The Grand Challengers Podcast

Why do some cities grind to a halt during storms while others recover quickly? The answer often lies in what happens when water, energy and transport fail at the same time, and whether the people managing them are actually talking to each other.In Episode 60, Dr Maryam Imani, Associate Professor of Water Systems Engineering at Anglia Ruskin University, takes us into the hidden interdependencies of urban critical infrastructure. Drawing on her RV-DSS (Resilience and Vulnerability-informed Decision Support System), Maryam reveals how a single flood can trigger chain reactions across water networks, power substations and railways and why "shared interventions" between operators could dramatically improve recovery.Maryam's story goes beyond infrastructure models. From childhood Lego building in Iran to a black belt in taekwondo, from running her own engineering firm to finding her calling in water research at Exeter's Centre for Water Systems, her journey is one of exploration, setbacks and reinvention. After losing her brother in a motorcycle accident, she found liberation by facing that fear... a personal resilience story that mirrors the engineering resilience she studies.The conversation expands into nature-based solutions and sustainable drainage systems (SuDS), and how they can strengthen urban resilience. Maryam shares insights from Brazil, India and the UK, comparing how the Global North and South approach climate adaptation and drainage planning. She argues that while SuDS are increasingly recognised as critical infrastructure, we lack evidence about their long-term performance and her SuDS Health Monitoring research aims to change that.Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro & Action Hobbies12:47 Lego inspired a start in structural engineering19:00 From structure to water, from CEO to researcher25:27 Unpacking Resilience & Interdependency and the RVDSS35:52 What is infrastructure resilience?45:02 The NbS Terminology discussion47:25 Maryam's international NbS Research56:29 NbS as Critical Infrastructure - what about resilience?1:00:12 UK, Brazil, India comparison in terms of NbS1:05:02 The key lesson for Global North-South learning1:06:33 Maryam's future plans1:09:05 Q&A Start1:09:24 What does innovation mean to you?1:11:32 Key event, book person1:13:57 Time Management1:17:23 Favourite childhood memory1:18:30 Biggest challenge to date1:21:19 Advice for young professionals1:23:24 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:24:36 Where can people find you?1:25:04 Final message1:27:41 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

06.04.26 • 88:56

In a world racing toward automation and AI-driven efficiency, what happens to the humans inside the machine? With nearly a billion people worldwide living with a mental health disorder, youth burnout rates climbing, and a loneliness epidemic affecting 50% of adults in the US alone, the question is no longer theoretical, it is URGENT! On this episode, human and organizational development expert Galina Yordanova argues that human consciousness is the most valuable business asset of the AI age and shares her mission to awaken the corporate world from the inside out.Galina is the Founder and Chief Awakening Officer at Awakenomy. Holding an MBA in Digital Transformations and certifications as an Agile Coach and trained facilitator, she brings over 15 years of experience in executive HR leadership, learning and development, and cross-cultural organizational work spanning Bulgaria, USA, Austria, and Switzerland. Her thesis is deceptively simple: 42 hours per week of your life at work, those hours should support your growth as a human, not just your output as an employee.We discuss the scientific and spiritual, covering the neuroscience of consciousness, the biology of bliss molecules like anandamide, the concept of spiritual AI, simulation theory, quantum entanglement, implications for human connectedness, and practical approaches like breathwork, meditation, and single-tasking. We explore why Gen Z is burning out in environments of abundance, why the education system is failing to prepare the next generation, and why only 3% of companies currently operate at a higher consciousness level.Whether you are a business leader, a young professional navigating burnout, or simply curious about what it means to be truly present in an increasingly automated world, here's a rare blend of the practical, philosophical and deeply human.(Disclaimer: References to mental health statistics and global suicide rates.)Chapters:00:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro & the blindfold experiment10:11 What is consciousness and Galina's own discovery21:59 The urgency of 'Awakening’31:27 Galina's background and discussing the impact of 'abundance’40:07 How will AI help or worsen our current society?44:51 Spiritual AI, Ghost in the Shell and The Matrix54:35 Galina's Startup Awakenomy1:08:41 Current progress and how to get involved1:11:18 Making sense of today's discussion - a tangible piece of advice1:11:59 Q&A Start1:12:13 What does innovation mean to you?1:14:19 Key Moment, Book, Person1:18:31 Time Management1:22:11 Favourite Childhood Memory1:22:37 Biggest challenge to date1:26:14 Advice for young professionals1:26:53 Something you'll regret not doing?1:27:45 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:28:39 Where can people find you?1:30:57 Final Message1:31:26 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

23.03.26 • 92:41

We train AI systems to optimize for metrics — but what if the real alignment problem isn't in the machine? What if it starts with us?Juan Pablo Carbajal is a physicist, interdisciplinary researcher, and educator at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST). Originally from Argentina, his career spans physics, robotics, biomechanics, agronomy, machine learning, and water research — driven not by any single discipline but by a deep need to understand the systems underlying everything he encounters.In Episode 58 of The Grand Challengers Podcast, Juan Pablo joins host Peter Marcus Bach to reframe the AI alignment debate as fundamentally a human one. He argues that the same narrow, single-metric optimization we apply to AI — rewarding output over understanding — is already distorting science, education, and society. From the "publish or perish" crisis in academia to how we evaluate students with one-dimensional scores, the pattern is the same: pressure systems to hit a number, and unintended behaviours emerge.The conversation traces Juan Pablo's journey from collecting tadpoles in an Argentine river (with a memorable food-chain disaster) to studying embodied AI at the University of Zurich's AI Lab under Rolf Pfeifer, where intelligence is inseparable from its physical body. Along the way, he shares lessons from plant biology — how nitrogen-fixing bacteria and their "cheater" free-riders coexist through tolerance rather than punishment — and explains why physics-informed AI may be the antidote to purely data-driven approaches that mistake local patterns for universal truths.Topics include: the limits of data-driven machine learning, Gestalt psychology and machine vision, why the word "robot" means slave, complex systems and emergence, the role of culture as humanity's alignment mechanism, and why understanding history is our best defence against repeating its mistakes.Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro & Yerba Mate6:47 JP's Secret Mate Recipe11:13 Summarizing JP's passions into a keyword13:08 The Tadpole Story17:24 JP's dilemma of what to study and his lifelong mentor22:57 Versatility of a physicist and the Sokal affair25:58 Critique of the current education systems31:23 From physics to magnetic flux leakage detection36:51 A life lesson on tolerance from bacteria46:12 Embodied AI, Robotics and Studying Intelligence54:07 Physics-informed AI59:21 The challenge with prior knowledge - example from Gestalt Psychology1:05:08 The Real Alignment Problem1:22:49 JP's current exciting next steps1:26:12 Q&A Start1:26:43 What does innovation mean to you?1:28:38 Key moment, book, person1:31:10 Time Management1:33:32 Favourite childhood memory1:33:56 Biggest challenge to date1:35:58 Advice for young professionals1:36:35 What would you most like to be reDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

