Planet Beyond: Recent Episodes
Fugro
Welcome to the Planet Beyond podcast. Brought to you by Fugro, the leading partner in uncovering geo-data from the greatest subsea depths right to outer space and hosted by Jon Baston-Pitt. Planet Beyond is about doing business better in our fast changing, and acutely delicate, yet exquisite, world. Together we will explore issues beyond the day-to-day challenges; listen to those who should be listened to; seek out what needs to be done and get aligned around the new tomorrow our children deserve and that we have a responsibility to deliver.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) has a 100 year history of mapping the world’s oceans. John Nyberg, technical director, explains how the organisation’s role in understanding our oceans is evolving. Now, rather than just recording ocean depths for mariners, the organisation is setting standards for how we record environmental data. In Italy, this approach is being put into effect with an ambitious coastline mapping project.
In a bid to reverse a decline in biodiversity, Italy aims to map 7500 kilometres of coastline to a depth of 50 metres. Marco Filippone, global solution director for ocean science and hydrography at Fugro, explains how new technologies ranging from satellite sensors to remote underwater mapping are all playing a crucial role in collecting data for this initiative.
One of the first undertakings of the Italian coastline mapping initiatives was to get a better understanding of the seagrass meadows and the role they can play in maintaining ocean biodiversity. Giordano Giorgi, the project director for Italy’s marine initiative explains how the project has furthered our understanding of seagrass’ role in carbon capture and with this knowledge, how the protection of the seagrass meadows can be ensured.
HostJon Baston-Pitt
Guests
John Nyberg, technical director, the International Hydrographic Organisation
Giordano Giorgi, project director, Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA)
Marco Filippone, global solution director for ocean science and hydrography, Fugro
TreVaughn Ellis is a recent graduate of American University, and winner of the Scott A. Bass Outstanding Scholarship Award. During his studies, he interned as a researcher with the National Marine Fisheries Service, part of NOAA, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in Alaska.
In this episode, he describes his research in Alaska, where he studied lampreys and their parasites, bringing new light to the relationship between these fish and other commercially and culturally important species, such as cod and salmon.
He is an advocate for greater scientific research of many of the ocean’s understudied co-dependencies if we are to save it, and with it, the livelihoods of many coastal communities that rely on the health of our ocean.
He also discusses his involvement with the not-for-profit group Black in Marine Science. He describes the loneliness of working in a largely white field of research, the one tweet from Dr Tiara Moore that led to the formation of the network, and what it has done to give voice and connection to Black marine scientists.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Young people have the most to lose from climate change, but are not given a voice or a vote in how the crisis is tackled. In this episode, Jon Baston-Pitt speaks to three young women, Raina Ivanova, Chloe McKenna and Paula Garcia Rodriguez, who are taking action to make sure their voices—and those of their peers—are heard.
Chloe and Raina are members of Heirs to our Oceans (H2OO), and Paula is a member of the ECOPs programme. While Raina and Chloe are completing an undergraduate degree and a masters, respectively, they both have long careers of engagement and organising behind them.
Raina is a member of Children Versus Climate Crisis and an environmental advocate. Chloe is a National Marine Sanctuaries Foundation education consultant for the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and co-founder of the Ocean Guardian Youth Ambassador Programme.
Paula developed her focus on sustainability as she completed her MSc in Governance of Sustainability at Leiden University. Now a participant in Fugro’s international leadership track, she also volunteers as a Water Quality Officer with the Surfrider Foundation Netherlands. At Fugro, Paula continues to pursue her interest in ocean health and ocean science. She works closely with Government Accounts Director for the Americas, David Millar, and Louis Demargne, who is currently on secondment from Fugro as Data & Knowledge Management Officer at IOC/UNESCO.
In this episode they describe the obstacles youth face in contributing to humanity’s response to climate change. They describe their own work on climate change, and the work they do to give voice to others.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Raina Ivanova, undergraduate student, Geography, University of Hamburg.
Chloe McKenna, masters student, Marine Systems and Policies, University of Edinburgh
Paula García Rodríguez, Ocean Sciences Programme Support Manager, Fugro International Leadership Track,
Resources
H2OO has prepared a Guide to Organising a Youth Advisory Council for The UN Ocean Decade.
In this Planet Beyond episode hosted by Jon Baston-Pitt, experts Irina Mirkina from UNICEF, Marek Kowalkiewicz from QUT Business School, and Pawel Michalak from Fugro discuss the future of AI and its wide-ranging impact on society. Beyond just language models, like ChatGPT, they highlight its role in disaster management, climate modelling, and decision-making processes.
In the last shortcast we heard about the environmental impact of building and running large AI models, however this episode explores how it will, in the near future, impact on our physical world. Irina Mirkina brings attention to global challenges like climate change and digital inequality, emphasising UNICEF’s efforts to equip future generations with responsible AI skills.
Marek Kowalkiewicz points out its long history of integration into everyday life and its current evolution towards generative AI. Pawel Michalak shares practical examples of AI in action, demonstrating its use in autonomous data processing for subsurface mapping and sustainable infrastructure projects.
They also explore AI’s potential in predictive analytics for disaster preparedness and improving water access in regions like Sub-Saharan Africa. The discussion also touches on ethical concerns such as data privacy, transparency, and the responsible deployment of AI. While the guests all view the worst, most dystopian outcomes of AI as exceedingly unlikely, they do stress the importance of balanced progress that benefits society while managing potential risks.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Irina Mirkina, AI Lead, UNICEF
Marek Kowalkiewicz, Professor at QUT Business School
Pawel Michalak, Global Director of Innovation, Fugro
In this Planet Beyond Shortcast, host Jon Baston-Pitt delves into the environmental costs that come along with the transformative potential of AI. Training and serving AI models requires vast amounts of energy, and water used in cooling server farms.
Jon is joined by Merouane Debbah, AI researcher, professor at Khalifa University and senior advisor at the Technology Innovation Institute. Debbah explains the revolutionary potential AI has in areas such as space exploration, potentially paving the way for human colonies on Mars.
However, AI comes with major environmental costs, with estimates suggesting AI energy consumption could reach 1,000 TWh by 2026, equal to the annual electricity consumption of Japan. While AI companies face economic constraints through the cost of powering and cooling AI systems.
Debbah stresses the importance of a more holistic approach to AI development, considering the entire lifecycle of AI systems and their energy sources. Debbah also highlights the need for innovative and sustainable energy solutions that can be built alongside AI projects.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guest
Merouane Debbah, Professor Director of 6G Research Center, Khalifa University of Science and Technology
In this final episode of our International Partnering Forum miniseries, we explore how the dynamic American offshore wind industry is attracting a passionate and diverse workforce of young professionals eager to tackle climate change and make a difference.
Jon Baston-Pitt is joined by Samantha Mullen from RWE, Sarah Schwitzer from PEAK Wind, and Darcy Caja and Margarita McInnis from Fugro, who share their personal journeys and motivations. Additionally, we hear from Oceantic Network’s Next Wave attendees about what the industry has to offer.
