Humans have been shaping the environment for decades, and so have other species. When humans do it, it often has some negative, unintended consequences. Laura, Ellie and Antonia discuss some invasive species that were intriduced to Australia and what was done to try and manage the effects along with the battle of grey versus red squirrels in Victorian England and the lasting effect that it has had. Conversely, where a species has been completely removed from an environment, the team also discuss...
Apr 21, 2022•38 min•Ep. 30
The natural world has evolved to give us some really cool stuff, stuff that inspires us to make better materials. Laura and Ellie discuss some of their favorite materials that mimic something from nature as well as some machines and other devices that are inspired by nature. They also speculate on what adaptations they might want, including retractable claws and something inspired by the Aliens movies. The team discussed adaptable thermal insulation that is inspired by squid skin. Read abut this...
Apr 07, 2022•35 min•Ep. 29
Following on from the episode about the electricity grid, Aneeqa, Jennifer and Laura discuss how two types of solar cells, also known as photovoltaics, are made and how they work. The ability of these devices to convert sunlight into electricity should mean they're perfect for tackling climate change so the team also asks how sustainable they are to make and recycle, how long they last, and whether they produce enough electricity for our needs. The points made in this conversation helped Laura d...
Mar 23, 2022•28 min•Ep. 28
The UK's electricty grid started development about 100 years ago and originally accommodated steam driven turbines that are controlled by people. Ghalia, Antonia and Laura discuss whether the electricity grid can work with electricity generated from intermittent sources (like wind and solar) alone and what adaptations are being developed. They also struggle to remember lessons from high school about electricity, and provide insight from their careers which involve water engineering, energy analy...
Mar 10, 2022•34 min•Ep. 27
The UK has been severly affected by storms Dudley , Eunice and Franklin in less than seven days, which were predicted with startling accuracy for much of the UK. The weather forecast isn't always so accurate though. Ghalia, Aneeqa, Jennifer and Antonia discuss what weather predictions mean for transport, heating and air conditioning (AC) and why it may not always be accurate. Ghalia explains how the water industry needs to forecast the weather decades into the future so that agriculture and sani...
Feb 24, 2022•30 min•Ep. 26
It's more than just the transfer of heat, thermodynamics explains a lot of things about life as we know it and leads to advances in technology that change society. Laura, Ghinwa, Antonia and Emma talk about how this fundamental set of principles influence their understanding of the world, and use their diverse backgrounds to illustrate these principles. They discuss heat pumps and refrigeration (aided by a diagram ), hot potatoes and eggs, why we sweat, Captain America, probability, and a mind-b...
Feb 10, 2022•33 min•Ep. 25
Modern skyscrapers often reach heights taller than some mountains and some are built in places that are technically challenging. Laura and Rwayda discuss how it's possible to build such tall structures and why they are built. They also touch on future trends for building materials that are climate friendly and sustainable, and speculate on what the future might hold. The notable buildings that they mention are the Empire State Building in New York, the Buri Kalifa in Dubai, Taipei 101 and Voll A...
Jan 27, 2022•30 min•Ep. 24
The fusion of atoms to create energy is actively being researched as a future, low carbon technology. It also features in the Spider-man films. Antonia, Laura and Aneeqa discuss the portayal of this technology in the movies and how this compares to real life. Aneeqa explains what a self-sustaining fusion reaction is and what the challenges are to achieving one. The team also discusses the scale of the technology and how the very energetic neutrons (14 MeV means they're moving at about 17% of the...
Jan 13, 2022•34 min•Ep. 23
The last James Bond film to star Daniel Craig centred around the villain using nanobots to harm very specific people. Scary stuff! Although the film made them seem terrifying they can be used in medicine to do loads of helpful things. Emma S, Hara and Priyanka share their knowledge of biochemistry and pharmaceutical production with Aneeqa to explain what this technology is and what it can do for us. Read an article based on this conversation ....
