Filtra per genere
Five times winner of the Publisher Podcast Awards, including Best Technology Podcast, Engineering Matters celebrates the work of engineers who use ingenuity, practicality, science, theory and determination to build a better world. In the UK alone 5.7million people work in engineering related enterprises from manufacturing and agriculture to construction and transportation. Their work ensures that the country has sustainable power supplies, better connectivity between cities, increasing efficiency in production processes; advanced manufacturing methods; and is embracing the digital transformations that include virtual modelling of our environment, and development of intelligent machines. Our episodes will examine the vital work of engineers using a mix of interviews, analysis and site visits.
- 432 - #302 Engineering Matters Awards: iNaturalist – Conservation, Community and AI
From habitat destruction, to use of pesticides, the arrival of invasive species and the growing impact of climate change, life, in all shapes and sizes, is fighting to survive. To protect the world’s biodiversity, first we have a better understanding of what and where that biodiversity is. In this episode we delve into iNaturalist, the...
Thu, 14 Nov 2024 - 20min - 431 - #86 Enterprise Delivery: A Model for Recovery
With a £100bn capital spending plan, the biggest ever investment in new transport infrastructure and a ten-point plan for climate change, the UK is determined to build its way to post COVID19 economic recovery. The bad news is that major projects have a terrible track record for not being built on time and going over...
Tue, 22 Dec 2020 - 21min - 430 - #85 Concrete’s Role in the Climate War
Contributing around 8% of global climate emissions, concrete is a major source of carbon. It is also essential, and no major project is feasible without thousands of tonnes of concrete. As the world looks to decrease its impact on the environment, with a reduction of carbon emissions forming a major focus within that effort, every...
Thu, 17 Dec 2020 - 27min - 429 - #84 Asphalt of the Future
Have you ever walked past a newly surfaced road, perhaps around the corner from your house… and wondered when it will next be resurfaced? Side roads often seem to be in poor condition, and if you live in England, you probably will not see it resurfaced again in your lifetime. The average interval is 119...
Tue, 15 Dec 2020 - 32min - 428 - #83 Digitisation and the road to diversity
In this episode we look at how the demands of the industry are becoming increasingly diverse, resulting in a similar change in the people carrying out the work. We look at how the industry can adapt to use new tools at its disposal to take advantage of new skills, improve productivity, and make construction a...
Thu, 10 Dec 2020 - 26min - 427 - #82 Securing the Shugborough Tunnel
Set in the West Midlands county of Staffordshire is a former Royal Forest called Cannock Chase. It is part misty, secluded woodland and part undulating moorland. As you head up to the north of this Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the landscape becomes tame and you enter the Shugborough Estate, some 10km to the east...
Tue, 08 Dec 2020 - 30min - 426 - #81 Zen and the Art of Programme Management
The adoption of healthy or unhealthy behaviours at project reviews can have an enormous impact on the overall project and even the wider industry. Going down the wrong path can have a multiplier effect over the course of the project, and with growing project complexities, you need to be able to rely on your team....
Thu, 03 Dec 2020 - 27min - 425 - #80 Covid 19: Construction Copes with the Pandemic
It is by now a topic that sadly needs little introduction. It has impacted everyone in the last year. Changed lives and livelihoods, overturned entire sectors, and altered the global balance of power Our way of living and working has changed, and only in the last couple of weeks has hope appeared in the distance,...
Thu, 26 Nov 2020 - 22min - 424 - #79 Rebuilding Zandvoort’s Rollercoaster Racetrack
In this episode we look at the Circuit Zandvoort, the iconic post-WW2 racetrack in the Netherlands. Beloved by fans of all flavours of motorsport, it recently had cause to redesign and resurface its track in the hopes of hosting the first Dutch Grand Prix since 1985. To do this required the design of some of...
Thu, 19 Nov 2020 - 37min - 423 - #78 Reinventing invention
A revolution is approaching manufacturing, one that will see costs and time to market cut by as much as 50%. The digitalisation of engineering will reduce the need to churn out prototypes as a product goes back and forth between design and manufacturing departments. In a rapidly changing world, this revolution cannot come soon enough,...
Thu, 12 Nov 2020 - 29min - 422 - #77 Floating Turbines: Offshore Wind’s Game Changer
Until a few years ago the offshore wind industry was constrained by the seabed characteristics of countries seeking to harness the generating capacity of the wind. Only those with shallow waters of around 40m or less could implement fixed offshore arrays. But in just a few years the game has changed. Floating offshore turbines are...