In this episode our guests discuss the importance of early industry exposure, networking, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. They hope their stories inspire and guide listeners in their pursuit of a meaningful and impactful career.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Samantha Mullin, Implementation Manager, RWE
Sarah Schweitzer, Senior Consultant, PEAK Wind
Darcy Caja, Proposal Manager, Fugro
Margarita McInnis, Business Development Manager, Fugro
Photo credit: © Fugro 2020 | Photographer Paul Barendregt
At night on May 24, 2024, a devastating landslide hit the village of Yambali, in Papua New Guinea. It took a week for rescuers to just reach the site, with heavy rain, poor roads, and ongoing conflict hindering access. The same factors have made the scale of the devastation hard to assess, but reports suggest that hundreds, if not thousands, of people have lost their lives.
In this episode, we talk to two experts from Hong Kong on the risks landslides pose, and how they can be avoided. Jonathan Hart, of consultants GeoRisks Solutions, has been based in the territory since the late 1990s, and has worked on assessing slope stability around the world. He has worked in Papua New Guinea, and shares his experience of the vulnerable conditions that many in the country face.
But Papuans are not alone in facing these risks. Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated places in the world. For much of the 20th century, it grew within tight constraints. With almost every inch of flat ground used, apartments and homes were built on steep slopes. And a series of terrible landslides have taken many hundreds of lives here too.
Jonathan is joined by Jesse Tam, associate director for Fugro in the territory, to discuss how, over decades, local regulators and industry experts have devised methods to assess the stability of slopes during project planning, and to mitigate the risks of landslides on older buildings. Landslides do not care for wealth or social class, and the lessons learned in Hong Kong are as important to anyone building an opulent hillside mansion, as they are to those struggling for a safe home in informal settlements.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Jonathan Hart, Director, GeoRisk Solutions
Jesse Tam, Associate Director, Fugro
The Planet Beyond team has been recording live from the International Partnering Forum (IPF) 2024 in New Orleans. In this episode, host Jon Baston-Pitt is joined by three prominent women leaders in the offshore wind industry in the Americas: Liz Burdock from Oceantic Network, Jennifer Cullen from Vineyard Wind, and Celine Gerson from Fugro.
The guests highlight the significant contributions of women leaders in shaping the industry as we see it today, and how there is a long road ahead to increase on the 21% of women who currently work in the industry. They share the benefits achieved by fostering a diverse workforce, and discuss the industry’s evolving landscape.
We learn how the insights and experiences of that diverse workforce are driving innovation and community engagement, and why they advocate for a collective approach between government, academia and commercial organisations in offering career development programmes to build a strong pipeline of talent if the industry is to achieve the goal of 30 gigawatts of offshore energy by 2030.
Join us to hear how these women are inspiring the next generation and shaping the future of offshore wind.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Celine Gerson, President and Group Director for the Americas, Fugro
Liz Burdock, President and CEO, Oceantic Network
Jennifer Cullen, Director of Labor Relations and Workforce development, Vineyard Wind
In this episode of Planet Beyond, host Jon Baston-Pitt speaks with Richmond Quarcoo, founder and director of Plastic Punch. Richmond shares the origins of Plastic Punch, which began after discovering sea turtles tangled in plastic waste along the beaches in Ghana. The organisation uses citizen science to address marine litter and inspire behavioural change. One key initiative is beach cleanups, which not only help protect turtle nesting sites but also collect data on the sources of pollution. This data is used to identify and hold accountable the companies responsible for producing the plastic waste.
Richmond discusses the limitations of recycling, arguing it has not proven to be an effective solution to plastic pollution. Instead, Plastic Punch emphasises reduction and reuse, encouraging community members to adopt sustainable practices like using reusable bottles and bags. The organisation is also developing innovative packaging solutions from vegetable fibres and promoting water dispensing machines to reduce plastic bottle usage. Richmond highlights the importance of redesigning products and collective action to combat transboundary pollution and protect the ocean.
Tune in to hear more about Plastic Punch’s inspiring work and their approach to tackling the plastic pollution crisis through community engagement, data-driven advocacy, and innovative solutions. Richmond’s insights underscore the need for systemic change and collective responsibility in preserving our oceans.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Richmond Quarcoo, Co-founder & executive director, Plastic Punch
How will innovation impact the future of the offshore industry?
In this fourth episode of the Planet Beyond IPF mini-series, recorded live at the IPF conference in New Orleans, we discuss the cutting-edge innovations shaping the burgeoning offshore wind industry in the US.
Jon Baston-Pitt is joined by guests Deanne Hargrave of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and Chad Pastor of Fugro to explore the unique challenges faced, from navigating complex seabed conditions to evolving government regulations, and how innovative solutions such as VirGeo and Innomar deep-36, are addressing these hurdles.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Deanne Hargrave, Geoscience Manager, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind
Chad Pastor, Applied Technologies Manager, Fugro
In this final episode of our Ocean Decade mini-series, released for World Ocean Day, we focus on the last of the Barcelona conference’s five plenary sessions, Resources and partnerships for the Ocean Decade.
In the plenary, Alfredo Giron moderated a panel discussing collaborations in support of the Decade’s goal of promoting ‘the science we need, for the ocean we want’. In recordings from the session, we learn how the World Bank, the French ocean research institute IFREMER, and UNEP, the UN Environment Programme, are working to nurture a sustainable and equitable blue economy.
The plenary was joined by Barbara Karuth, COO of Allianz, the largest insurer in the world, and the largest financial services company in Europe. Barbara joined Alfredo in the studio with Jon Baston-Pitt to tell us how the insurer is supporting small NGOs and startups working on ocean health, including Plastic Fischer, Sea Shepherd, and Enaleia.
We also hear from one of the conference’s organisers, Alison Clausen, of IOC-UNESCO, who described the development of the Barcelona statement, and its key recommendations. Finally, we hear from Vidar Helgeson, Executive Secretary of the IOC, who called on conference attendees—and the international community—to work together to fill the science and knowledge gaps that limit effective policy making; to build, expand and sustain the infrastructure needed for fulfilling these knowledge gaps; and to create a shift in the way that policy and decision makers can co-design scientific research initiatives, so that the knowledge is produced in a timely, relevant way and put to use.
Guests
Alfredo Giron, Head of Ocean Action Agenda, World Economic Forum
Barbara Karuth, COO, Allianz
Alison Clausen, Programme Specialist, IOC-UNESCO
Also featured
François Houllier, Director General, IFREMER
Susan Gardner, Director, Ecosystems Division, UNEP
Sylvia Michele-Diez, Senior Environmental Specialist | PROBLUE Manager, The World Bank
How can we map, model and analyse the impacts of climate change and mitigation actions on oceans and coasts around the world? In this episode, a supplement to Planet Beyond’s Ocean Decade miniseries, Jon Baston-Pitt talks to leading marine scientists about the development of ocean forecasting, and the more recent development of The Digital Twins of the Ocean.
Nadia Pinardi, a professor of oceanography at the University of Milan, Emma Heslop from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, along with Joaquin Tintoré, Martin Visbeck, and Thomas Parry, each delve into the technological advancements and collaborative efforts needed to address societal priorities and improve coastal resilience through ocean data.
The future of ocean observation relies on enhancing modelling capabilities and ensuring sustained investment in ocean technologies. While some progress has been made in terms of data collection, there are still challenges in data sharing that need to be addressed. Despite improvements in data collection efforts we still remain at the early stages and it will require a long term sustained effort.