02.03.26 • 100:56

Every machine that lifts, digs, or hauls relies on hydraulics — a technology that hasn't changed in over 50 years. But what if you could replace that leaky, energy-wasting oil with a belt-and-pulley system that's three times faster, three times more efficient, and three times more durable, with zero emissions?That's what Hiten Sonpal and his team at RISE Robotics are doing. In Episode 57, Hiten joins Peter Marcus Bach to explore his full robotics journey, from a childhood fascination with LEGO Technic in India to building bomb-disposal robots for Iraq and Afghanistan at iRobot, designing the Roomba lawnmower, and now leading RISE Robotics as CEO, where their patented Beltdraulic™ technology is disrupting the $600 billion hydraulics industry.Hiten takes us inside the world of robotics: what counts as a robot, why humanoid robots are far from ready, and how AI is augmenting rather than replacing skilled workers. He explains why hydraulic systems waste 70% of their energy as heat, why electrifying heavy machinery has been prohibitively expensive, and how Beltdraulic solves both problems by replacing fluid with precision-engineered belts and sealed bearings.The results speak for themselves. RISE's Guinness World Record-holding robotic arm lifts over 7,000 lbs fluid-free. Their military crane dropped from 1,800 lbs to 300. And their commercial liftgate saves delivery fleets $300–$1,200 per truck per day.Hiten also shares the personal story of spending five years building a robot lawnmower at iRobot, only to have it cancelled by COVID, and how that adversity became the catalyst for his entrepreneurial career leading three companies as CEO.🔗 Show notes: https://petermbach.com/index.php/podcast/057-hiten-sonpal/ 🔗 RISE Robotics: https://www.riserobotics.comChapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro and the Drumming Passion5:04 Early inspiration for robotics - Lego9:15 Moving beyond Lego11:29 The Chess Playing Robot18:55 From Chess to iRobot - seeing real-world value23:27 The rise and diversity of the robotics industry30:21 Generative AI's impact on robotics32:36 The electric sheep and an unfortunate timing37:56 Being smarter about design for sustainability - RISE Robotics45:15 Examples of RISE's applications51:44 RISE Robotic's Future Plans58:17 Hiten's reflections from advisory and leadership positions1:01:43 Q&A Start1:02:04 What does innovation mean to you?1:03:28 Key Moment, Book, Person1:05:18 Favourite childhood memory1:07:03 Biggest challenge to date1:13:18 Advice for young professionals1:14:18 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:15:32 Where can people find you?1:15:58 Final Message1:16:43 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

16.02.26 • 77:58

Fred Jordan, scientist, entrepreneur and co-founder of AlpVision and FinalSpark in Vevey, Switzerland reveals the power of mathematics to us and how he thinks differently when it comes to computing. We dive deep into how he has combined industrial processing and digital watermarking to create anti-counterfeiting technology and uncover the mystery of "Organoid Intelligence", also known as biocomputing - using "the real thing" to compute. What was previously only written in science fiction novels (e.g., "wetware" from William Gibson's Neuromancer) is now becoming a reality! Tune into the longest episode on the podcast to date to hear about how Fred's love for science, technology and scifi has inspired him to make real disruptive change and how biocomputing could be the complement to our rapidly advancing semiconductor and AI industries. Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro & the City of Vevey3:16 Talking Science Fiction10:25 An early opportunity to use a supercomputer15:49 The power of mathematics21:57 The story and principles behind AlpVision - anti-counterfeiting38:19 Why start FinalSpark? Thinking DIFFERENT42:00 Speech recognition in a bucket?49:10 Reservoir computing and using the real thing57:55 Early history and fundamentals of biocomputing1:17:51 A discussion on terminology1:20:33 The energy consumption debate1:29:38 The Neural Platform and the eventual application1:38:57 Future Plans for FinalSpark & Fred1:43:30 How to learn more about biocomputing?1:46:41 Q&A Start1:47:13 What does Innovation mean to you?1:48:37 Key event, book, person1:50:29 Time Management1:52:39 Favourite childhood memory1:55:21 Biggest challenge to date1:57:02 Advice for young professionals1:58:17 What would you most like to be remembered for?2:00:32 Where can people find you?2:02:11 Final Message2:02:45 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

29.12.25 • 123:59

Welcome to this Mini-Series on The Grand Challengers Podcast! The topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in all our minds over the past few years and is gaining even more momentum with rapid advancements in text, audio and video. Google's NotebookLM is a powerful research-support AI that can generate not only summaries of sources that we feed it, but also entire podcast episodes. This Mini-Series will explore the power of NotebookLM, our live reactions to its outputs... and a deep dive into some of the topics that we have covered on the show. We feature previous guests, who are here to join in on the fun!Episode #10 is the final episode of this mini-series and we conclude by using the mini-series itself as the source for two other types of audio overviews that NotebookLM can generate: the Debate and Critical Discussion. Furthermore, I do this as a solo human, but converse with Martha and Stuart, the hosts of our deep dive discussions across the mini-series by using the "Interactive Mode". Will they be able to answer some challenging and existential questions and reflect upon the critique of their performance? Or will everything go awry? Find out in this spectacular finale and also learn about how you can get started with building AI literacy yourself.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Funky Fortune by Danny Shields (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vRFEGMyTTfeCtc8qiUB82?si=dygdqu9IQLSFYNvVzPNu5w)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:39 Introduction and the theme of the final episode4:29 My own experience with AI15:14 Tips for getting started with GenAI17:49 Experiments in the final episode20:19 A bit of banter before we start22:28 A deep dive of the Mini-Series - Live Reaction28:10 The Debate - Live Reaction34:30 The Critique - Live Reaction40:30 Post discussion with Martha & Stuart44:12 Discussions on the future with Martha & Stuart49:51 Wrapping up the Mini-Series53:19 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