Thu, 05 Nov 2020 - 31min - 421 - #76 Building with Biomaterials
In this episode we have partnered with Autodesk Construction Solutions to look at a new approach to housing construction in Kenya. We take a look at how a local architecture, engineering and construction firm, BuildX, is working with modern methods of construction – manufacturing modular units offsite – to produce housing on a scale, and...
Thu, 29 Oct 2020 - 33min - 420 - #75 Last Howl of the Vulcan
The Vulcan is one of the most iconic aircraft ever flown by the Royal Air Force. Although not quite the household name that the Spitfire has been, it has always been a crowd favourite at air shows. As well as the immense noise generated by its four Rolls Royce Olympus engines, which has thrilled children...
Thu, 22 Oct 2020 - 23min - 419 - #74 Weaving a New Data Fabric for Infrastructure
Imagine a world where Alexa can tell you the latest, greenest, safest and most cost-effective way to design, deliver or operate something. Advice on decision-making that takes into account whole life costing, and tell you where best to spend money, to save more money in future. We all understand this concept in our own lives;...
Thu, 15 Oct 2020 - 31min - 418 - #73 How to Build a Digital Twin
Anglian Water currently enjoys a daily surplus of 150 million litres of water, but this is forecast to become a 150 million litre deficit by 2045. To help mitigate this shortfall it is constructing hundreds of kilometres of large diameter pipeline, as well as pumping stations and storage points to divert water from areas with...
Thu, 08 Oct 2020 - 29min - 417 - #72 Seeing the Himalayas: Kickstarting Net Zero
On a bright morning in April, people in the city of Jalandhar in the state of Punjab stood out in the streets and saw something breath-taking… something that many of them had never seen before. The skies were so clear that for the first time in decades the soaring peaks of the Himalayas standing almost...
Thu, 01 Oct 2020 - 30min - 416 - #71 Stewards of the Soil
Historically civilisations have sprung up wherever the land was most fertile, soils that supported good crop productivity to meet the food requirements of highly concentrated groups of people. Now with the global population close to 8 billion, and all arable land already committed to food production, we are turning to technology to help fertilise soils...
Thu, 24 Sep 2020 - 26min - 415 - #70 On Track for a Rail Revolution
The railway network in the UK is old and vast and home to the first public railway to use steam locomotives in the world. The Stockton and Darlington Railway opened in 1825 and connected coal mines in the northeast of England. It was the metal track, the coal-fired furnace, and the shrill whistle of the...
Thu, 17 Sep 2020 - 38min - 414 - #69 Artificial Intelligence in Infrastructure
Maintaining a tunnel requires many hours of dedicated work by highly skilled engineers. And as our network of tunnels expands, so does the maintenance demand. Asset owners and local authorities have been under pressure for years to find a cost-effective way of monitoring and maintaining their underground infrastructure. And now, engineers in Switzerland have turned...
Thu, 10 Sep 2020 - 20min - 413 - #68 The Future of Design
Changes to the way we do design are coming; construction is languishing at the bottom of the productivity rankings, now below hunting and fishing. Decision-making is happening late in the project lifecycle, meaning that design work has to be repeated unnecessarily, and a reward culture based on price rather than outcomes builds in more inefficiency....
Thu, 03 Sep 2020 - 34min - 412 - #67 The Future is Remote and Autonomous
Remotely operated vehicles, uncrewed surface vessels and ever-increasing autonomy are removing personnel from dangerous work offshore in the North Sea and elsewhere. Inspection of maritime assets is now being controlled from onshore operations centres. We look at one of these command and control centres, the Fugro facility in Aberdeen. With a robust regulatory framework and...
Thu, 27 Aug 2020 - 35min - 411 - #66 Fever Screening in Airports
As a small island trading nation, Britain risks killing its economy and losing millions of jobs, unless it can allow people to get back to work in as normal a way as possible. So said John Holland-Kaye, CEO of Heathrow Airport, who wants to see a more sophisticated way of opening our borders. He was...
Thu, 20 Aug 2020 - 27min - 410 - #65 Every Little Helps
At the start of the Covid-19 lockdown, one of the few reasons people were allowed to leave their homes was to shop for the basic essentials. Social distancing rules meant that shoppers were held in long queues that wound through supermarket car parks, moving slowly. One supermarket in northern England had the added problem of...
Thu, 13 Aug 2020 - 25min - 409 - #64 EDAROTH
Manchester – the city has been on the cutting edge since the birth of the industrial revolution. From John Dalton’s Atomic Theory in 1803, to the invention of Graphene in 2004. More recently it has given the world the greatest music ever made. Home to 2.8 million people in 1.2 million dwellings over 500 square...