More investment and the potential productivity increase from new technologies like AI, could further boost our capacity to collect ocean data. However funding must come from more than just public sector environmental budgets. The scale of ocean data and modelling capability will provide new opportunities to numerous industries. Investment in data collection has to come from a variety of private sources as well as from national and international governments bodies.
From private public partnerships working together to improve data collection and sharing, to co-design programmes between scientists and local communities, collaboration is at the heart of how data and technology can help save our oceans and protect coastal regions and communities.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Nadia Pinardi, Professor of Oceanography, University of Milan and Chair of CoastPredict
Emma Heslop, Programme Specialist, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO
Joaquin Tintoré, Director of SOCIB, the Balearic Islands Coastal Observing and Forecasting System and steering committee member, GOOS
Martin Visbeck, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research, Kiel, Germany (on leave); CEO of Foundation to Support International Deep Ocean Discovery, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia
Thomas Parry, Global Lead on Coastal Resilience, Fugro
How can the offshore wind industry balance environmental stewardship, community engagement, and economic growth to drive the global energy transition?
In this episode, recorded live at the International Partnering Forum (IPF) in New Orleans, Jon Baston-Pitt is joined by Karen Baker, and Jean-Stéphane Naas, to discuss the challenges of marine spatial planning, community engagement, and biodiversity conservation.
The conversation also delves into the complexities of regulatory processes and the urgency of addressing climate change. The guests discuss innovative approaches to streamline permitting and enhanced data transparency, ensuring decisions are both scientifically sound and socially responsible. Join us as we unpack these critical topics and reveal strategies for a sustainable, equitable and just ocean economy.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Karen Baker, Chief of Office of Renewable Energy Programs, BOEM
Jean-Stéphane Naas, Project Coordinator & Offshore Wind Lead, Ocean Stewardship Coalition, United Nations Global Compact
Photo credit
Nicolas Job / Ocean Image Bank
In this fourth full-length episode recorded live at the UN Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona we are joined by Vivienne Solis Rivera, who was a speaker at the Ocean Decade Plenary Session 4: An Inspiring and Engaging Ocean for All.
This session focused on the 9th and 10th UN Ocean Challenges, skills and knowledge for all and changing humanity’s relationship with the ocean.
Throughout this mini series we have heard about how the global community can come together to protect our oceans, but to save our oceans this has to be done equitably, protecting the access of coastal and indigenous communities with historic links to the ocean.
Vivienne Solis Rivera works for Coope SoliDar in Costa Rica. Their work focuses on helping small scale fishers in Central America protect their access to the ocean and promote marine conservation. She talks about the need for a human rights based approach to ocean conservation and how marine scientists can learn from indigenous communities knowledge of the ocean.
This episode also includes speakers from the Ocean Decade Plenary Session 4 as well as speakers from indigenous communities who addressed the opening of the conference, with their thoughts on how humanity can change its relationship with the ocean.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Vivienne Solis Rivera, Coope SoliDar
Also featured
Lora Fleming, Professor, European Centre for Environment and Human Health; Chair of Oceans, Epidemiology and Human Health, University of Exeter
Ken Paul, Principal / Owner, Pokiok Associates
Dan Hikuroa, Associate Professor, Te Wānanga o Waipapa, Waipapa Taumata Rau-University of Auckland; Culture Commissioner at UNESCO
Ronaldo Christofoletti, Professor at the Institute of Marine Sciences, Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP)
K’aayhlda Xyaalaas Rayne Boyko[1] , Marine Planner, Council of the Haida Nation Marine Planning Program
Kil Hltaanuwaay Tayler Brown, Marine Spatial Planner, Council of the Haida Nation Marine Planning Program
Photo credit
IISD/ENB | Mika Schroder
Styling these names in Haida (un-italicised) and English (italics) as this is how they are written on Haida websites and the speaker’s own pages.
Every challenge is an opportunity for growth: that’s a key takeaway from Ross MacFarlane and Hidayat Alizada. Both of our interviewees have achieved personal sporting success, while supporting good causes.
Ross, Remote Operations Centre Manager at Fugro in Dubai, shares insights into resilience and determination. He discusses his passion for triathlons and marathons, overcoming setbacks like battling COVID-19, and fundraising for charities like the Marie Curie Trust.
He is joined by Hidayat, who talks about achieving a personal best time at the London Marathon, inspired by the resilience and personal strength of a colleague, who is battling pancreatic cancer.
Speaking with Jon Baston-Pitt, Ross and Hidayat underscore the power of perseverance and the importance of aligning personal endeavors with broader missions, such as Fugro’s commitment to creating a safe and liveable world.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Ross MacFarlane, Remote Operations Centre Manager, Fugro
Hidayat Alizada, Project Manager, Fugro
Support
Ross Macfarlane is fundraising for Marie Curie (justgiving.com)
Hidayat Alizada is fundraising for Pancreatic Cancer UK (justgiving.com)
The Planet Beyond team has been recording live from the International Partnering Forum (IPF) 2024 in New Orleans. In this episode of the Planet Beyond IPF mini-series, host Jon Baston-Pitt is joined by industry experts to explore the journey of developers transitioning from land-based to offshore wind projects in the United States.
Ken Kimmell, Alberto Osorio and Daniel Runyan share the work being done by Avangrid and Invenergy—and the challenges they face as they transition offshore. They delve into the motivations behind moving into offshore wind, highlighting factors like climate change concerns, energy demand, and the advantages of offshore wind capacity.
The US wind industry has trailed international counterparts as they move offshore. But that gives the sector the chance to learn from others around the world. Despite recent challenges, all guests express optimism for the future of offshore wind in the US. Improved collaboration and government support has the potential to drive job creation and increase efficiency, as the country commits itself to the energy transition.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Alberto Osorio, Vice President of Offshore Engineering, Invenergy
Daniel Runyan, Senior Vice President for Offshore Wind Development, Invenergy
Ken Kimmell, Chief Development Officer, Avangrid Renewables
Photo credit
Fernando Jaimes Bustamante
In this third full-length episode recorded live at the UN Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona we hear from participants in the third plenary session of the event, on Science and Solutions for a Safe and Predicted Ocean.
In her keynote address to the plenary session, Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the Indonesian agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics, BMKG, described how the lack of early warning systems left locals unable to react in time to the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. That tragedy led the UN to commit to establishing an ‘Early Warning System for All’, or EW4ALL, that would give everyone on the planet the vital minutes needed to escape such disasters.
But there are considerable technological and regulatory challenges to building such a system. In this episode, Karnawati joins Pierre Bahurel and Dawn Wright, to discuss these challenges with Jon Baston-Pitt. We learn how new techniques of ocean mapping are improving the ability to detect threats, and about the data sharing, digital twin modelling,and collaboration needed to make everyone safer when disaster strikes.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the Indonesian agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics, BMKG
Pierre Bahurel, Director-General, Mercator Ocean International
Dawn Wright, Chief Scientist, Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI)
Additional comments
Kimberly Mathisen, CEO, HubOcean
Photo credit
IISD/ENB | Mika Schroder
The Planet Beyond team has been recording live from the International Partnering Forum (IPF) 2024 in New Orleans. In this first episode of six recorded at the event, we look at the role underwater archaeology plays in supporting offshore wind project development.