28.12.25 • 54:23

Julia K. Dietmar, co-founder and CEO of OpenWardrobe in Redwood City, California USA sheds some light on the sustainability of the fashion industry, the issue with overproduction, its environmental impact and how we can shift towards circular economy. Julia has over 20 years of experience in retail tech, having been Chieft Product Officer at Vue.ai and worked in Walmart eCommerce, thredUP and Yahoo. We discuss how she is harnessing the power of AI to create digital wardrobes, promote conscious dressing and ensure that every garment is worn the magic number of 30 times. Join us to learn more about dressing well, dressing consciously and all the human psychology behind it.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:00:00 Intro1:59 Style Blueprint Offer2:46 Guest Intro & Cozy California Cabins4:37 You are what you wear - clothing makes people6:39 The decision fatigue of choosing what to wear10:22 From an IT study into the fashion industry17:12 Sustainability issues in the fashion industry33:06 What is Open Wardrobe?39:57 Data Driven Fashion for sustainability44:14 Getting started with the Open Wardrobe App46:52 The power of GenAI and Lola AI51:28 Julia's next steps with OpenWardrobe57:57 Q&A Start58:08 What does innovation mean to you?59:36 Key moment, book, event, person1:04:12 Time Management1:07:04 Favourite Childhood Memory1:08:17 Biggest Challenge to date1:10:14 Advice for young professionals1:11:13 What would you most like to be remembered for1:11:46 Style Blueprint Offer1:12:39 Where can people find you?1:13:51 Final Message1:14:13 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

17.12.25 • 75:28

Welcome to this Mini-Series on The Grand Challengers Podcast! The topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in all our minds over the past few years and is gaining even more momentum with rapid advancements in text, audio and video. Google's NotebookLM is a powerful research-support AI that can generate not only summaries of sources that we feed it, but also entire podcast episodes. This Mini-Series will explore the power of NotebookLM, our live reactions to its outputs... and a deep dive into some of the topics that we have covered on the show. We feature previous guests, who are here to join in on the fun!Episode #9 attempts to explain a study on metal-doped microplastics in three ways, for experts, for the general public and for children - Denise Mitrano (ep34) reacts to how NotebookLM produces a deep dive discussion at three levels of complexity on her scientific article in Nature Nanotechnology. Will NotebookLM be able to capture the essence across all levels? Or will it lose the meaning and nuance in its simplification?Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Funky Fortune by Danny Shields (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vRFEGMyTTfeCtc8qiUB82?si=dygdqu9IQLSFYNvVzPNu5w)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:26 Guest Intro & Catchup in a new city3:35 What this mini-series is about5:29 Guest's prior experience with AI8:24 How this experiment works10:33 The human summary & expectations15:03 Live Reaction on Version 1 - Experts28:43 Live Reaction on Version 2 - General Public40:29 Live Reaction on Version 3 - Children52:58 Post-discussion56:15 Thoughts and wishes on the future of AI57:04 Wrap up57:32 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

01.12.25 • 58:36

Mats Larsson, Founder of the Global Energy Transformation (GET) Institute, based in southern Sweden, discusses what it takes to transition to global electrification using sustainable energy. We delve deep into how we can change our oil & gas mobility to more electric vehicles in light of the EU's impending ban on diesel and petrol cars and that it takes more than just technology to create a major paradigm shift. It's not the first time we've embarked on such major transformations in human society, but we need to harness the lessons from the past and act yesterday to be prepared for major changes and uncertainties of the future. The episode is also sprinkled with fun anecdotes around Swedish life and culture (not to mention crime novels).Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro & some Swedish culture6:27 The GET Institute and its mission7:42 The origin of Mats interest in energy14:57 How do alternatives to EVs compare?16:53 Planning stepwise for a societal shift - Parallels to Apollo20:50 Is there a way to speed up adoption of EVs?23:06 A question of cities?25:32 Is increased battery life an answer to greater adoption?27:28 An insight into Mats' projects at the GET Institute37:00 Scaling up sustainable electrification41:09 Transition starts by simply starting44:10 What about AI?47:07 Q&A Start47:27 What does innovation mean to you?49:10 Key Moment, Event, Book51:15 Time Management54:51 Favourite Childhood Memory55:48 Greatest challenge to date58:22 Advice for young professionals1:00:15 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:01:52 Where can people find you?1:03:45 Final Message1:03:59 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

24.11.25 • 65:15

Alma Schellart, Senior Lecturer in Water and Engineering at the University of Sheffield, England dives into the world of urban drainage, models and uncertainty and shows us how models and data can can make or break trust in the general public and why we need to be careful and meticulous with our use and communication of these. We discuss types of uncertainty that are encountered in infrastruture decisions, the importance and volatility of open data as well as the age-old challenge of managing urban drainage systems, something that has remained a challenge for over 100 years. We also trace Alma's steps from her early interest in water and growing up in the Netherlands to the literary landscapes of England and how her hobbies are gaining a resurgence in the younger generations and present an opportunity for engagement in all things water and sustainability.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1.59 Guest Intro and Alma's Knitting Hobby8:21 From an obsession with fish to urban drainage14:32 Getting to Sheffield for the PhD20:40 Setting the scene - models and urban sewers24:59 A 101 on Uncertainties30:20 Considering uncertainties in design35:03 Managing CSOs - the common urban drainage dilemma42:09 Modelling vs. Monitoring - what do we and the media trust?56:45 Building the trust and the CoUDLabs Project1:01:15 Reaching the newer generations and broader communities1:02:34 Alma's next big project in sewers - heat recovery1:09:19 Q&A Start1:09:37 What does innovation mean to you?1:11:05 Key Moment, Event, Person1:15:01 Time Management1:18:32 Favourite childhood memory1:21:40 Greatest challenge to date1:26:20 Advice for young professionals1:27:30 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:32:02 Where can people find you?1:32:58 Final Message1:33:17 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