Thu, 06 Aug 2020 - 29min - 408 - #63 Nine Days to Build a Hospital
When Dan Harmer received a call in March that told him to clear his schedule and prepare for a meeting, he knew it would be important, but had no idea quite what would be asked of him. With Covid-19 spreading exponentially, and the National Health Service looking increasingly vulnerable, he was the man chosen to...
Thu, 30 Jul 2020 - 28min - 407 - #62 The Washing Machine Project
Hundreds of millions of people in the most economically disadvantaged places in the world spend up to 20 hours per week washing clothes by hand. This task, traditionally forced onto women, is back breaking and monotonous. Then in 2018 a promise made in a rural village in southern India has led Nav Sawhney to leave...
Thu, 23 Jul 2020 - 25min - 406 - #61 Countdown to British launch
On 28 October 1971 the UK conducted its first and only successful orbital launch, firing the Prospero satellite into low earth orbit – LEO on a Black Arrow rocket. Since that time, the country has lacked a native launch vehicle. In this episode we speak with Joe Laynton, a mechanical engineer working for Skyrora, an...
Thu, 16 Jul 2020 - 23min - 405 - #60 Covid 19: Creating safer spaces
Britain is emerging from some of the toughest social restrictions placed in peacetime history. As people come out of their homes, they are eager to meet friends and loved ones, and head back out into the world – but they are scared. To help keep people safe in a world gripped by Covid-19, and to...
Thu, 02 Jul 2020 - 23min - 404 - #59 Empowering Ethical Engineering
Engineers are in a uniquely powerful position. Able to shape our built environment and so influence the direction of civilisation, the impact that their expertise can have for the good of society and the environment is incredible. But people are human, and if a negative culture is allowed to thrive in the organisations that employ...
Thu, 25 Jun 2020 - 37min - 403 - #58 Construction declares climate emergency
Since mid-2019, over 900 architectural practices in the UK have made a declaration of climate and biodiversity emergency, acknowledging the extreme seriousness of our situation and making a public commitment to positive change. Now joined by declarations from other disciplines in the construction industry, the growing movement needs coordination or it risks becoming siloed. In...
Thu, 11 Jun 2020 - 21min - 402 - #57 Printing versus the pandemic: COVID 19
The coronavirus pandemic that has torn through society has also seen supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) depleted at an alarming rate. As doctors and nurses are forced to improvise, and traditional suppliers struggle to meet the sudden increase in demand, help has arrived from an unexpected group of enthusiasts. The 3D printing community has...
Thu, 28 May 2020 - 29min - 401 - #56 The Biodiversity Emergency
Biodiversity in the UK is facing an emergency with around 30 percent of native species becoming extinct since the 1970s. This loss of wildlife, which echoes trends all over the world, could have catastrophic impacts on food, air quality and the environment. However for the UK change is on the horizon with a new Environment...
Thu, 14 May 2020 - 27min - 400 - #55 Saving Structures with Satellites
How data from satellites can track structural movement, and give early warning of potential failure. New research shows that catastrophic bridge collapses could have been prevented if engineers had been paying attention to the right information, information that is currently being collected by satellites orbiting our planet. Satellite monitoring is one of the many innovations...
Thu, 30 Apr 2020 - 41min - 399 - #54 Keith Bannerman: A life underground
Carving out underground space for railways, roads, waterways, urban development and even fishing and farming is how some people spend their entire careers. One of those people is chair of the International Tunnelling Association Young Members Committee Keith Bannerman, who was obsessed by the industry from the moment he attended a short course in Brisbane...
Fri, 17 Apr 2020 - 25min - 398 - #53 Technology vs biology: fighting COVID 19
As cases of COVID 19 explode, the World Health Organisation is urging countries around the world to learn from South Korea. Before even recording its first case of the virus its technology industries mobilised, enabling it to test anyone with symptoms, perform extensive contact tracing and isolate those at risk – fast. This enabled the...
Fri, 03 Apr 2020 - 27min - 397 - #52 Tunnelling Podcast: Propping up Luton Airport’s new rail link
How a new 2.5km cable pulled railway will connect Luton Airport’s terminal to the UK rail network boosting future growth. Today rail passengers arriving at the airport must disembark from the train and finish their journey on a shuttle bus. But not for much longer. Deep sheet piles are currently being driven into the ground...
Fri, 27 Mar 2020 - 50min - 396 - #51 Covid 19: Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
The rapid and exponential spread of the new coronavirus, COVID 19 is changing the way that we live and work. First detected in December 2019 in Wuhan City, China, within three months it was a global pandemic. To keep operating through the crisis businesses turned to digital technologies to support home working. But this connectivity...
