Engineering Matters
375 episodes Last Updated: Jul 10, 25
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.
Episodes
Jul 10, 2025
#337 Breaking Barriers to STEM with Lightyear Foundation – Engineering Matters Awards winners episode
In this episode, we spotlight the remarkable work of the Lightyear Foundation, the winner of the Engineering Matters Awards 2025 Gold Champion for Diversity and Inclusion. The foundation is the only UK charity dedicated to engaging disabled and neurodivergent young people with STEM. Chief Executive Jeff Banks and Senior Programme Manager Emma Zeale explain how...
The post #337 Breaking Barriers to STEM with Lightyear Foundation – Engineering Matters Awards winners episode first appeared on Engineering Matters.
At a quarry in Turkey, heavy haul trucks are carrying hundreds of tonnes of materials, with no external power. It’s not quite perpetual motion, but it is removing the need for diesel or cables on a hard working site. NUH Cement commissioned ABB to repower a 30-year-old Euclid haul truck. The truck collects loads from...
The post #336 Gravity-Powered Heavy Haul – Engineering Matters Awards winners episode first appeared on Engineering Matters.
LongPath Technologies has taken Nobel-winning discoveries, and applied them to a key cause of climate change: methane leaks from oil and gas facilities. The sector now turns to LongPath to establish monitoring across facilities. But as LongPath sought to scale from innovation to commercialization, it turned to Red Pitaya for a vital component. In this...
The post #335 Monitoring Methane: The Tech Behind the Tech first appeared on Engineering Matters.
In 2016 management consultants McKinsey released a report that reverberated around the construction and engineering sectors. This sector, the report said, was consistently delivering projects late—often 20% longer to finish than expected—and over budget: by as much as 80%. The report’s authors pointed out that the tools that could resolve these delays and cost overruns,...
The post #334 Digital Construction’s Past, Present and Future first appeared on Engineering Matters.
Jun 12, 2025
#333 Agents of Change – AI in Industry
Generative AI has swept across our society. In every app, up it pops, eager to offer a helping hand. The opportunity to talk to computer systems as if they are human, or to create memes at unprecedented speed, has great appeal for many. But is it ready to do the hard work at the heart...
The post #333 Agents of Change – AI in Industry first appeared on Engineering Matters.
Jun 05, 2025
#332 The Future of Airports Around the World
Airports are at the forefront of a global transformation, rethinking their role not just as transport hubs but as sustainable, connected cities of the future. In this episode we explore how airports around the world are responding to environmental pressures, technological advancements, and increasing passenger demands. From Hong Kong’s ambitious runway reclamation to Heathrow’s efforts...
The post #332 The Future of Airports Around the World first appeared on Engineering Matters.
May 29, 2025
#331 Life Extension for Infrastructure
In the second half of the 20th Century, the world was transformed through infrastructure construction. New roads and railways, levees and power lines, delivered unprecedented comfort and convenience, and laid the foundation for an economy driven by easy transport and trade. But today, as many governments struggle with budgetary constraints and the need to balance...
The post #331 Life Extension for Infrastructure first appeared on Engineering Matters.
Helping the next generation achieve their full potential doesn’t just take commitment from their parents or carers, or from professionals like teachers. It takes, as the saying goes, a village. In Derby, nuclear engineer Katie Jarman has assembled the equivalent of a village full of volunteer maths tutors, all recruited from her employer Rolls-Royce, to...
The post #330 A Village Full of Maths Tutors – Engineering Matters Awards’ winners episode first appeared on Engineering Matters.
Ben Gibbons and his colleagues at Circular11 are developing ways to add value to hard-to-recycle light plastics. They take packaging, and turn it into a lumber-equivalent, suitable for long term use as post and rail fencing. But to maintain tight loops of circularity, they needed to understand the supply chain they were targeting. National Highways...
The post #329 Scaling Low Carbon Innovation – Engineering Matters Awards’ winners episode first appeared on Engineering Matters.
Worldwide, water is in short supply and high demand, with very real consequences for human health and security. Many countries struggle to maintain aging networks, meaning that more than 20% of clean water is lost before it reaches the customer. New industries, like data centres, are adding to demand, as they use water for cooling....
The post #328 Listening for Leaks – Engineering Matters Awards Innovation Champion, FIDO first appeared on Engineering Matters.