10.11.25 • 94:31

Makoto Kern, Founder and Principal Design Consultant at iiimpact in Austin Texas USA dives deep into the world of UX (User Experience) Design and shows us how a user-centric approach to software is essential, especially in the disruptive AI landscape. We hear about how he and iiimpact have supported the environmental, resources and healthcare industries, future concerns about cybersecurity and how to navigate the highly disruptive AI landscape, live with AI technology and value the human connection above all others.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro and Studio Background Design Talk4:49 How an electrical engineer got into UX12:36 The basics of UX vs. UI21:00 The steps to founding iiimpact30:21 The domains iiimpact has worked in36:47 The AI Competence Mirage and Cybersecurity43:37 Tips for Entrepreneurs - the importance of the team49:49 Talking AI59:42 Make an iiimpact Podcast1:04:33 Q&A Start1:04:58 What does innovation mean to you?1:06:17 Key moment, event, book, person1:08:46 Time management1:09:48 Favourite childhood memory1:12:09 Biggest challenge to date1:13:33 Advice for young professionals1:14:32 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:15:17 Where can people find you?1:16:22 Final message1:16:43 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

27.10.25 • 77:56

Rob Wreglesworth, Associate Ecologist and Innovation Lead at The Environment Bank, Co-Founder of No Longer Known and Host of the Innovate Eco Podcast, based in the UK, goes deep on biodiversity and conservation from both the economic and social lenses. We discuss topics like biodiversity net gain and nature credits, eDNA, current issues with conservation and how Rob is now targeting scarcity mindset with his new startup No Longer Known, a culture reboot, in a sense. T-shirts factor into this discussion and may be a solution to engaging the general public on conservation issues. We also look into how Rob has combined the variety and diversity of skill sets he has gained over his career to create real-world impact.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro and a conversation between two audiophiles5:50 Rob's Motivation for Ecology & Environmental Sciences13:03 The issue with species conservation (Newts and bats)18:29 Unpacking nature credits, biodiversity and environment banks23:38 Diving deeper into biodiversity net gain and biodiversity metrics28:30 Soil biodiversity in comparison to animal biodiversity29:55 eDNA for understanding the underground33:45 Gaining compliance in biodiversity net gain40:42 Rob's diversity of projects at The Environment Bank43:20 Arming yourself with interdisciplinary knowledge45:16 The Innovate Eco Podcast52:08 The cultural reboot for conservation with No Longer Known1:15:20 Q&A Start1:15:50 What does innovation mean to you?1:17:47 Key event, book, person1:21:57 Time Management1:25:03 Favourite childhood memory1:27:00 Biggest challenge to date1:29:29 Advice to young professionals1:32:44 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:34:22 Where can people find you?1:36:00 Final Message1:36:58 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

13.10.25 • 98:12

To celebrate 50 episodes of The Grand Challengers Podcast (main series), we return with another "Tables Turned" episode, this time featuring 26 questions from guests as early as Episode 2. Guests from across the show got to ask me a question of their choosing and I have compiled them into a special episode titled "Tables Turned". In this episode, I reflect on Switzerland, the importance of music in my life, academia and where I am heading in my recent decision to start my own company. Join me in this beautiful moment of looking back on my own journey once again and to learn more about me!Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Astral Dance by Jimit (Check out more of Jimit's tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0hc1IxPxpmUgEIZGGUGrvm?si=z_uif82xQoqAqUy8KpB7JQ)Chapters:0:00 Preamble & Intro1:33 Introducing the special episode3:36 The Old New Year’s Resolution (Jon Hathaway)5:53 The house plant saga (Daniele la Cecilia)7:42 Favourite places around the world (Bill Hunt)9:45 The Matrix of different worlds (Patri Cuervo)12:34 Hiking in Switzerland (Jon Hathaway)15:32 The Swiss Train System? (Alexa Delbosc)17:10 Zurich vs. Melbourne (Jarrod Luxton)19:51 Switzerland vs. Singapore (João P. Leitão)22:43 The next big physical challenge (Denise Mitrano)24:44 Collaboration vs. competition in academia (Katrin Pakizer)28:20 Different academic challenges (Luis Sañudo)32:59 Unlimited Research Resources (Megan Farrelly)35:14 The 5 to 10-year plan (Liah Coggins & Nadja Kunz)41:30 Bridging differences in collaboration (Scott Lloyd)43:13 What nature is to me (Lucas Gobatti)45:13 Favourite BGI (Danielle Dagenais)47:02 WSUD vs. Sponge Cities (Tobias Baur)48:44 Synergies between mining and BGI (Mohan Yellishetty)50:56 How is the industry progressing with circularity? (Don Weatherbee)53:16 Changing the world with technology (Yannick Back)55:32 Modelling and software bugs (Peter Vanrolleghem)57:27 A tribute to Anas Ghadouani1:02:21 The importance of music in my life (Françoise Bichai)1:07:52 Sounds of intimacy (Sofia Boarino)1:12:45 Keeping a positive mindset (Wei-Shan Chen)1:17:45 Wrap up1:18:20 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

06.10.25 • 79:30

Nadja Kunz, Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada shares her insights on the role of water in mining and the importance of critical minerals for the sustainable energy transition. Most notably, we gain insights into the complexity of the mining industry and its diverse and often forgotten stakeholders. What is required for us to make mining more sustainable, equitable, safe and future-proof?Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro, traditional owners, mountains and beaches6:00 Nadja, the network queen7:51 Water in the mining sector - Nadja's PhD10:04 From double degree to industry and PhD16:54 Working in Switzerland and Monglia21:51 Moving to UBC Vancouver, Canada24:08 Comparing the Australian and Canadian mining landscapes25:53 The significance of water management in mining31:41 Trying to solve water management holistically in mining35:52 From water management to water stewardship38:03 Pressing issues in Canada's mining? Critical Minerals48:24 Quantified evidence - the example of tailings dams59:09 Nadja's Future Plans1:01:59 Q&A Start1:02:24 What does innovation mean to you?1:04:03 Key person book event1:05:27 Time Management1:07:29 Favourite childhood memory1:08:09 Biggest challenge to date1:11:08 Advice for young professionals1:12:33 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:14:13 Final Message1:15:15 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