Fri, 20 Mar 2020 - 20min - 395 - #50 Dealing with Nuclear Waste
The UK has a legacy of 600,000 tonnes of nuclear waste being held in temporary storage facilities at 30 sites around the country. It is enough to fill a football stadium and despite over 60 years of generating nuclear power in the UK, we still don’t have a long-term plan for disposing of it. Scientific...
Fri, 13 Mar 2020 - 19min - 394 - #49 Uncharted waters: Flooding and drought
This winter a series of weather bombs detonated across the UK, overwhelming river systems and overtopping flood defences. River levels were off the charts, 4000 properties flooded, some temporary defences failed and people took to the streets in canoes. The UK is entering unchartered territory as far as flooding is concerned. Yet the threat of...
Thu, 05 Mar 2020 - 35min - 393 - #48 Paving the way in pothole prevention
How nematode worms, 3D printing and drones could revolutionise our approach to maintaining road surfaces. According to the RAC we are 1.5 times more likely to hit a pothole today than we were over a decade ago and winter is peak pothole time. In the cold months the UK’s road surfaces weather the impact of...
Thu, 27 Feb 2020 - 31min - 392 - #47 Breathalysing Whales: Drones Revisited
An update on our Drones episode from January 2019 where we learn about new uses for unmanned aerial vehicles, and celebrate being shortlisted for three awards in the Publisher Podcast Awards held in London in March 2020. No-one knows how many penguins are in the Antarctic, and last year we discovered that thanks to the...
Thu, 20 Feb 2020 - 29min - 391 - #46 Metro stations: The gateway to the city
A tremendous change occurred with the industrial revolution: whereas it had taken all of human history until around 1800 for world population to reach one billion, the second billion was achieved in only 130 years in 1930, the third billion in 30 years in 1960, the fourth billion in 15 years in 1974, and the fifth...
Thu, 13 Feb 2020 - 50min - 390 - #45 Offshore Wind, Part 2 : Foundations for the Future
How new technology is supporting the UK’s offshore wind industry to bring down costs and accelerate construction. From new methods for drilling into the seabed, to advanced foundation design models and improved data capture, innovation is critical for this fast-growing market. But it won’t be easy. Deeper waters and variable ground conditions make these some...
Thu, 06 Feb 2020 - 33min - 389 - #44 Offshore Wind, Part 1: Becoming a World Leader
Over the past two decades the UK has become the world’s leading offshore wind energy producer. Not only is it responsible for 40% of all offshore wind generated electricity, it is set to quadruple the installed capacity by 2030. Its journey to becoming a world leader began in 2000 with construction of just two Vestas...
Thu, 30 Jan 2020 - 30min - 388 - #43 Virtual Reality: transforming design
From new immersive technologies to life saving applications, virtual reality is finally meeting up to expectations of the 1990s and transforming the way that projects are designed. Its ability to improve visualisation of new and existing infrastructure is bringing many benefits, including some that users hadn’t anticipated as well as saving millions of pounds in...
Thu, 23 Jan 2020 - 39min - 387 - #42 Surviving a tunnel fire
This week we are bringing you an episode of our newly launched Tunnelling Podcast, made in partnership with the British Tunnelling Society. In March 1999, the Mont Blanc tunnel fire claimed the lives of 38 tunnel users and one fire fighter. For decades debate has raged over the best approach to tackling a fire, saving...
Thu, 16 Jan 2020 - 52min - 386 - #41 Crunch Time for Net Zero
Last year the UK set a legally binding target to become carbon neutral by 2050, ahead of any other major global economy. In doing so it took the first ambitious steps on a massively difficult path, and the road to net zero requires a total overhaul of how infrastructure is designed, delivered and managed. In...
Thu, 09 Jan 2020 - 25min - 385 - #40 Becoming a Role Model: Ying Wan Loh
Becoming a Role Model: Ying Wan Loh From rotary drilling on Mars to hybrid-electric aviation and the expansive global supply chains of the aeronautical industry, we explore the engineering life of Ying Wan Loh. In 2019 Ying became the Institution of Engineering and Technology Young Woman Engineer of the Year, a title given to astronaut...
Tue, 24 Dec 2019 - 18min - 384 - #39 Heathrow: Leading the digital charge
Heathrow has announced an ambitious expansion plan that will add a third runway and take the airport to cope with growing demand up until 2050. It calls for massive development of its infrastructure to cope with growing passenger numbers and it takes an innovative approach to its supply chain, looking to distribute the economic benefits...