Jon Baston-Pitt speaks to explorer and diver Peter Tattersfield, founder of Kaxaan Nautical Foundation, and Jeff Enright, Senior Project Manager at SEARCH. They share some of the exciting discoveries they have made, and describe the importance of understanding our shared underwater history.
This episode highlights the challenges of finding and preserving submerged cultural heritage amid offshore wind project development from the initial planning to design phases, shedding light on the vital role played by stakeholder collaboration, community engagement, and responsible co-stewardship.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Peter Tattersfield, Executive Director and Founder, Kaxaan Nautical Foundation
Jeff Enright, Senior Project Manager at SEARCH
Photo credit: SEARCH
In this second full-length episode recorded live at the UN Ocean Decade conference we hear from participants in the second plenary session of the event, on Science and Solutions for a Sustainable and Resilient Ocean Economy. In the session—and in their conversation with Jon Baston-Pitt—Claire Jolly, from the OECD; Sergi Tudela, from Catalonia’s regional government; and Peter Haugan, from the Norwegian Institute for marine research, discuss the scientific and policy and governance tools needed to deliver a just and equitable blue economy.
To develop this new way of valuing and benefiting from our ocean, we must first understand the ocean. This will take extensive work by scientists, which requires support and investment from international donors. But it also must consider other forms of knowledge. Local and indigenous users of the sea have their own knowledge of the ocean, and they have a role to play in the co-management of maritime projects. The Catalonia government is showing that their inclusive maritime strategy is paving the way for a more equitable ocean – one we can all learn from.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Peter Haugan, Policy Director, Norwegian Institute for Marine Research
Claire Jolly, Head of Innovation Policies for Space and Oceans Unit, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)
Sergi Tudela, Director-General for Maritime Policy and Sustainable Fisheries, Government of Catalonia
With additional contribution from
Shakuntala Thilsted, Director, Nutrition, Health and Food Security Impact Area Platform, CGIAR
Image credit
IISD/ENB | Mika Schroder
The SKAO, or Square Kilometre Array Observatory, will allow scientists to peer through time into the universe’s distant past. Its telescope arrays in South Africa and Australia, along with its HQ at Jodrell Bank in the UK, have been designed to capture a picture of the universe as the first galaxies formed, the so-called ‘epoch of reionization’, when the cosmos was just 200 million to 400 million years old.
That 200-million-year interval is a mere blink in astronomical time. To see it, the observatory will need to stare through more than 13 billion years’ worth of background noise. Rosie Bolton is head of data operations at the observatory. When the observatory is up and running, its two telescopes will be generating data at a rate of eight terabytes a second. Rosie will be developing and delivering the systems that can process that tsunami of data, turning it into useful science.
In this episode, Rosie talks to Jon Baston-Pitt about the challenges of building an observatory and managing the data it produces across three continents. We learn about the collaboration and computational power needed to make the project work, and the scope for international scientists and citizens to make use of its insights.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guest
Rosie Bolton, Head of Data Operations, SKAO
The UN Ocean Decade conference took place in Barcelona in April 2024. The Planet Beyond team was there, recording episodes at our on-site studio. During the conference, we released three short episodes looking at each day’s agenda. And we recorded interviews for five long episodes that will run every fortnight, up until Ocean Day, June 8.
In each episode, Jon Baston-Pitt speaks to participants in the conference’s five plenary sessions. In this episode, we look at issues discussed in the first session, Science and Solutions for a Clean, Healthy and Resilient Ocean. We talk to two participants in the plenary session roundtable, Jean-Pierre Gattuso and Aileen Tan, and we are joined by Pooja Mahapatra.
A central theme of the Decade has been the science-to-policy pathway, and co-design with local communities. In this episode, we ask if we have the science we need to start taking action on ocean health. And we find out how scientists are informing policy in practice, and taking their understanding of climate change and other threats to ocean health out to their local communities.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Jean-Pierre Gattuso, Research Director at the Laboratory of Oceanography of Villefranche, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)
Aileen Tan, Director of Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS), Universiti Sains Malaysia
Pooja Mahapatra, Principal Adviser, Climate and Nature, Fugro
What will be the future of our planet? Dakota Peebler, an 18-year-old leader in ocean conservation, emphasises the crucial role of collective youth action in shaping a better future for our planet.
Dakota, co-founder of Heirs To Our Ocean, shares her incredible journey from childhood fascination to leading a movement for ocean preservation. She discusses the essential skills she has gained along the way from public speaking to advocacy, and how her journey led her to co-found the world’s first Youth Advisory Council for the UN Ocean Decade.
Unwavering in her commitment and passion, Dakota speaks with Jon Baston-Pit about the importance of collaboration, education and empathy in order to create innovative solutions and real-world change.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
Dakota Peebler, co-founder, Heirs To Our Ocean
Reference Regeneration for the Next Generation October 2021
(Link: https://project-h2oo-wp-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/H2OO-RAISE-Paper-%E2%80%94-Regeneration-for-the-Next-Generation-.pdf)
The Planet Beyond podcast is heading to New Orleans for the International Partnering Forum (IPF) 2024. IPF brings together global leaders and businesses in the wind energy supply chain. And we’ll be there, recording a mini series on the offshore wind revolution, speaking with experts, being inspired by leaders, and drawing hope from the younger engineers.
In this first episode of the mini series, recorded ahead of the event, Andrew Cooper, Director of Marine Geotechnical of the Americas for Fugro, gives an overview of the state of the offshore wind industry in North America, and why events like IPF are so important to bring the industry together and get everyone moving in the same direction.
If you’re going to be at IPF come visit us at our on-site studio in booth 1127 and join the conversation.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Andrew Cooper, Director Marine Geotechnical of the Americas, Fugro
This week, Planet Beyond is recording live at the 2024 Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona. In this last of our three daily live episodes, we speak to Jyotika Virmani, executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, a non-profit foundation established in 2009. The Institute’s goal is to advance innovative oceanographic research and discovery. It provides collaborators with free ship time aboard its research vessel..
Jyotika tells us why collaboration and open access to scientific tools is vital to ensuring the health of our ocean, and planet. She shares her thoughts on the importance of the conference, looks back over highlights of the first two days, and ahead to the final day.
We also hear calls to action from Paula Garcia Rodriguez, Mark Heine and Pooja Mahapatra.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guest
Jyotika Virmani, executive director, the Schmidt Ocean Institute
Additional comments
Paula Garcia Rodriguez, Early Career Ocean Professionals programme member
Mark Heine, CEO, Fugro
Pooja Mahapatra, Principal Advisor for Climate and Nature, Fugro
Photo credit IISD/ENB | Mika Schroder
This week, Planet Beyond is recording live at the 2024 Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona. In this second of our three daily live episodes, we look back over the first day of the event, and look forward to the next.
We speak to Ambassador Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean. We also hear from Anna Majó Crespo, of Barcelona City Council, and Taiji Terasaki, a Japanese-American artist from Hawaii, who exhibited at the conference.