Nov 25, 2021•28 min•Ep. 22
Coding helps make so many complex tasks in science and engineering easy. Laura, and Ghinwa are joined by Emma and Clea from The University of Manchester's society for Women in Science and Engineering to talk about how they learned to code. They discuss some coding skills as well as how they use coding in chemical engineering, computational chemistry, physics and robotics. They also discuss how coding gave them confidence in their work, how they built up their own confidence in coding, and how it...
Nov 11, 2021•35 min•Ep. 21
Decades of climate science have led to a critical moment where decisions must be made at COP26. Laura and Rwayda are joined by Rebecca, who will be an official observer at the conference. Rebecca explains how COP26 will run, and how it is influenced by science and engineering as well as by society, politics and economics. The team also talks about how science might feature in the negotiations, how it can be part of the actions that are agreed at the climate conference, and how you can become an ...
Oct 28, 2021•49 min•Ep. 20
We've heard a lot about single use plastic and pollution from microplastics but are there any benefits to this material? Laura, Ghalia, Antonia and Ghinwa discuss plastic in the water industry, some chemistry and plastic engineering, and recycling. Read a summary of this episode. Questions? Comments? Email us techspeak.podcast@gmail.com
Oct 14, 2021•45 min•Ep. 19
We may have stopped hearing about the carbon dioxide shortage, but its not gone away and its curiously at odds with what we hear about having too much of it in the atmosphere. Laura, Antonia and Ghinwa discuss some chemistry behind separating carbon dioxide from other gases, some industries that produce carbon dioxide and why they don't make use of it, buses that run on methane, home-brewed beer and popping candy(!) Read an article based on this episode , by Laura Leay on medium....
Sep 30, 2021•27 min•Ep. 18
Continuing from the previous episode, Laura, Cara and Antonia discuss zero waste as one idea behind a concept known as the circular economy. The discussion dives straight into what might happen to a product once its no longer useful and then broadens out to talk about the need for a profound shift in how we do things. Are businesses and policy makers asking the right questions of scientists and engineers? Read an article based on this two part episode on medium.com...
Sep 16, 2021•32 min•Ep. 17
In a ideal world, everything that is no longer useful is given a new life. Laura, Cara and Antonia discuss this as one idea behind a concept known as the circular economy. In this two part episode, we introduce some ways in which we see waste being repurposed and talk about the first two stages in the life of a product: manufacture (and resource gathering), and; product use by the consumer. Can something be infinitely recycled? What is recyling anyway? How is our behaviour as consumers influence...
Sep 02, 2021•28 min•Ep. 16
Why should you believe a scientist when they talk about climate or sustainability and how should they convey their expertise in a way that makes sense to you? Laura, Aneeqa and Rwayda discuss some aspects of science and engineering that you can't see with your own eyes and therefore can be difficult to describe. Recorded over zoom with an audience from The University Of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute supplying comments via the chat function, the team also come up with some ideas for how s...
Aug 20, 2021•37 min•Ep. 15
Transport has shaped society, and society has shaped how we travel and connect with each other. In this chicken-and-egg story Laura, Rwayda, Amina, Cara and Antonia share stories about what transport means to them and look at how our transport options have evolved since ancient times. They look at some history and decision making, how atoms feature in materials science and engineering, and consider the future of space travel. This special episode was recorded with an audience from the Engineerin...
Aug 04, 2021•33 min•Ep. 14
Movies often use bridges to represent something, and they're often destroyed in the process. Antonia, Laura, Rwayda and Alex discuss the engineering behind some of the most iconic bridges as well as some of their favourite movie scenes featuring bridges: Spiderman, Indiana Jones and Shrek. We explain how engineers consider the dynamic forces acting on a bridge and we mention this video of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge , an example of what happens when the forces aren't fully taken into account. Read...