Thu, 19 Dec 2019 - 29min - 383 - #38 Temporary Heroes: Construction’s Unseen Infrastructure
What do the Great Pyramids of Giza, the Ipswich Barrier and Heathrow Airport have in common? None of them could have been realised without a complex network of supporting infrastructure built before the main structures themselves were erected. Known as the temporary works this vital and often complex system of scaffolding, excavation support, propping elements...
Thu, 12 Dec 2019 - 24min - 382 - #37 Solving the Productivity Puzzle
Historically, the nation’s productivity has improved with economic growth, but since the global financial crisis and despite the UK’s recovery, productivity has flatlined. The Office for National Statistics calls this “The productivity puzzle” and for construction the situation is even worse. Productivity has floundered since the 1990s. But as big data continues to drive the...
Thu, 28 Nov 2019 - 28min - 381 - #36 The Calculator that Could Save the World
How a calculator is helping countries around the world to lower their greenhouse gas emissions and create more sustainable energy systems. When Professor David MacKay of Cambridge University wrote a book about sustainable energy in 2009, he could not have realised that this groundbreaking text would go on to form the basis for a calculator...
Thu, 21 Nov 2019 - 27min - 380 - #35 The Quantum Enabler: Professor Sir Peter Knight
As Quantum computing becomes a 21st century reality, Professor Sir Peter Knight explains why controlling the register of quantum bits that make up a quantum processor is so difficult, and explains how the journey to quantum computing is creating new technologies that no one could ever have predicted……. Peter’s life in quantum physics began in...
Thu, 07 Nov 2019 - 27min - 379 - #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. And the challenge is enormous. More people are being displaced by...
Thu, 31 Oct 2019 - 35min - 378 - #33 Future Factories: Driving forward industry 4.0
World leading smart robotics, industry disrupting technologies and the next generation of augmented reality are just some of the advances in action at Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre’s Factory 2050. Launched in December 2015, Factory 2050 was set up as a reconfigurable glass walled factory of the future, and since then it has helped businesses...
Thu, 17 Oct 2019 - 22min - 377 - #32 The untold story of Eiffel and his Tower
Had its use as a gigantic 300m high radio antenna not been recognised in the early 1900s the magnificent Eiffel Tower, would have been pulled down and destroyed. Under its original contract as the wrought iron gateway to the 1889 Paris World Fair, it was only to stand for 20 years. But its creator, engineer...
Thu, 03 Oct 2019 - 26min - 376 - #31 Creating a National Digital Twin
Back in December 2017 the UK’s National Infrastructure Commission set the UK a huge challenge: to create a digital model of our national infrastructure. Known as a National Digital Twin this engineering feat requires secure sharing of high-quality standardised data between infrastructure owners and operators, making operations more efficient and resilient. A new task force...
Thu, 19 Sep 2019 - 26min - 375 - #30 Interviewing Dad: Atkins President Philip Hoare
Chloe is 16 and interested in an engineering career. She is also the daughter of Philip Hoare, President of engineering consultant Atkins. To find out more she digs deep into her Dad’s engineering life story by interviewing him about the projects that have shaped his career. From harrowing tragedy on a bridge project to world...
Thu, 05 Sep 2019 - 34min - 374 - #29 Innovations in Renewable Energy: Lorna Bennet
Growing up in a tiny village in rural Scotland, regular power cuts would leave Lorna Bennet and her family without electricity for days on end. Determined to become self-sufficient Lorna set about learning how to create sustainable energy, from designing water wheels to working on tidal power arrays and testing the world’s largest offshore wind...
Thu, 22 Aug 2019 - 36min - 373 - #28 Building for Biodiversity
Habitat for the UK’s Great Yellow Bumblebee has declined 80 percent over the last century thanks to the loss of the flower rich meadows that sustain them. They now only persist in the North of Scotland, so when Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks planned a new substation in the Highlands, preserving the habitat of the...
Thu, 08 Aug 2019 - 23min - 372 - #27 Recycling Plastic into Roads
After 844 trial tests, and setting his own street on fire, founder of Scottish start-up MacRebur Toby McCartney finally hit on a viable solution for repairing potholes. His idea sought to resurface roads using recycled plastics, and the result is a form of polymer modification of asphalt that uses a mixture of waste plastics and...
Fri, 26 Jul 2019 - 17min - 371 - #26 Saving Rossington
Placing the United Nations’ sustainable development goals at the heart of projects can regenerate UK communities. From a new 4km road link that saved a former mining community in Yorkshire, to a coastal replenishment scheme that brought new opportunity to Colwyn Bay in North Wales, we hear how incorporating the sustainable development goals is changing...