08.09.25 • 76:29

Christoph Ort, Group Leader and Head of the Urban Water Maangement Department at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology dives into the world of wastewater surveillance or wastewater-based epidemiology, techniques, intricacies, use-cases and the broader societal implications. We trace his journey in leading a "band" of disciplines in supporting society during a crisis moment, namely the COVID pandemic, with valuable information on the spread of infections - all by just holding a "magnifying glass" into our sewer systems.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro and a discussion around two props8:37 Getting into Christoph's story - culture engineering12:07 The PhD - Dynamics of sewers and micropollutants19:48 Introducing wastewater based epidemiology or surveillance21:21 Terminology around WWBE and sewer sociology23:44 Detecting illicit drugs in sewer systems26:57 Briefly - how to detect using analytical chemistry methods32:17 Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 during the pandemic39:30 The MS2Field - A mobile lab in a trailer41:30 His vision, the institutional context and where is Christoph heading45:25 The future of wastewater-based surveillance46:48 Syndromic surveillance - the indirect but powerful alternative51:26 Rock n' Roll?56:08 Q&A Start56:25 What does innovation mean to you?58:56 Key event, person, book1:00:42 Time Management1:03:20 Favourite Childhood Memory1:04:33 Biggest challenge in career to date1:05:55 Advice for young researchers1:07:39 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:08:30 Where can people find you?1:09:19 Final Message1:09:38 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

25.08.25 • 70:53

Welcome to this Mini-Series on The Grand Challengers Podcast! The topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in all our minds over the past few years and is gaining even more momentum with rapid advancements in text, audio and video. Google recently released NotebookLM, a powerful research-support AI that can generate not only summaries of sources that we feed it, but also entire podcast episodes. This Mini-Series will explore the power of NotebookLM, our live reactions to its outputs... and a deep dive into some of the topics that we have covered on the show. We feature previous guests, who are here to join in on the fun!Episode #8 tests whether NotebookLM can play "Broken Telephone". We generate an audio overview of a paper and use it as the basis to generate a new audio overview - rinse and repeat 20 times! What about across languages? Mashael Yazdanie (ep42) and I react to the final result. Will NotebookLM go off the rails or will it manage to keep the core message of the key research paper we used as a basis? Listen in to find out so that you do not have to test it yourself!Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Funky Fortune by Danny Shields (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vRFEGMyTTfeCtc8qiUB82?si=dygdqu9IQLSFYNvVzPNu5w)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:26 Guest Intro & Welcome Back4:25 Mashael's Prior experience with AI5:51 The children's game of "Broken Telephone”8:19 The human summary13:29 How this experiment works and expectations18:12 Live Reaction Original Summary30:27 Impressions of Original Summary36:14 Live Reaction - Version 2050:18 Impressions of Version 2052:08 Explaining the next Broken Telephone experiment53:49 Live Reaction - Multilingual Version 201:02:42 Post-discussion1:10:40 What is the future for AI?1:14:43 Wrap up1:15:22 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

20.08.25 • 76:08

Wei Shan Chen, also known as "Momo", Assistant Professor at Wageningen University shares his journey from Materials Engineering into the environment, from Taiwan to The Netherlands and from the Carbon Cycle to the Water Cycle. We discuss the issue of food waste and its broader implications among other approaches he has taken to recover carbon and close the loop. We also hear about Momo's foray into Blue-Green Infrastructure planning and how stakeholder engagement has changed his perspective on doing impactful research and implementing the knowledge in the form of usable tools.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro and the mystery behind the name Momo5:21 Tracing Momo's steps from materials in Taiwan to Wageningen11:29 Closing the carbon cycle with microbial fuel cells15:28 Momo's work in reducing fossil fuel use - it gets technical17:21 Retrieving carbon from waste21:20 Valuing and closing the loop on food waste32:04 How to deal with the composition of food waste?35:21 The Bin2Bean Project in Amsterdam38:38 Going into the Water cycle for Carbon and Food42:28 Momo's venture into BGI Tools49:04 Modelling the planning for biodiversity56:09 Carbon and Water, what next?58:23 Q&A Start58:37 What does innovation mean to you?1:01:16 Key event, book, person1:03:11 Time Management1:05:27 Favourite childhood memory1:08:58 Biggest challenge to date1:10:57 Advice for young researchers1:12:38 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:14:11 Where can people find you?1:15:06 Final Message1:15:46 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

24.07.25 • 77:00

Welcome to this Mini-Series on The Grand Challengers Podcast! The topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in all our minds over the past few years and is gaining even more momentum with rapid advancements in text, audio and video. Google recently released NotebookLM, a powerful research-support AI that can generate not only summaries of sources that we feed it, but also entire podcast episodes. This Mini-Series will explore the power of NotebookLM, our live reactions to its outputs... and a deep dive into some of the topics that we have covered on the show. We feature previous guests, who are here to join in on the fun!Episode #7 attempts to create a connected story on the topic of headwater streams - Belinda Hatt (ep20) reacts to how NotebookLM produces a deep dive discussion some of her ongoing work on headwater streams, using a whopping 22 sources, from Water Acts to Strategy Documents, journal papers, design documents and documentation of data sets. Will NotebookLM be able to focus on the key topic or will it go off on endless tangents? What about its infamous analogies?Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Funky Fortune by Danny Shields (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vRFEGMyTTfeCtc8qiUB82?si=dygdqu9IQLSFYNvVzPNu5w)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:27 Guest Intro - Reflections on the first podcast3:00 Introducing the broad topic area4:46 Guest's prior experience with AI8:37 How this experiment works14:09 The prompt and human's summary and expectation18:20 Live Reaction55:58 Post-discussion1:02:59 Thoughts and wishes for the future of AI1:06:11 Wrap up1:07:40 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

