Engineering Matters show

Engineering Matters

Summary: Three 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.

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Podcasts:

 #132 COP26: Decarbonising Buildings | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 28:03

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,...

 #131 Cranes: How to Plan a Lift | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 29:14

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,...

 #130 Navigating New Construction Technology | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 27:47

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...

 #129 A Vision for Clean Growth in Bradford | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 25:15

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...

 #128 Positioning Satellites in New Space | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

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...

 #127 Tools for Thinking | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 29:00

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...

 #126 Propping up Vienna | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 20:46

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...

 #125 Artificial Intelligence in Project Planning | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: Unknown

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...

 #124 Mussels: How to Save the Seas | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 38:27

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...

 #123 Engineering Plants: Intelligent Growth Solutions | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 32:55

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...

 #122 Decarbonisation: Growing Roads on Trees | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 19:10

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...

 #121 Batteries: The Lithium-Silicon Age | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 25:41

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...

 #120 Recycled Plastic: The Canadian Potential | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 25:53

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...

 #119 The Grange: Saving Time, Saving Lives | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 27:27

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...

 #118 Gateway: The Lunar Space Station | File Type: audio/mpeg | Duration: 32:15

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...

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