Tue, 16 Jul 2019 - 43min - 370 - #25 Return of the Fatbergs
Underneath cities all over the UK subterranean mountains of calcified fat are gathering in our sewers as fat, oil and grease stick to baby wipes and harden to form a blubbery bacterial blockage. Removing them is dangerous, manual work, putting people and the infrastructure itself at risk. In this episode we venture to the site...
Thu, 27 Jun 2019 - 28min - 369 - #24 Unleash the Hydrogen Potential
Could the lightest element in the periodic table be the answer to the world’s most weighty challenge of decarbonising energy? Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the Universe and the most energy dense. Burning it creates clean electricity and heat without generating carbon emissions, but to utilise it, first it must be released from...
Thu, 13 Jun 2019 - 31min - 368 - #23 Becoming an astronaut: Sophie Harker
It was a meeting with the first Briton in space, Dr Helen Sharman, that changed the course of Sophie Harker’s life forever. A maths student at The University of Nottingham, she took this advice seriously and went on to become an aerodynamics and performance engineer at BAE Systems. Although she is yet to leave planet...
Thu, 30 May 2019 - 34min - 367 - #22 Electric Excavators: Cities cut carbon in construction
Since 1913 the world’s most famous flower show has been held every Spring in Chelsea in London. This year among the electric blue Persian Slippers, the white and yellow Anthemis Punctata, and the eye catching, deep pink Digitalis Illumination series of Chris Beardshaw’s Morgan Stanley Garden, there is a focus on creating beautiful gardens with...
Tue, 21 May 2019 - 20min - 366 - #21 Electric Aviation: Meeting demand for low emission flight
Norwegian airline Widerøe needs a new fleet of planes to serve its regional passenger base. But it doesn’t want to buy conventional aircraft. It wants a zero emission fleet to undertake its 450 flights per day, and move 2.8 million passengers per year. But so far, no electric planes have been certified for commercial flight...
Thu, 09 May 2019 - 16min - 365 - #20 Electric Vehicles: Lessons from world leading Norway
How did Norway become the world’s most successful electric vehicle market? Last month almost 80 percent of all new cars sold in Oslo were EVs and across the entire country it was 58 percent. Even more remarkable is that the soaring popularity of EVs is despite the lower operating efficiency that batteries achieve in cold...
Fri, 03 May 2019 - 34min - 364 - #19 Future of 3D Printing
From additive manufacturing in space, to 3D printing customised pharmaceuticals and non-planar electronics, the next revolution in 3D printing is already underway. In this episode we head to the International Space Station and interview the engineer behind a world first in 3D printing, “The Refabricator”. This 3D printer that can not only print plastic in...
Thu, 18 Apr 2019 - 26min - 363 - #18 Cocoa Power
Four thousand years after it was first used as a form of nutrition for the Olmec people of Mesoamerica, engineers are finding new ways to harness the potential of the fruit from the miraculous Theobroma Cacao tree, better known today as cocoa pods. Their solution could provide rural farming communities in Ghana with a new...
Thu, 04 Apr 2019 - 26min - 362 - #17 Acting on climate change
As young people all over the world protest over political inaction on climate change, we ask how engineers can prevent our planet’s temperature rising past the point of no return. Responding to this challenge means that engineering professionals, businesses and institutions must do things differently. They must say no say no to carbon intensive development,...
Thu, 21 Mar 2019 - 26min - 361 - #16 Designing green buildings
Do plants hold the key to making cities healthier? Could we design buildings that don’t take away green space, but create it? That don’t demand energy, but generate it? Rudi Scheuermann of consultant Arup thinks so. By employing a range of design techniques including cladding structures in living plant walls and engineering bioreactive facades that...
Fri, 08 Mar 2019 - 21min - 360 - #15 Engineering Elephants: Brittany Harris
Providing water and sanitation after a destructive military revolution in Peru; engineering with elephants in Kenya; and plunging into enormous pot holes in Uganda, the professional life of civil engineer Brittany Harris has been more eventful since she graduated in 2015 than many engineers’ experience throughout their entire working careers. Her efforts to bring sustainable...
Fri, 22 Feb 2019 - 44min - 359 - #14 The Bridge Man: Dr Robin Sham
How did a circus act inspire a revolutionary new construction method for Scotland’s first glass fibre reinforced polymer, cable stayed footbridge? Why did triumph and heartache underpin construction of the world’s most difficult cable stayed bridge, the Kap Shui Mun Bridge in Hong Kong? What did tunnel engineering teach designers about construction that enabled them...
Fri, 08 Feb 2019 - 48min - 358 - #13 Secrets of the Hoover Dam
Are there really bodies buried in the Hoover Dam? Was the hard hat really invented here in 1931? And why was it originally called Boulder Dam? In this podcast we explore and uncover the secrets of one of the greatest engineering projects ever built. The unique and formidable Hoover Dam. Learn about the “Double Ugly”,...