Jul 22, 2021•22 min•Ep. 13
How are building materials chosen and what makes some materials fire-resistant? Aneeqa, Laura and Rwayda discuss some aspects of fire engineering and share a few personal stories where they have used science to their advantange. True to form, they also throw in some pop-culture references; hello Vin Diesel! Read an excellent summary of this episode on medium.com...
Jul 08, 2021•23 min•Ep. 12
Have you ever thought about where we get the lithium from for Li-ion batteries? Laura, Antonia, Aneeqa and Amina discuss trends in car ownership, where we get lithium from, how difficult it is to recycle these batteries, what the ethical implications of lithium mining are, and how this fits in with UK government plans to tackle the climate emergency. Read about this episode on medium.com...
Jun 24, 2021•26 min•Ep. 11
The team share stories about their individual career paths, talk about the women that inspire us, and what engineering means to us.
Jun 23, 2021•9 min•Ep. 10
Do you ever think about how your own background or the stories you read in the media influence your own view of the world? Amina, Aneeqa, Cara and Antonia discuss what we mean by scientific findings and talk about some ways where science has been used to provide a biased narrative. Using examples from veganism, nutrition, climate change and the car emissions scandal, they also discuss whether there can be benefit to focussing the story in this way or whether being too focused can be detrimental....
Jun 09, 2021•26 min•Ep. 9
Sparked by an article that Ghalia saw in the news, she is joined by Laura, Antonia and Aneeqa to discuss just how big our carbon footprint is, how it compares to other things and how difficult is can be to calculate it. Read a great summary of this episode on medium.com
May 26, 2021•24 min•Ep. 8
Did you know that the change in habits brought about by the pandemic had a huge impact on our water supply? Or how about how the water industry helped track the pandemic? Amina, Ghalia, Laura and Rwayda talk about how their use of water changed because of the pandemic and the wider effect of sudden, national changes in water use on the industry, while also thinking about the link to other utilities. Read about this episode on medium.com...
May 13, 2021•18 min•Ep. 7
Laura, Rwayda, Aneeqa, Ellie, Amina, Ghalia and Antonia talk about their passion of, and some frustrations with, how science is communicated to non-experts. In this wide ranging episode we ask: What do pineapples have to do with nuclear fusion? Can you trust wildlife documentaries or reports about carbon offsetting? How does science keep us safe? Want to continue the conversation? Find us on twitter @TechnicallySp11 Read a brilliant summary of this episode , and more, on medium.com...
Apr 29, 2021•41 min•Ep. 6
Amina, Cara, Antonia and Laura share what they know about nuclear waste generated in the UK and speculate on what society might do with it in the future. Comments? We're on twitter @TechnicallySp11 You can read an overview of this episode on medium.com
Apr 15, 2021•20 min•Ep. 5
Aneeqa, Rwayda, Cara and Laura discuss using concrete to build a dream home as well as some iconic structures: the Renold Building at The University of Manchester, The Clackmannanshire bridge and a museum in Dundee . You can read all about this episode on medium.com...
Apr 02, 2021•28 min•Ep. 4
Aneeqa, Cara, Amina and Laura share their reasons for tackling climate change, speculate about what life would be like if fossil fuels weren't currently part of the UK energy mix, and talk about what they percieve to be the pros and cons of some zero carbon alternatives. Read a summary of this episode on medium.com
Mar 19, 2021•20 min•Ep. 3
Amina, Cara, Laura and Aneeqa intended to talk about how nuclear power can contribute to averting the climate emergency but never really got there! Instead, they shared their perspectives on what nuclear power is, what it does for people, and some of the challenges the industry faces as well as their own personal experiences. Rwayda joins in the conversation to offer a non-expert perspective. You can reada great article based on this episode on medium.com...
Mar 04, 2021•26 min•Ep. 2
Laura and Aneeqa discuss what they mean by risk and how they deal with it as nuclear scientists. We turned this episode into a very popular story on medium.com
Feb 25, 2021•22 min•Ep. 1