14.07.25 • 68:42

Mark Swinnerton, CEO of Green Gravity, shares his journey from metallurgy to mining operations and currently gravitational storage technology to support the energy transition. We get an in-depth look into how he is transforming the renewable energy storage industry and giving old mine shafts a new lease on life, an insight into the technology and logistics and how businesses are evolving in this new digital age. Tune in for some amazing advice from someone with decades of global experience in a major industry and influences so many aspects of our daily lives!Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:00:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro and Wollongong, Australia3:52 Mark's infamous selfie-stick - communicating authenticity9:10 Mark's journey from metallurgy to mining15:17 Reflecting on Mark's 9 years in Singapore18:16 Handling large responsibilities20:19 The challenge of mining legacy issues23:01 Mark's own perception of mining legacy issues24:26 What is Green Gravity? - the concept of gravitational storage32:30 VIsualizing the scale of mines35:30 Increasing importance of energy storage38:31 Building up Partnerships in preparation for technology readiness42:00 Multiple benefits of Green Gravity’s technology46:02 What is Mark most excited about?47:42 Relationship between mines and urban areas - the Ballarat example52:29 The changing world of business - from corporation to startup1:00:48 Q&A Start1:01:09 What does innovation mean to you?1:03:42 Key moment, book, person1:09:26 Time Management1:11:39 Favourite childhood memory1:14:15 Biggest challenge in career to date1:16:39 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:17:57 Where can people find you?1:18:38 Final Message1:19:04 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

07.07.25 • 80:20

Welcome to this Mini-Series on The Grand Challengers Podcast! The topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in all our minds over the past few years and is gaining even more momentum with rapid advancements in text, audio and video. Google recently released NotebookLM, a powerful research-support AI that can generate not only summaries of sources that we feed it, but also entire podcast episodes. This Mini-Series will explore the power of NotebookLM, our live reactions to its outputs... and a deep dive into some of the topics that we have covered on the show. We feature previous guests, who are here to join in on the fun!Episode #6 attempts to create a biographical piece - Lena Mutzner (ep45) reacts to how NotebookLM produces a deep dive discussion about her, using all her available publications, her PhD Thesis and up-to-date CV as sources. Will NotebookLM be able to capture the essence of her work and career to date?Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Funky Fortune by Danny Shields (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vRFEGMyTTfeCtc8qiUB82?si=dygdqu9IQLSFYNvVzPNu5w)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:26 Guest Intro and AI Impressions3:12 Guest prior experience with AI8:49 AI for Graphic Design in Research & Communication9:59 How this experiment works12:16 The human summary - or setting expectations13:47 Live Reaction41:39 Post-discussion47:23 Evaluating the analogies49:29 Discussing the accuracy and inner workings52:53 Wrap Up54:46 Outro Detailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

23.06.25 • 56:07

Lena Mutzner, Group Leader in the Urban Water Management Department at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology discusses the intricacies of stormwater quality monitoring. We learn a bit about how water quality is sampled, different pollutant types that she has focussed on and the ongoing challenge around contaminants of emerging concern. We also discuss the apparent paradox of repeating research cycles despite having done similar work 40 years ago, the importance of a holistic approach to stormwater management and how she is developing her research career into the uncertain future.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro & Meditative Activities4:16 Nordic Countries vs. Switzerland7:36 Lena's Mission in Water Quality10:53 How it all started - engineering or psychiatry?13:18 Contaminants of emerging concern16:48 Studying Water Quality 10126:28 Which contaminants does Lena focus on?29:28 Tyre wear leachate and 6PPD-Quinone33:01 Data issues towards building water quality understanding36:45 Different types of common micropollutants40:55 Interplay of Modelling and Water Quality Data Collection46:18 Effect-based measurements48:19 The holistic view - integration as a the way forward51:05 Mitigation of pollution through Blue-Green Infrastructures54:00 Lena's Future Research Trajectory56:49 Q&A Start57:24 What does innovation mean to you?1:00:30 Key Moment, Person, Event1:03:52 Women in STEM - Lena's drive to be a role model1:06:40 Time Management1:10:24 Favourite childhood memory1:12:55 Biggest challenge to date1:18:17 Advice for young researchers1:20:00 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:21:15 Where can people find you?1:21:57 Final Message1:22:15 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

16.06.25 • 83:29

Welcome to this Mini-Series on The Grand Challengers Podcast! The topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in all our minds over the past few years and is gaining even more momentum with rapid advancements in text, audio and video. Google recently released NotebookLM, a powerful research-support AI that can generate not only summaries of sources that we feed it, but also entire podcast episodes. This Mini-Series will explore the power of NotebookLM, our live reactions to its outputs... and a deep dive into some of the topics that we have covered on the show. We feature previous guests, who are here to join in on the fun!Episode #5 delves into the links between water, energy and heat -  Yannick Back (ep35) reacts to how NotebookLM produces a deep dive discussion (in English) of eight of his publications, all written in German and with different foci. This is the first experiment on this mini-series, which uses multiple sources.The 8 Papers were published from 2019 to 2024. Full details can be found in the show notes. Their German titles are:2019: Einsatzmöglichkeiten von Geoinformationssystemen in der Siedlungswasserwirtschaft am Beispiel Einbindung dezentraler Entwässerungssysteme zur Entlastung des städtischen Abwassernetzes2019: Untersuchung und Optimierung der Einbindung dezentraler Entwässerungssysteme zur Entlastung des städtischen Abwassernetzes und Minderung urbaner Hitzeinseln2020: Dezentrale Regenwasserbehandlung zur Entlastung der Kanalisation und Minderung urbaner Hitzeinseln2020: Urbanen Hitzeinseln und überlasteten Entwässerungsnetzen entgegenwirken 2021: Latente Wärme vs. Sensible Wärme2021: Rolle der Energie- und Wasserflüsse im Stadtsystem: Steigerung der Resilienz unserer Städte zur Anpassung an die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels2023: Chancen und Herausforderungen bei der Gestaltung klimaresistenter dichter städtischer Gebiete mit Blaugrüner Infrastruktur2024: Die Rolle der Bewässerung städtischer Grünflächen während gleichzeitiger Trocken- und HitzeperiodenPodcast Intro/Outro Song: Funky Fortune by Danny Shields (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vRFEGMyTTfeCtc8qiUB82?si=dygdqu9IQLSFYNvVzPNu5w)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:27 Guest Intro, Vibe Coding and Catch up3:20 Guest's prior experience with AI5:02 How this experiment works6:32 The human summary11:19 Live Reaction54:11 Post-discussion59:03 Potential Future of AI1:00:29 Wrap up1:01:10 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