Sun, 27 Jan 2019 - 37min - 357 - #12 The Drone Boom
No-one knows how many penguins are in the Antarctic, but thanks to the use of drones this is set to change as scientists are using these unmanned aerial vehicles to fly over colonies of chinstrap, adelie and gentoos. And that is not all. Academics at the University of East Anglia are developing artificial intelligence that...
Thu, 03 Jan 2019 - 28min - 356 - # 11 The robots are here
Robots are not just coming. They are already here. From TyBot which can tie steel reinforcement into position on bridges, to the road marking wizard Little Erik, and robotic hot wire cutters that can create bespoke formwork in minutes, robots are able to transform the way that infrastructure and buildings are constructed. From accelerating work...
Sun, 23 Dec 2018 - 33min - 355 - #10 How China has automated road design
With 4.8 million kilometres of road China sits third in the world in terms of length of highways behind only the US and India. But its huge investment budget of £455 billion for new and improved highways could see it bypass these other world leaders. In 2018 alone it will add a further 5,000km presenting...
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 - 20min - 354 - #9 The race to create Hyperloop
Right now companies around the world are competing in a global race to prove that a new transport revolution is just a few years away. Using high speed transit through low pressure tubes speeds of 1100km/hr per hour are theoretically possible, bringing cities closer together than ever before. London to Edinburgh? 40minutes. Melbourne to Sydney?...
Mon, 19 Nov 2018 - 24min - 353 - #8 Cargotecture: scaling up shipping container construction
Floating along Copenhagen’s central waterway is a new proposition in affordable student accommodation, Urban Rigger. Each of these 745m2 units starts with a central concrete pontoon supporting nine steel shipping containers, which between them host 12 studio apartments for student accommodation. Launched as a solution to the student housing crisis in the Danish capital more...
Tue, 30 Oct 2018 - 24min - 352 - #7 The woman who built Trump Tower
The story of how Brooklyn born maths genius Barbara Res became head of construction for Trump Tower, despite deep-rooted sexism that sat at the heart of construction – and society in the 1970s and 1980s. Project owner Donald Trump modestly called Trump Tower “the most important project in the world” and to deliver it, he...
Mon, 15 Oct 2018 - 40min - 351 - #6 Minecraft: inspiring young engineers
The story of how schools, colleges and professional institutions are working with Minecraft Education Edition to inspire the next generation of young engineers. Engineering UK predicts that 124,000 new engineers are required every year in the UK to fill the gap created by retiring professionals and expanding demand. But it is only managing to attract...
Mon, 01 Oct 2018 - 22min - 350 - #5 Community Power: solar gains for villagers
How a small village in Buckinghamshire developed and delivered a clean, green, solar energy project that generates enough electricity to power over 1000 homes and uses its profits to benefit the local community. The 4.18MW solar power project in the village of Gawcott generates three times more electricity that this community of 280 properties requires....
Wed, 19 Sep 2018 - 23min - 349 - FIRE 4: New tech for a safer future
From apps that can tell building residents what to do in a fire, to smart psrinklers and localised external fire detection and suppression, new technologies have the potential to make buildings safer and evacuation faster. Developments in fire detection technology are also reducing the incidence of false alarms and reducing the likelihood of vandalism or...
Tue, 28 Aug 2018 - 50min - 348 - FIRE 3: In event of a fire use the lift
In the event of a fire do not use the lift, use the stairs. We have been conditioned to fear using an elevator to escape a fire. But one major London project is trying to change all that. At 22 Bishopsgate in London the designers have set in place a lift evacuation strategy that can cut...
Tue, 21 Aug 2018 - 23min - 347 - FIRE 2: Incentivising good practice
In the second of our series of podcasts examining fire safety in tall buildings we ask how can developers of tall buildings be incentivised to build in more resilience, and use some of the innovations already in the market to make buildings safer from fire? We interview Justin Francis of the Queensland Fire Service who...
Tue, 14 Aug 2018 - 19min - 346 - FIRE 1: Making buildings safer
Now is the time for change when it comes to fire safety in tall buildings. The catastrophic events at Grenfell Tower in London on 14 June 2017 have become the starting point in a drastic restructure of the system governing fire and safety in tall buildings. The post-Grenfell review of building regulations and fire safety...
Tue, 07 Aug 2018 - 26min - 345 - #4 The Rise of the Digital Twin
Digital twins are revolutionising business models for aviation, industry and engineering. These virtual replicants of assets enriched with real time and contextual data are giving more information about networks, systems, factories, equipment and buildings than ever before. Assets then become more cost effective to maintain, and efficient to operate with cloud based data storage enabling...