Ambassador Thomson represented Fiji at the UN between 2010 and 2017, and has been a passionate advocate for islanders around the world. He helped drive the development of UN Sustainable Development Goal 14, Life Below Water, which forms the basis of the Decade
In the opening session of the conference, Ambassador Thomson brought a message to the event on behalf of the secretary general. He joined us on Wednesday, the first day of the conference, to look ahead to the rest of the event and reflect on progress made so far in the Ocean Decade.
Anna shared with us the news that Barcelona will be hosting a new Ocean Decade hub for collaboration. And Taiji, whose installation Deepest Reveries was commissioned by the Schmidt Ocean Institute for the event, talks about how art can inspire change.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guest
Ambassador Peter Thomson, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean
Anna Majó Crespo, Director of Strategic Services and Innovation, Barcelona City Council
Taiji Terasaki, Artist
Photo credit IISD/ENB | Mika Schroder
This week, the Planet Beyond team are recording live at the 2024 Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona. At the event, delegates will focus on delivering essential science for sustainable oceans. This episode is the first of three shorts to be released during the Ocean Decade Conference, to bring you the sounds and ideas from the conference floor. Made in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and UNESCO, as part of the UN Ocean Decade, the podcast aims to provide unique insights into ocean conservation, sustainability, and innovation.
The conference serves as a platform for experts, enthusiasts, and changemakers to discuss crucial topics around ocean sustainability. Attendees can expect discussions on the interconnections between science, climate change, and human health, including debates on carbon dioxide removal techniques. Additionally, sustainable ocean planning and participatory approaches in decision-making will be explored, emphasising the integration of science into policy-making processes.
Julian Barbière, Sergi Tudela, and Rafael González-Quirós have all been intimately involved in setting up this conference and bringing it to Barcelona. We hear from them about why Barcelona is the perfect host city and what the conference aims to achieve.
Host:
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests:
Julian Barbière, Head of Marine Policy and Regional Coordination at UNESCO and Global Coordinator of the Ocean Decade
Rafael González-Quirós, Director of the Oceanographic Centre in Gijón and Director of Instituto Español de Oceanografía
Sergi Tudela, Director-General for Maritime Policy and Sustainable Fisheries, Government of Catalonia
In a little over a week, Planet Beyond will be recording live at the UN Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona. In the run up to the event, we’re considering the value of oceans. In our last episode, we looked at the value of the ocean as a way to store carbon and mitigate the effects of climate change. In this episode, we look at what the ocean can mean to us as individuals and communities.
Andy Donaldson is an ultra marathon swimmer. He completed the Ocean Sevens challenge, swimming seven of the world’s toughest channels, in the shortest time in the water, and shortest overall time to complete the challenge. This year, he is joining a new challenge, Epic Swim Maui. His swim will raise funds for the Black Dog Institute, a mental health charity, and he talks about the value of the ocean in preserving his own mental wellbeing.
Robby Seeger founded Epic Swim Maui. He has lived on Maui for thirty years, as he pursued a high profile career in windsurfing. He is now a filmmaker.
The challenge will see ten swimmers from six nations swim around the island, over the course of two weeks. They will meet with local indigenous leaders, who will tell the story of Hawaiian culture and of the islanders relationship with the ocean. They will carry sensors from Sea & Sun Technology to measure conditions in the water. Samples taken during the swim will support a study by the Scripps Institute and Deheyn Labs on micro- and nano-particles released from textiles, and on PFAS, or forever chemical, pollution for the Hereon Institute.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Andy Donaldson, world record breaking endurance swimmer
Robby Seeger, founder, Epic Swim Maui
How do we innovate? Often, says Femke De Jager, by failing. The keys to success are resilience and persistence. It’s all about trying things out, sometimes failing, but always learning.
Throughout her career, Femke has focussed on developing new ways of managing and maintaining assets, at world leading companies including PwC and ConQuaestor, DSM and Stork, and now Fugro. She believes that innovation will be vital to addressing climate change and biodiversity loss.
Femke delights in the process of innovation, of bringing a team together to build something better. In this shortcast, she shares her approach with Jon Baston-Pitt.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
Femke De Jager, Innovation Director, Europe, Fugro
We need to manage our coast lines to reduce the impact of climate change. But coastal areas, and mangroves in particular, also offer one of the most effective naturebased mechanisms for capturing carbon. At COP 28 in the UAE last November, the importance of the oceans to climate change was a key focus, and the parties at the conference recognised the value of nature based solutions.
Our guests for this episode were both at COP 28. Jane Glavan is the co-founder of Distant Imagery. The company combines cutting edge technologies with locally available techniques and materials, to develop drones, balloons and kites that can be used to bring us closer to Net Zero. In Abu Dhabi, their drones are reforesting mangrove swamps, propelling thousands of seedlings into the ground, in every eight minute drone flight.
This is a long-term project. Mangroves can take decades to reach maturity. Distant Imagery need more access to data to track, refine, and share their approach. That has been Fugro’s focus. David Millar shared the importance of the UN Ocean Decade Corporate Data Group, which we first looked at in a February 2023 shortcast. The group is working to make available ocean data from some of the world’s most important private-sector collectors, and share it with potential users, such as Distant Imagery.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Jane Glavan, Co-Founder, Distant Imagery
David Millar, Government Accounts Director, Americas, Fugro
How can business development professionals help customers find solutions they may not even know they need? That has been Michael Neuhaus’s mission, in a career at Fugro spanning three decades.
Every sales professional needs a compelling product to offer customers. That was what Neuhaus had, as he started his career, with Fugro’s pioneering cone penetration testing technology. He could tell customers about the product’s safety and efficiency benefits. But he also had to listen.
It is this, Neuhaus tells Jon Baston-Pitt, that led to a transformation in his role, from sales to business development. By taking the time to listen to customers’ needs, and to develop long lasting relationships, he has been able to help them find innovative solutions for their business needs.
Neuhaus provides insights on his transition to a global business development role, emphasising the importance of active listening, client collaboration, and the dedication needed for successful, long-term relationships.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
Michael Neuhaus, Senior Business Development Professional, Fugro
Peter Brooke, Regional Director, Strategic Sales And Marketing, Europe and Africa, Fugro
Mark Richardson, Land Business Director, Great Britain, Fugro
We live in a fast changing world, with impacts on how we all work. That’s as true for those in finance and leadership, as it is for anyone. In this episode we sit down with Fugro CFO Barbara Geelen to explore how changes in society, and the evolving crisis of climate change, are reshaping leadership roles.
Today, a good CFO must have as deep an understanding of climate change, as they do of profitability. They must manage a flood of data, using tools like AI, to gain new insights into traditional concepts of risk and opportunity. And they must engage, as much as they must negotiate.
It’s a far more complex role. Barbara’s career has taken her from a small village in the Netherlands, via an Australian outback sheep farm, to lead some of the world’s most complex business restructurings. Today, she works closely with Fugro’s board and staff to identify the company’s most promising innovations, as it leads the way on the road to net zero.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
Barbara Geelen, CFO, Fugro
Jeff Richardson is an experienced Remote Operations Centre Manager however, we spoke to him for this episode not about his job but what it is he does in his spare time: he is a dedicated volunteer Coast Guard rescue officer. He shares with us his experiences, and explains what drives him to take on two demanding roles, where he has to perform at his highest level.