02.06.25 • 62:27

Jarrod Luxton, Senior Lead at the Finnish Innovation Fund (Sitra), Board Member of Finland's Sustainable Investment Forum (finsif) and Founder of First Arrow discusses what a best-practice sustainability strategy looks like in 2025! The key player? Nature! We delve into the topic of valuing nature-based solutions and compare and contrast between Australian and Nordic contexts, especially Finland's priorities and motivations for the practice. Jarrod and I also reflect upon our times in Australia and the transition to Europe.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro & Nordic Summers and reconnecting via Podcast4:36 Missing Australian Rules Football ("Footy")6:14 Jarrod's own podcast creation journey7:29 Jarrod's interest in ESG12:58 NBS and Terminology17:13 Valuation of NBS, Sitra and Jarrod's perspective34:41 Finland's Adoption of NBS - current status37:25 Green gentrification and being equitable with NbS39:55 The role of spatial data41:36 What does a best practice sustainability strategy look like in 202548:22 Unpacking the importance and thinking of circular economy51:00 The TNFD-LEAP Framework for financing55:01 Jarrod's current endeavours56:34 Investing in nature - are nature credits a thing?58:24 The importance of communication and Jarrod's new company1:02:18 Q&A Start1:02:39 What does innovation mean to you?1:05:28 Key event, person, book1:08:20 Time Management1:10:43 Favourite childhood memory1:11:39 Biggest Challenge to Date1:14:02 Advice for young professionals1:15:56 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:17:35 Where can people reach you?1:18:31 Final Message1:18:46 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

19.05.25 • 80:00

Welcome to this Mini-Series on The Grand Challengers Podcast! The topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in all our minds over the past few years and is gaining even more momentum with rapid advancements in text, audio and video. Google recently released NotebookLM, a powerful research-support AI that can generate not only summaries of sources that we feed it, but also entire podcast episodes. This Mini-Series will explore the power of NotebookLM, our live reactions to its outputs... and a deep dive into some of the topics that we have covered on the show. We feature previous guests, who are here to join in on the fun!Episode #4 delves into "Water sensitive urban design as part of the urban form" -  Martijn Kuller (ep3) first reacts to how NotebookLM produces a heavily prompted deep dive discussion (my work of art) of an older review we co-authored, highlighting the ease with which prompting can get dangerous and misleading if not in the right hands. We then both react to an Audio Overview of the same review produced by Google Gemini 2.5 Pro, the LLM upon which NotebookLM is based - shorter and more concise.Full Reference to the Paper: Kuller, M., Bach, P.M., Ramirez-Lovering, D. and Deletic, A., 2017. Framing water sensitive urban design as part of the urban form: A critical review of tools for best planning practice. Environmental modelling & software, 96, pp.265-282. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsoft.2017.07.003Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Funky Fortune by Danny Shields (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vRFEGMyTTfeCtc8qiUB82?si=dygdqu9IQLSFYNvVzPNu5w)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:26 Guest Intro and what's happened since Episode 34:39 How this experiment works5:44 Guest's prior experience with AI9:59 Martijn's critique of current thoughts so far12:25 The Experiment Structure13:07 The human summary16:43 Live Reaction - Prompted NotebookLM31:52 Post-Discussion - Prompted NotebookLM36:57 Live Reaction - Gemini Audio Overview52:01 Post-Discussion - Gemini Audio Overview55:16 Thoughts on the future of AI57:50 Wrap-up59:10 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

12.05.25 • 60:23

Thomas Young, Associate and Blue-Green Infrastructure Specialist at The Environment Partnership (TEP) in the UK shows us his journey from the technical side of green roofs to the more holistic broader planning of sustainability and blue-green infrastructure. His incredible journey is supported by many seemingly unrelated topics, travels and passions that have all contributed to the impact he is creating in the UK. Find out how beer, mushrooms, cowboys and community among many others are linked to this intricate story!Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro and a house tour4:09 Origins of Tom's Ecology Inspiration7:13 Sheffield and Tom's PhD side project12:59 Green Roofs 10122:30 Fungi to help Green Infrastructure28:12 Writing the British Standards for green roofs32:20 Blue-Green or Green-Blue Infrastructure? Return of Terminology35:10 Venturing into Sports Turfs41:56 Joining TEP and thinking about golf courses53:08 The Nuffield Farming Scholarship and Tom's world travels1:03:52 Learning for the UK's future cities and sustainability1:07:40 Tom's current endeavours1:12:47 Q&A Start1:13:14 What does “innovation” mean to you?1:13:53 Key event book person1:14:43 Time Management1:16:56 Favourite childhood memory1:17:36 Biggest Challenge to date1:18:37 Advice for young professionals1:19:42 What would you most like to be remembered for?1:20:27 Where can people find you?1:21:08 Final Message1:21:36 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

05.05.25 • 82:50

Mashael Yazdanie, Group Leader, Scientist and Lecturer at the Urban Energy Systems Lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Materials Science & Technology (Empa) traces her journey across the renewable energies towards more holistic thinking around energy, sustainability, society and sufficiency. We cover her projects in both the global north and south, key concepts such as planetary boundaries, sufficiency, efficiency and doughnut economics as well as the need to learn, unlearn and relearn if we want to become more adaptive and resilience in the face of the climate crisis.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro and Solar Racing5:58 Nature and energy?9:50 Sufficiency, planetary boundaries and doughnut economics20:31 Mashael's early renewables journey - Biogas Energy in Pakistan29:58 Mashael's early renewables journey - Wind Energy33:37 Mashael's early renewables journey - Tidal energy and the rest36:35 Is there a favourite renewable?38:01 Energy grid centralization vs. decentralization42:30 Planning-support modelling & optimization44:48 Understanding the breadth of modelling tools46:49 Energy in West Africa - The Measures Project54:28 The concept of 'Regret' in decision-making1:01:56 Coming full circle to sufficiency1:04:06 Learning, unlearning and relearning for the climate crisis1:10:06 Mashael's future trajectory1:14:30 Q&A Start1:14:50 What does "innovation" mean to you?1:16:00 Time management1:20:34 Favourite childhood memory1:21:26 Biggest challenge to date1:23:45 Advice for young researchers1:27:57 What would you most like to be rememnbered for?1:30:16 Where can people find you?1:30:58 Final message1:33:06 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

