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Create the Future
Simone Giertz: Make Your Own
An inventor, robotics enthusiast, and internet creator, Simone Giertz gained popularity with her early viral YouTube videos—employing humour and creativity to make complex engineering principles approachable for all. Originally designing “useless” robots, a brain tumour in 2018 encouraged Simone to shift her focus towards creating unique solutions to everyday problems.
In this episode of the Create the Future podcast, we speak to Simone about her "make your own" engineering journey, from flickering an LED using an Arduino board to converting a Tesla into a pickup truck. We find out why viewing engineering as play allowed Simone to overcome performance anxiety, discuss the challenges of the product development journey, and learn about the best fabrication tools for Makers.
New episodes of ‘Create the Future: An Engineering Podcast’ every other Tuesday. www.qeprize.org/podcasts
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39. The Future of Concrete
31:15||Season 4, Ep. 39Cement production creates around 7% of man-made carbon emissions. Meanwhile, in the UK crumbling concrete is forcing schools to close ...So how big a problem is concrete, exactly?! George Imafidon gets in the mixer to discuss it with:Prof. Kevin Paine, Director of the Centre for Climate Adaptation and Environment Research at the University of Bath, focussing on the development of smart and innovative concrete technology.Dr Cyrille Dunant, Principal Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, working on zero emissions cement.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find episode transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.38. The Future of AI Music & Instrument Making
30:04||Season 4, Ep. 38The way we make music is changing. AI songs are everywhere - even The Beatles used the technology last year. So what does a digitised, computerised future mean for the fate of artists and their acoustic instruments?Episode host Anna Ploszajski - a materials scientist and keen trumpeter - faces the music with:Lex Dromgoole, audio engineer & CEO of Bronze AI.Tom Fox, instrument maker, music hacker, & creative director of Hackoustic.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find podcast transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.37. The Future of Plastic Waste
31:47||Season 4, Ep. 37Why do we fixate on plastic as the main waste issue of our time? Is all plastic bad? Have we got Bags For Life and paper straws totally wrong?Anna Ploszajski - materials scientist and storyteller - assembles her first edition of Create The Future with:Dr Alicia Chrysostomou, polymer consultant and author of Plastics: Just A Load Of Rubbish?Dr Kat Knauer, polymer scientist and CTO of the BOTTLE Consortium, who are focused on developing new chemical upcycling strategies for today's plastics and redesigning tomorrow's plastics to be recyclable-by-design.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find podcast transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.36. The Future of Fashion Tech
21:05||Season 4, Ep. 36From AR shopping to new age sustainable materials to wearable AI, the world of fashion tech is starting to look very vibrant.Host Roma Agrawal weaves together a seamless conversation with:Louise Katzovitz, clothes designer & mechanical engineer.Tanya Saha Gupta, fashion-tech entrepreneur empowering fashion brands with access to circularity.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find podcast transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.35. The Future of Sanitary Engineering
26:26||Season 4, Ep. 35What happens after we flush? Sanitary engineers might just be the unsung heroes of civilisation, ensuring the safe disposal of waste water and assuring a supply of safe drinking water.Host Guru Madhavan gets his hands dirty, discussing sanitation systems with:Pam Elardo, former Deputy Commissioner for New York's Bureau of Wastewater TreatmentAndrew Russell, science historian and Provost at Suny PolyNew episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find podcast transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.34. The Future of Graphene, the "miracle" material
21:17||Season 4, Ep. 34Graphene is the world's thinnest, super-strong, super-flexible material. It could have dramatic applications in everything from engineering tissue to making new technological devices.George Imafidon discusses the possibilities - and the possible drawbacks - of this wonder material with James Baker, CEO of the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) at the University of Manchester.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find episode transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.33. The Future of Wind Power
22:37||Season 4, Ep. 33In February, the 2024 Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering was awarded to Andrew Garrad CBE and Henrik Stiesdal for their achievements in advancing the design, manufacture and deployment of high-performance wind turbines.Host Roma Agrawal talks to them about the political barriers they've faced, and the future of wind energy in the face of the climate crisis.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find episode transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.32. The Future of Digital Twin Hearts
25:24||Season 4, Ep. 32In the future, virtual models of our organs could aid the development of personalised medicine. These digital twins can be experimented on to identify the best possible treatment, without you having to go near a pill or surgeon’s knife.Host Roma Agrawal gets to the heart of the matter with:Roger Highfield, Science Director at the Science Museum, and author of Virtual You: How Building Your Digital Twin Will Revolutionize Medicine and Change Your Life.Dr Jazmín Aguado Sierra, the first engineer to model their own heart. See Jazmin's complex and beautiful large-scale virtual model at the Science Museum now.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more info.31. The Future of Fire Safety
28:42||Season 4, Ep. 31What does the UK national anthem have to do with fire safety? And who is responsible for preventing fires of the future?Guru Madhavan - senior director of programs of the US National Academy of Engineering - chairs his first edition of Create The Future. His red hot guests are structural fire engineering expert Professor Luke Bisby, and fire safety engineer Professor Jose Torero Cullen.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more info.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.