciplines. Mechanical engineering, robotics, software engineering, thermodynamics, lighting, microbiology, and hydroponics. It also takes advantage of the latest agricultural science. It is called vertical farming, or controlled environment farming, and it has the potential to revolutionise the agricultural sector. Guests Dave Scott, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder, Intelligent Growth Solutions Derek Stewart, Director of the Advanced Plant Growth Centre, James Hutton Institute Elliott Erskine, Microbiologist and Knowledge Transfer, Intelligent Growth Solutions Fara Kahir, Senior Software Developer, Intelligent Growth Solutions Partner Intelligent Growth Solutions is where agriculture and engineering combine. Founded in 2013, IGS brought together decades of farming and engineering experience to create an agritech business with a vision to revolutionise the indoor growing market. Resources Paper: Temperature increase reduces global yields of major crops in four independent estimates Paper: Wheat yield potential in controlled-environment vertical farms The IPCC report on climate change can be read hereThe post #123 Engineering Plants: Intelligent Growth Solutions first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In this episode we look at how a new plant-based bitumen will be incorporated into asphalt mixtures currently being developed. The hope is that this will allow clients to build roads that act as carbon sinks. The reduction in carbon by using products like this could play a significant role in helping the UK achieve net zero. The engineers think it might be possible store up to a million tonnes of this renewable biogenic material within the Highways England strategic road network. A single UK household uses up to 20 tonnes of carbon a year. So using biogenic asphalt in the English road network could save as much carbon as us used by 50,000 homes in one year. Guests Bob Allen, Head of Research and Technical Services, Aggregate Industries Rachel Morgan, Key Account Manager, Shell Bitumen Richard Taylor, Global Technology Development Manager, Shell Bitumen Resources Novel uses of vegetable oil in asphalt mixtures, Dr Helen Bailey, University of East London, 2010, can be read here PAS 2060 – Carbon Neutrality, can be found here EN 15804:A2 Sustainability of construction works – Environmental product declarations – Core rules for the product category of construction products, can be read here asPECT – the Asphalt Pavement Embedded Carbon Tool, can be found here Partner With over 100 years’ experience, Shell Bitumen is the world’s leading supplier of bitumen. Their wide range of innovative bitumen products is designed to help meet the challenges of road, roofing and airport sectors, alongside specialty and industrial applications.The post #122 Decarbonisation: Growing Roads on Trees first appeared on Engineering Matters.

After a decade of growth, there were 10 million electric cars on the world’s roads by the end of 2020. This growth trend is set to continue, with at least 145 million on the roads by 2030. The performance of batteries in this electrified future will be critical. In this episode we are looking at a start-up that is hoping to revolutionise the materials we use to build batteries, just in time for the coming boom in demand. Guest Rick Costantino, Chief Technology Officer, Group14 Technologies Resources The International Energy Agency’s Electric Vehicles Outlook can be found here.The post #121 Batteries: The Lithium-Silicon Age first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In 2019, Justin Trudeau declared war on plastic waste. And single-use plastics were listed as a toxic material in Canada in May of this year. Before long, Canadian companies will have to find a use for the immense quantity of material they generate. Yet the North American reprocessing industry is still young. Meanwhile, on the other side of the Atlantic, a mature reprocessing industry in the UK waits on government legislation to encourage project owners to embrace more sustainable practices. A family company that supplies recycled polymer troughing to the railway industry straddles both of these markets and wonders what each could learn from the other. Guests Allan Sandilands, Circular Economy Lead, Resource Futures Stewart Wellens, CEO, Trojan Services Thomas Bye, Operations Manager, TroTrof Composites Resources https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-plastic-packaging-tax/plastic-packaging-tax #104 Solving Rail’s Hidden Hazard Partner Trojan Services creates cable protection management systems for large infrastructure. Current industry users range across multiple sectors in the UK and Canada. Trojan aims to considerably reduce the CO2 footprint of every project they supply for with a more cost-effective solution that can utilise the UK’s plastic waste. They intercept large volumes of selected plastics destined for landfill.The post #120 Recycled Plastic: The Canadian Potential first appeared on Engineering Matters.

As COVID-19 rampaged across the UK in 2020, society shut down and hospitals reached breaking point. For engineers building The Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, South Wales their work took on a greater meaning. They had to make sure that this 450 bed critical care facility was completed ahead of time. Their actions didn’t just save lives. They saved money because without it Wales might have needed a temporary Nightingale Hospital. Accelerating construction was only possible thanks to the advanced design for manufacture and assembly (DfMA) approach undertaken by the contractor Laing O’Rourke supported by a team of designers including WSP.  Guests David Leverton, Project Technical Leader, Laing O’Rourke Stuart Renshaw, Technical Director, WSP Partner: WSP As one of the world’s leading engineering professional services consultancies, WSP brings clarity and vision to complex challenges. Their team of technical specialists and strategic advisers across the UK is part of a talented global family of expertise. Together, they ensure innovative solutions solve complex problems for our clients and the communities we serve, meeting both the needs of today and addressing the challenges of the future. Image credit: BIM model created using designs from WSP Structures, BDP Architecture & Landscape, AECOM MEP and CHT MEP Contractor.pngThe post #119 The Grange: Saving Time, Saving Lives first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The last time a person walked on the moon was 14 December 1972. Almost 50 years ago. Since then, human operations have been confined to Earth orbit. But during that time, technology has not stood still. Now we are ready to take the next step. This episode we are talking to NASA about the Lunar Gateway, a small space station that will orbit the moon and act as a hub, supporting operations on the surface and in lunar space… it will facilitate communication with Earth, allow for scientific experiments in deep space, and act as a staging area for supply missions. Guests Dina Contella, Manager for Mission Integration and Utilisation – Gateway Program, NASA Sean Fuller, International Partner Manager – Gateway Program, NASA Resources https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/artemis_plan-20200921.pdf https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis-accords/img/Artemis-Accords-signed-13Oct2020.pdf Sponsor Support for this episode came from Groundforce. Groundforce offers offer total solutions to the construction industry dealing in shoring equipment, piling equipment, air pressure testing, trenchless technology, temporary bridges, and EUSR accredited excavation training.The post #118 Gateway: The Lunar Space Station first appeared on Engineering Matters.