Jeff takes us through the challenges and high-pressure situations faced by him and his team in the Coast Guard. From the coordinated response to the day-to-day intricacies of search and rescue operations, Jeff paints a vivid picture of the critical role played by the Coast Guard in safeguarding communities.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
Jeff Richardson, Remote operation Centre Manager, Fugro
Earlier this year, Katherine Scrimgeour posted on LinkedIn about her own experiences of dealing with dyslexia. It’s a condition that can undermine confidence at work, but that doesn’t mean it should hold anyone back.
It struck a chord with Planet Beyond host Jon Baston-Pitt, who also experiences dyslexia. In this short, Jon and Katherine talk about their experiences, and about the importance of speaking up and asking for help.
And, while dyslexia and other atypical ways of thinking are now increasingly acknowledged, we each have brains that work differently from anyone else’s. Katherine and Jon talk about how we can each find our own ways of working, and be role models for young people as they find their own way in the world.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
Katherine Scrimgeour, former business development manager, Fugro
As we travel through the energy transition, we must rapidly develop new forms of propulsion that reduce or eliminate carbon emissions. This has been a key driver of research and development at vessel builder SEA-KIT International.
Jon Baston-Pitt first spoke to SEA-KIT CEO Ben Simpson almost two years ago, for Episode 16 of the Planet Beyond podcast. In this episode, Simpson is joined by naval architect Chloe Fisher and Fugro’s Director Blue Robotics, Henk van Dalen, to discuss the latest developments in maritime propulsion.
SEA-KIT has recently been working with the Port of London to develop new hydrogen fuel cell-powered vessels, and the fuelling infrastructure they will require. In this episode, we look at the potential use of hydrogen at sea, and at the increased use of uncrewed surface vessels and electric powered remotely operated vehicles, which both cut energy requirements and carbon emissions.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Guests
Ben Simpson, CEO and founder, SEA-KIT International
Chloe Fisher, Naval Architect, SEA-KIT International
Henk van Dalen, Director Blue Robotics, Fugro
How does experience in the field inform product innovation? David Tindall trained as a geologist, before working as a cone penetration testing (CPT) truck operator. After years travelling the world, he took up a role as Global Product Owner, Geotechnical Equipment, at Fugro. In this role, he leads innovation in many of the key land-based technologies used by the company.
Now working in the office, David and his team have led the transfer of automation technology developed for the offshore world, to the company’s land-based CPT trucks. By pushing CPT rods automatically, the systems they have developed keep operators out of harm’s way, and speed up the truck’s operations.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
David Tindall, Global Product Owner, Geotechnical Equipment
How can we help the next generation of girls set and achieve their goals? Often, by showing them what other women have achieved, and sharing the expertise they developed on the way.
This autumn, championship winning golfer Kylie Henry shared her expertise with young golfers at a Girls Golf Day at Castle Buchanan, near Glasgow. And one of the women who opened the sport to today’s professionals—record-breaking amateur legend Belle Robertson—joined the day, adding another link to the chain of women inspiring women.
The girls at the event—organised with the help of the Paul Lawrie Foundation—learned from the best, as they worked to build their sporting skills. With them were four inspirational female leaders from Fugro, who joined them on the fairway and shared how they had succeeded in another male-dominated space.
Hosts
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
Peter Brooke, Regional Strategic Sales & Marketing Director, Europe & Africa, Fugro
Guests
Kylie Henry, professional golfer
Linda Stuart, Service Line Director, Marine Geophysics
Belle Robertson MBE, amateur golf champion
Susan Gordon, Business Development Manager, Renewables; STEM ambassador, Fugro
And golfers and family members from the Fugro Girls Golf Clinic
Paul Lawrie has had an impressive career as a golf pro, with 19 professional wins to his name. But he was a latecomer to the game. He only focussed on golf once he had accepted he wasn’t going to make it as a professional footballer. The secret to his success was the hard work of practice, aiming to hit a thousand balls a day, every day.
In his later career, he—with his wife Marian’s support—has turned to helping young golfers in the Grampian region, around Aberdeen, build their own skills. The Paul Lawrie Foundation that they founded has seen a string of players turn pro, and set them on a path to tournament victory.
Now, the Foundation has paired up with Kylie Henry to focus on girls’ golfing, with a new clinic, sponsored by Fugro. Ahead of an in-depth look at that project, Paul shares with Jon Baston-Pitt the story of his own success, and his approach to mentoring the next generation.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
Paul Lawrie, professional golfer and founder of the Paul Lawrie Foundation
Over twenty years at Procter & Gamble, Gill Whitty-Collins rose to become SVP Europe, India, Middle East & Africa. In this role, she led the turnaround of global leading brands such as Always, Pantene, and Olay.
But when she reached the top, she found herself in an overwhelmingly male environment. She was one of the 7% of leaders of major organisations who are women. Since leaving the consumer goods multinational, she has tried to understand how this imbalance comes about, and what we can all do to achieve diversity in corporate leadership.
It is clearly ethical and just that women should—along with other under-represented groups—take a fair share of these roles. But it’s also good business sense: diverse businesses, able to take on ideas from a wide range of staff and to reflect their customer base, are up to 30% more profitable. How, Whitty-Collins asks, can organisations unlock the potential of their employees? And, what can we all do—as parents and partners, teachers and employers—to give girls and women the opportunity to thrive in the workplace?
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
Gill Whitty-Collins, author, Why Men Win at Work
Links
Gill’s website and newsletter
Why Men Win at Work on Bookshop and on Amazon
The Planet Beyond podcast turned two this summer. In its first two years it has been joined by guests from the worlds of politics, of exploration, of science and of engineering. Each guest has been interviewed with the aim of understanding how to do business better.
At the heart of this journey has been its host, whose mantra that is: the inimitable Jon Baston-Pitt. In this episode, the production team turns the tables (and the microphone) on Jon himself to learn from his experience, and get his perception of what is important – and hazardous – about the modern world we live and work within.
Host
Alex Conacher, Reby Media
Guest
Jon Baston-Pitt, Fugro
In February 2023 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit near the Turkish Syrian border. Tens of thousands of people lost their lives and millions have been left homeless. It is one of the most devastating earthquakes to ever hit the region impacting an area the size of Germany. Earthquakes have always been near impossible to predict,...
Helen Stewart is a hydrographer in the coastal resilience and ocean science division at Fugro. In this shortcast we talk about her recent keynote for the International Hydrographic Review which focuses on the importance of soft skills when working in a scientific field.
Developing these skills isn’t something that always came easily to Helen but she has been able to learn them and improve at them over her 20 year career that has spanned the globe and she highlights some ways for everyone to improve their soft skills.
Beyond developing skills for a career in science, Helen shows the value in developing a strong work life balance. While having perseverance is a great asset, sometimes putting it aside to relax and unwind, is best for achieving a long successful career.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
Helen Stewart, Hydrographer, Fugro
In 2023 the world entered its El Niño cycle of warmer oceanic currents. Without the moderating effect of the cooler La Niña effects, climate records have been tumbling – in many cases smashed by several standard deviations. Sea ice is at record lows, and North Atlantic surface temperatures are, in places, up to 5°C warmer...