Mon, 23 Jul 2018 - 29min - 344 - #3 Worms and plastic: a waste treatment revolution
The UK in now at war with waste plastic creating major new opportunities for the waste industry. In January Prime Minister Theresa May published a new 25 year Environment Plan which pledged to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste by 2042. Increasing recycling rates, using biodegradable materials and reusing plastic are all parts of the strategy...
Mon, 09 Jul 2018 - 17min - 343 - #2 Lost in spaces
Satellite based global positioning systems have revolutionised navigation outdoors and now software engineers are bringing the same innovation to indoor spaces. Airports, with their expansive terminals, are a perfect testing ground for new digital navigation technology. In London, Gatwick airport is leading the way. Designed by Pointr Labs the airport introduced 2000 Bluetooth beacons to...
Mon, 25 Jun 2018 - 25min - 342 - #301 Electrifying Sydney: Transformational Energy Systems
In the early 1900s Sydney was transformed by its first electric lighting system, which was so bright compared to gas lamps it was hailed as “turning night into day”. The network did much more than just light up the streets. It democratised power, electrifying communities, homes and businesses for the first time. The system, designed by...
Thu, 07 Nov 2024 - 36min - 341 - #300 Bonus: Powering Net Zero
Governments and businesses around the world have made commitments to achieve Net Zero by the middle of the century. This will require engineering innovation, and changes to practices, standards and regulations, across the generation, transmission, storage and transport segments. In this episode we explore these challenges and how they intersect. The IET’s Powering Net Zero...
Tue, 05 Nov 2024 - 37min - 340 - #299e Highways UK Live – A Legacy of Excellence
The Thames had been for thousands of years London’s main route to the sea. But it is also an obstacle. The last crossing east of London is the bridge and tunnel at Dartford, and this is often congested. But a new crossing has been proposed further down the river. Throughout its planning, the focus has...
Fri, 01 Nov 2024 - 42min - 339 - #299d Highways UK Live – The Journey to Net Zero and Resilience
National Highways has adopted clear net zero targets: its own operations will be carbon free by 2030; those of contractors on its roads by 2040; and of road users by 2050. The challenge will be meeting those goals, while also fulfilling its mission of getting drivers where they need to go, safely and efficiently. The...
Thu, 31 Oct 2024 - 52min - 338 - #299c Highways UK Live – Next Generation Asset Management
In 2024, National Highways completely closed parts of the M25, London’s orbital motorway. This blockage in the arterial system of the UK economy wasn’t a mistake. Instead, it was an example of meticulously planned surgery, performed by experts. In the previous episode of this mini-series, recorded live at Highways UK, we saw how data is...
Wed, 30 Oct 2024 - 45min - 337 - #299b Highways UK Live – Roads Reimagined
As an engineer, it is easy to think of roads as a challenge to be solved. Many of the innovations we will discuss in this mini-series will have a real impact on the safety, efficiency, and environmental impact of roads. But roads should be thought of as a service, not as an end in themselves....
Tue, 29 Oct 2024 - 55min - 336 - #299a Highways UK Live – The Future of Highways – Mini-series Preview
Why should we be thinking about roads as a service, not just an engineering challenge? What does it mean for a road to be a computer wrapped in asphalt? How can we use data from cars, highway assets, and even the road itself, to plan maintenance with minimal disruption to road users? How can roads...
Mon, 28 Oct 2024 - 15min - 335 - #298 Making Everyone Welcome in Construction
We should all want to build workplaces where everyone feels safe and included. But how can we do that when we don’t know what everyone needs? How can we make sure that we understand our colleagues and potential recruits, and provide them with the tools they need to be welcomed, and to be successful? Engineering...
Thu, 24 Oct 2024 - 32min - 334 - #297 Revisited: A Deep Dive Into the Past
In 1985 diver Henri Cosquer discovered a submerged cave entrance in the Mediterranean near Marseilles. Exploring over the next six years he discovered a chamber filled with prehistoric art. Conditions in the caves and the submerged passages leading to it are extremely dangerous: three divers lost their lives exploring the caves. Efforts to map the...
Thu, 17 Oct 2024 - 31min - 333 - #296 A Safer, Faster, Way to Build Offshore Wind
The North Sea’s natural conditions, with shallow waters and strong winds, make it ideal for wind farms. But, these same factors pose challenges for construction. To meet ambitious Net Zero targets, improving the speed and efficiency of installing wind farm foundations is critical. At the same time, these works must be carried out safely, without...
Thu, 10 Oct 2024 - 26min
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