The first boats that harnessed the wind to skip over the waves may have been built 8,000 years ago. Several hundred years later, the earliest seaborne trading networks began to form in the Aegean and the Persian Gulf. Modern cargo shipping relies on ‘bunker fuel’ a thick, black sludge made from the dregs of the refining process. It is also loaded with sulphur, which produces gases and particles hazardous to human and animal health. But the difficulty of settling on a single renewable fuel, combined with conservative decarbonisation targets, means shipping is making limited progress in the quest to go green. Enter Smart Green Shipping, a start-up that wants to retrofit cargo ships with sails to reduce fuel consumption, and lower carbon emissions sooner rather than later. Guest Diane Gilpin, CEO, Smart Green Shipping Resources For more information on Smart Green Shipping, click here For an animation showing FastRigs deploying, click here For the results of the computer simulation, click here For the UK Government’s Maritime 2050 strategy, click here For the Fourth International Maritime Organisation Greenhouse Gas Study, click hereThe post #117 How Sails Could Save Shipping first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Island states are at the forefront of climate change. Rising sea levels mean more coastal erosion, overtopping of defences and salinification of land. More frequent and devastating severe weather events are disrupting everyday life and acidification of the ocean is impacting on fishing. It is happening now, not in decades to come. From atolls in the Pacific Ocean to the coast of Northern Ireland we find out how technology such as Lidar – light detection and ranging, is helping island nations to become more resilient and adapt to the effects of climate change. We learn that  data is critical in order to be able to accurately map and predict the impacts of rising global temperatures and protect traditions of the past for generations to come. Guests Dr Joanne Hanna, Senior Scientific Officer, Marine & Fisheries, DAERA Wini Nainoca, Environmental Specialist, UNDP Pacific Office Paul Seaton, Regional Director Strategic Sales and Marketing, Fugro Arthur Webb, Chief Technical Advisor and a Coastal Adaption Strategist, UNDP Pacific Office Resources Planet Beyond: Saving the South Pacific UNDP Pacific Office Blog: Wini Nianoca Partner This episode is made in partnership with Fugro. Fugro is the world’s leading geodata specialist, collecting and analysing comprehensive information about the Earth and the structures built upon it. Through integrated data acquisition, analysis and advice, Fugro unlocks insights from geodata to help clients design, build and operate their assets in a safe, sustainable and efficient manner.The post #116 Climate Change: Islands on the Frontline first appeared on Engineering Matters.

In this episode we explain how one of the world’s biggest problems – plastic waste can be reused in state of the art, energy-efficient road-building products. Working with Cumbria County Council within an initiative called Adept Live Labs Shell will be publicly sharing the knowledge they are gaining in these lab trials, with the overall objective of helping to build a more sustainable, circular economy. Guests  Giles Perkins, Head of Future Mobility, WSP in the UK Keith Little, Councilor, Cumbria County Council Richard Taylor, Global Technology Development Manager for Shell Bitumen Partner With over 100 years’ experience, Shell Bitumen is the world’s leading supplier of bitumen. Their wide range of innovative bitumen products is designed to help meet the challenges of road, roofing and airport sectors, alongside specialty and industrial applications. The post #115 The Circular Road first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Ecologists on infrastructure projects have some new team members: Conservation dogs. Their superior olfactory systems mean that they can sniff out a plethora of protected species from great crested newts and water voles, to bats and birds. Critically these canine detectives can do this more quickly, accurately and safely than humans. Thanks to pioneering work by consultant Atkins, the use of conservation dogs is increasing and infrastructure owners are seeing the benefits. Guests Aran Clyne, Member of Ecology Detection Dogs in Britain and Ireland Working Group Rachael Flavell, Founder of Paws for Conservation Nikki Glover, Senior Ecologist, Wessex Water Luke Gorman, Associate Director Ecology, Atkins Louise Wilson, Managing Director, Conservation K9 Consultancy Partner Atkins, part of the SNC-Lavalin Group, is one of the world’s most respected design, engineering and project management consultancies. Employing over 18,000 people across the UK, North America, Middle East and Africa, Asia Pacific and Europe, Atkins utilities the latest technology to deliver major capital projects, and provide expert consultancy for clients across the energy, transportation and infrastructure sectors.The post #114 Engineering with Dogs first appeared on Engineering Matters.

Every year 1.3 billion tonnes of food are wasted. The waste occurs all through the supply chain, from the farm itself, all the way to the household. It represents enough calories to potentially feed every undernourished person on the planet, and there is an environmental cost to this. About 6% of all human greenhouse gas emissions resulting from food loss and waste. Target 12.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals calls for halving per capita global food waste at retail and consumer levels by 2030 and The US Department of Energy has been looking at converting food waste biomass into fuels for over five years to meet the urgent need for sustainable aviation fuel. The aviation industry contributes about 2.8% of greenhouse gas emissions. Now for the first time researchers working at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory claim to have used food waste to produce a Net Zero jet fuel. Guests Derek Vardon, Senior Research Engineer, National Renewable Energy Laboratory Resources For the recent paper detailing the research at NREL, click hereThe post #113 Food Waste: Making a Net Zero Jet Fuel first appeared on Engineering Matters.