21.04.25 • 94:21

Welcome to this Mini-Series on The Grand Challengers Podcast! The topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in all our minds over the past few years and is gaining even more momentum with rapid advancements in text, audio and video. Google recently released NotebookLM, a powerful research-support AI that can generate not only summaries of sources that we feed it, but also entire podcast episodes. This Mini-Series will explore the power of NotebookLM, our live reactions to its outputs... and a deep dive into some of the topics that we have covered on the show. We feature previous guests, who are here to join in on the fun!Episode #3 delves into "Different perspectives on urban nature-based solutions" -  Veljko Prodanovic (ep13) and I react to how NotebookLM produces a deep dive discussion on an opinion piece around human, ecological and AI perspectives of urban nature based solutions, this time guided by a focus prompt.Full Reference to the Paper: Prodanovic, V., Bach, P.M. and Stojkovic, M., 2024. Urban nature-based solutions planning for biodiversity outcomes: human, ecological, and artificial intelligence perspectives. Urban Ecosystems, 27(5), pp.1795-1806. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-024-01558-6Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Funky Fortune by Danny Shields (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vRFEGMyTTfeCtc8qiUB82?si=dygdqu9IQLSFYNvVzPNu5w)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:26 Guest Intro and callback to main series3:31 How this experiment works4:31 Guest's prior experience with AI9:50 The human summary11:20 Live Reaction49:18 Post-discussion53:40 Potential Future of AI55:54 Wrap up57:21 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

14.04.25 • 58:32

Welcome to this Mini-Series on The Grand Challengers Podcast! The topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in all our minds over the past few years and is gaining even more momentum with rapid advancements in text, audio and video. Google recently released NotebookLM, a powerful research-support AI that can generate not only summaries of sources that we feed it, but also entire podcast episodes. This Mini-Series will explore the power of NotebookLM, our live reactions to its outputs... and a deep dive into some of the topics that we have covered on the show. We feature previous guests, who are here to join in on the fun!Episode #2 delves into "Tools for urban heat mitigation" -  João Paulo Leitão (ep1, ep40) and I react to how NotebookLM produces a deep dive discussion of a fairly long and comprehensive literature review paper that we co-authored along with colleagues.Full Reference to the Paper: Probst, N., Bach, P.M., Cook, L.M., Maurer, M. and Leitão, J.P., 2022. Blue Green Systems for urban heat mitigation: mechanisms, effectiveness and research directions. Blue-Green Systems, 4(2), pp.348-376. https://doi.org/10.2166/bgs.2022.028Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Funky Fortune by Danny Shields (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vRFEGMyTTfeCtc8qiUB82?si=dygdqu9IQLSFYNvVzPNu5w)Chapters:00:00 Intro1:25 Guest Intro1:57 Guest’s prior experience with AI4:06 How this experiment works5:17 Live Reaction49:22 Post-discussion52:12 Thoughts on the future of AI53:49 Final remarks54:39 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

08.04.25 • 55:40

Don Weatherbee, CEO of Regenx Tech Corp in Alberta, Canada shows us how you can scale up metals recycling (or regeneration as he calls it) sustainably. We discuss his journey from studying accounting to joining the mining and resources industry and how he is now leveraging opportunities to close the loop and create the circular economy around critical metals worldwide, in particular, the opportunity of aligning chemistry, process and supply chains around catalytic converts and Platinum Group Metals.Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Keren (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vZ3lENfDLjkln8scBJ8mW)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:59 Guest Intro, Snowy Canada and Units3:25 Unraveling the broader power of accounting7:19 Dealing with post-mine closures challenges11:35 Regeneration vs. Recycling of Metals13:51 From junior exploration to catalytic converters18:46 Catalytic Converters 10122:59 Hydrometallurgy for regenerating metals25:17 Scaling up from lab to pilot to plant30:51 Challenges with eWaste Recycling34:03 Long-term trends for Platinum and Palladium38:48 Thought experiment on the market size40:39 Limitations of mining requires more recycling42:25 What's in store for RegenX?45:08 Q&A Start45:43 What is innovation?47:57 Key moment, book, event50:46 Time management53:50 Favourite childhood memory56:06 Biggest challenge to date59:11 Advice for young professionals1:01:02 What would you like to be remembered for1:02:07 Where can people find you?1:02:58 Final Message1:03:20 OutroDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

31.03.25 • 64:35

Welcome to this Mini-Series on The Grand Challengers Podcast! The topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in all our minds over the past few years and is gaining even more momentum with rapid advancements in text, audio and video. Google recently released NotebookLM, a powerful research-support AI that can generate not only summaries of sources that we feed it, but also entire podcast episodes. This Mini-Series will explore the power of NotebookLM, our live reactions to its outputs... and a deep dive into some of the topics that we have covered on the show. We feature previous guests, who are here to join in on the fun!Episode #1 delves into "Cooling Establishment Time" - Lucas Gobatti (ep39) and I run this research paper through NotebookLM and record our reaction to the deep dive discussion it produces. Full Reference to the Paper: Gobatti, L., Bach, P.M., Scheidegger, A. and Leitão, J.P., 2023. Using satellite imagery to investigate Blue-Green Infrastructure establishment time for urban cooling. Sustainable Cities and Society, 97, p.104768. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.104768Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Funky Fortune by Danny Shields (Check out more of his tunes over on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7vRFEGMyTTfeCtc8qiUB82?si=dygdqu9IQLSFYNvVzPNu5w)Chapters:0:00 Intro1:26 Guest Intro2:30 How this experiment works3:49 Guest prior experience with AI4:41 The human summary5:55 Live Reaction54:37 Post-Discussion59:54 Thoughts on the future of AI1:01:27 Final remarksDetailed shownotes over at: petermbach.com/podcast for more in-depth information about each episode.Join the community over at: linkedin.com/company/tgcpodcast and let's connect across the world!Subscribe and listen to the podcast (and do please leave a review/rating) on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts from. Your subscription/follow will greatly help the show grow and reach a wider audience.Hosted by Peter Marcus Bach (www.petermbach.com), follow me on: X (fomerly Twitter): @petermbach Instagram: @petermbach87 Subscribe to my channel on YouTube: www.youtube.com/c/PeterMarcusBach/

17.03.25 • 62:42