Myrna Staring is innovation lead at Fugro, leading a team of innovation engineers working on active and passive seismic technologies for near-surface characterisation. Her work contributes to the development of tools for infrastructure and renewables developments. In this episode, she talks about the value of different kinds of empathy in building a diverse workforce. Myrna...
Hydrography as an industry emanated from the wellspring of naval research, and ever since it has been a male dominated field. The field studies and describes the physical features of oceans, seas and other bodies of water and often requires work offshore. Attitudes surrounding women working offshore have historically restricted opportunities for women to gain...
Daniela Taliana is geoscience manager at Fugro in Italy. Like our host, Jon, she has a passion for rocks. But in this episode she tells us about another passion: for art. Daniela is president of the volunteer arts association, Spazi all’Arte, or ‘Spaces for Art’, which seeks to foster collaborative and inclusive public art in...
We live in a world of unparalleled complexity and risk. The structure of our societies rests upon a stack of services—utilities, communications, banking, transport, among others—that themselves rely on a mix of public services and private businesses, both large and small. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses. All face threats from bad actors, and from natural disasters, often driven by climate change.
In this episode, Peter Power from the Resilience Association joins Jon Baston-Pitt to explain how a ‘resilience mindset’ can help organisations of all kinds overcome catastrophe. Smaller businesses are often more agile, but lack a depth of resources, whereas larger organisations may have the resources, but have a hierarchical structure that can reduce their flexibility. And the public sector, rightly, takes a conservative approach to risk, which can lead to slower responses in a time of crisis.
Developing a resilience mindset can give organisations the ability to respond to catastrophe. But it can also bring a new attitude to risk, and making defensible decisions, which can strengthen organisation’s overall performance. With a long career in the police and public service, and a prominent role supporting and advising governments as they respond to disasters and develop resilience policies, there are few who can match Peter’s insight.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Peter Power, vice chair, The Resilience Association
When catastrophe strikes, the top priority is to get those affected to safety. But almost as urgent is the need to get businesses and utilities up and running again. A rapid response to claims can make the difference between people getting on with their lives, and suffering harm that ripples through their community.
Hurricane Ian caused more than 160 deaths, in the US and Caribbean, and over $113bn of damages. Insurers like Dale Underwriting Partners needed to be able get loss adjusters to the right locations, and start paying claims, as soon as possible. But they can only do this if they have clear Geo-data.
Dale turned to McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS) for this data. And as soon as the airspace over the affected area was open, Fugro were in the air, providing detailed aerial imagery of the damage within 24 hours, so loss adjusters can start helping communities running again.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Daniel Grimwood-Bird, Head of Sales and Marketing, McKenzie Intelligence Services
Rich Woodhams, Property Claims Manager, Dale Underwriting Partners
Pooja Mahapatra, Global lead, Geospatial for Climate, Fugro
Yvan Petillot is joint academic lead at the National Robotarium, in Edinburgh. In this shortcast, he talks to Jon Baston-Pitt about some of the key challenges faced in controlling remotely operated vehicles (ROV) underwater.
The core problem is data transfer speeds. And that’s why researchers have turned to nature and creatures like dolphins, to understand not only how they communicate but also how they process large amounts of data in an ever changing underwater environment.
Petillot and his team have been developing sonar-based systems, and the processing to allow underwater systems to work autonomously, and are now combining them with vision systems, to allow for inspection and intervention, with sonar used as a fallback.
Photo credit: The Ocean Agency/ Ocean image bank
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
Yvan Petillot, Professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Heriot Watt University; joint academic lead, The National Robotarium.
Offshore inspections require arduous and hazardous sea travel. The coming boom in offshore wind will see tens of thousands of assets needing inspection in the North Sea alone. Building fleets of crewed vessels to perform these inspections would have significant carbon impacts.
In an earlier Planet Beyond Short, Mark Bruce explained how Fugro is deploying remotely-operated vehicles from uncrewed surface vessels. But poor data transmission underwater means these ROVs must be able to think for themselves, responding quickly to changes in sea conditions.
In this episode, Mark is joined by Yvan Petillot of the National Robotarium, to tell Jon Baston-Pitt how they have been working together to add autonomous control to ROVs, and their recent successful completion of the first commercial demonstration of the technology.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Yvan Petillot, Professor of Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Heriot Watt University; joint academic lead, The National Robotarium.
Mark Bruce, Product Owner, Next Generation ROVs, Fugro
Denise Swanborn is an expedition manager with Nekton. She recently completed her PhD in marine science, at Oxford. In this episode, recorded on International Women’s Day, she talks to Jon Baston-Pitt about her own path to marine exploration, and describes the excitement and wonder of a career spent exploring the depths.
Denise’s work has taken her around the world, as she explores life in the mesophotic, or medium light layer of the ocean. This is in many ways the nursery of the ocean, where Denise took to inaccessible depths in submersible vessels around the Seychelles for her PhD.
Guest
Denise Swanborn, expedition manager, Nekton Foundation
Professor George Yip is the author of Total Global StrategyMany in the West view China as a threat. The country is both a supply chain partner, and an economic and political rival. And it has, for forty years, been a key exemplar of globalisation.
In this episode we look beyond the fear and rivalry to better understand China’s journey to being one of the world’s leading economies. We ask what does leadership look like in China? And hear ofthe magic behind China’s innovation process.
Our guest Prof George S Yip was an early adopter of systematic approaches to the understanding of globalisation. In his book Total Global Strategy George explains the four key drivers of globalisation. China has now moved far beyond the first of the four drivers, cost.
George has continued to explore the country’s changing economy. In this episode, he describes some of the factors that have made the country an innovative global leader, and asks us to consider what we can learn from it.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests Prof George S Yip, Emeritus Professor of Marketing and Strategy, Imperial College London
The world’s oceans are vital to maintaining the health of our planet, but are also one of its last unmapped territories.
UNESCO and the Ocean Decade programme team have reached an important milestone. They have kicked-off the Ocean Decade Corporate Data Group to develop a framework for privately-collected ocean data to be made publicly available for the benefit of the ocean’s—and the planet’s— health.
Fugro’s Louis Demargne has been embedded with UNESCO for the past year. Ahead of the launch of the Ocean Decade Corporate Data Group
on February 7 2023, Demargne spoke to Jon Baston-Pitt, to describe the group’s work, the role of the private sector, and how businesses can collaborate to share their data for the benefit of all.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Louis Demargne, Data & Knowledge Management Officer, UNESCO
Photo Credit
Shaun Wolfe, Ocean Image Bank
Ryan Chatfield and his mates have spent their lives exploring, and filming, the world below the waves. When they turned their skills to documentary making, a new connection, film-maker Brendan Hutchins, helped them pitch a series to Disney+, Shipwreck Hunters Australia.
Together, they tell the stories of shipwrecks, their victims and survivors, making a human connection to the past. Talking to Jon Baston-Pitt, they share with us what it is like to be truly immersed in your work, and their experiences interacting with marine life.
In the episode, we learn the importance of building strong and supportive relationships with our colleagues, and how taking careful risks together can open up a world of creativity and discovery.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Ryan Chatfield, director, Terra Australis TV
Brendan Hutchens, creative producer and director, VAM Media
Remotely operated vehicles can perform inspections efficiently and effectively without risk to humans. However, they can require time-consuming returns to port for reconfiguration. Mark Bruce has been working to develop electric ROVs that can be deployed from uncrewed surface vessels and pack more sensors in a way that allows them to operate without interruption or delay.
Since this interview was conducted, at Oceanology, Mark has made good progress with expanding Fugro’s remote and autonomous subsea inspection capabilities and has been involved in setting up a collaboration with the National Robotarium, the UK’s most advanced centre for robotics and AI, based at Heriot-Watt University in partnership with The University of Edinburgh.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Mark Bruce, product owner, next generation ROVs, Fugro
Looking back at the kings of France or the Pharaohs of Egypt, we marvel at their wealth. But not one of them could place a call across a planet, or drive hundreds of miles in a day down a superhighway. The story of humanity has been to take things that were challenging and make them commonplace.
As humanity moves out from Low Earth Orbit, to the moon and beyond, the private sector will have an increasing role to play in our space ambitions, adding capability and imagination to the most exciting project of our time.
Our objectives and the tone of this project will be set by the people involved, by their hopes and the ideas that shaped them. In this episode, we meet one of them.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guest
Tim Crain, Vice President, Intuitive Machines
The commercial space sector doubled in size over the last decade and is expected to triple in size over the next 20 years. Exactly 50 years since man last walked on the moon, the recent launch of NASA’s Artemis 1 heralds a new era of lunar space travel.
A lot has changed in the space sector since we last went to the moon most notably the emergence of private companies working alongside national space agencies to bring more collaboration into the sector and make commercial moon missions affordable.
In this episode we are joined by one of the most promising commercial space contractors, and a new control centre based in Australia that will support this and future endeavours to the Moon and beyond.
Host
Jon Baston-Pitt
Guests
Tim Crain, Vice President, Intuitive Machines
Dawn McIntosh, Space Systems Director, Fugro
Sam Forbes, Director, SpAARC
You cannot just aim to be an astronaut. To be considered, you have to be good at something first. You need to excel in a career on Earth before pursuing a second in space. One candidate’s journey began as a child looking up at the stars in a small town in rural Australia. A love...
The UK’s Ground Engineering Awards have recognised Fugro as the Ground Investigation Specialist of the Year 2022. We explore the importance of articulating progress on projects with the award winning team, who faced the almost impossible task of demonstrating Fugro’s full capability and achievements in just 20 minutes! It required dedication, connection, passion and purpose,...
The best preparation is often to make ourselves as adaptable as possible, to be resilient to changes in circumstance. That is a mantra to Mark Sinclair, better known as Captain Coconut, who we last spoke to in Episode 4: Learning from Adventure. The intrepid Coconut thought he had failed to traverse the globe in his...
It began with a five-month expedition in a small rowboat crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Twin realisations struck the younger Julie Angus: the vastness and lack of information available on our oceans as well as the vulnerability of the marine environment. The worst hurricane season in recorded history also hit home the challenges of navigating such...
As the world transitions to a low carbon economy, the way we use the seas will also change. Vessels are in a state of flux as new communications technology and advances in automation mean that the requirements for a crew are rapidly disappearing for many operations. This brings amazing benefits for sustainability, as well as...
In May we told the story of Charles Czajkowski, one of the few pancreatic cancer patients to have survived beyond six months of diagnosis. Fewer than 7% of patients survive beyond five years of diagnosis. Challenges face healthcare providers, including a lack of alarm symptoms, but outcomes for this terrible disease have barely improved in...
Good intentions alone will not secure the future of our seas. More than 90% of trade moves across the ocean, and the global population eyes the marine environment as an increasing source of food. Added to this, a range of new activities are forecast to increase the ocean economy from $1.5 trillion in 2010 to...
In some ways more is known about the surface of Mars than our own planet. With over 70% of the Earth’s surface covered in ocean, more than 75% of this watery space has never been mapped. This daunting data hole prevents search and rescue teams from performing vital work, such as like searching for...
For much of history the seas have loomed impossibly large and untouchable. This perception is at odds with the vulnerability of ocean environments. Now, following decades of abuse by a growing human society, a realisation has been reached. The degradation of the world’s oceans has led to several looming crises: plastic pollution, warmer waters and...
This is an episode about filling in the gaps. Gaps in our knowledge of the largest environment on the planet, the ocean. Although it is not quite true that we know less about the ocean floor than outer space, it is still the closest thing we have to an alien environment on Earth. And that...
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer in the world. In the UK 50% of those diagnosed with pancreatic cancer will die within three months of their diagnosis. Only 7% will survive for five years, the lowest of any common cancer type. We hear from Charles Czajkowski about his battle with pancreatic...
Live from Oceanology International in London we discuss how to attract, develop and train the skills needed to handle the tsunami of new technology coming into the sector. Development of uncrewed vessels and improved digital communications are creating new opportunities for people at all levels of career progression. Guests Gordon Meadows, CEO, SeaBot XR Dan...
One fifth the size of the continental US, Alaska stands as America’s only Arctic state. And when it was founded, Alaska was given a special deal. Too remote for full Federal infrastructure funding, Alaska would have to pay for its own needs from the wealth locked away below its frozen soil. For many years this...
Belen Valdovinos and Rada Khadjinova are world leading sports people who push themselves to do better every single day. Their dedication and determination drives them in sport and in their work at Fugro. Listen now and be inspired! Host Jon Baston-Pitt Guests Belen Valdovinos, Business Development Manager America, Fugro Rada Khadjinova, Alaska Country Manager, Fugro
What does it mean to serve? For most, a career in a military and what it is to be a soldier are complete unknowns. Deployment conjures up images of courage, of danger, and of endurance. Yet the resourcefulness and problem-solving skills that the military imparts to its personnel also makes them a resource to civilian...
Mark Heine has been with Fugro since 2000 and CEO since 2018 and although gathering data about our planet has been his passion since studying geodetic engineering at Delft University, mountaineering is his first love. At just 10 years old Mark conquered his first summit and after that he was hooked. His hobby has taken him to the top...
We’re in a race against time when it comes to decarbonising energy. Hydrogen could play an important role in the transition but only if we can move to producing it from water instead of natural gas. In this episode we hear from a company that is already working on this with the world’s first pilot...
By 2050 it is forecast that 75% of global electricity will come from renewable generation making wind energy critical in fighting the climate crisis. In this episode we hear that by sitting out in deep waters floating wind could not only become a viable solution to the energy transition, it can also be a hub...
From the US and Korea to Scotland and Portugal exciting things are happening in the world of wind energy. Instead of building offshore wind farms close to shore, the successful deployment of floating platforms for turbines is opening the vast ocean to renewable energy development. The Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) predicts commercial deployment of...
An adventurous spirit in people has made many successful organisations what they are today. To be truly great, we often find these people are guided by a moral compass, possessing core values that provide that relentless pointer to the right way, even when all plans have turned on their head. Fugro’s hydrographic director Mark Sinclair...
We have one planet and one ocean system but its health is in rapid decline. We bring together leading experts to discuss how science could save our oceans. The timing could not be more critical as 2021 saw the launch of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science. The initiative aims to improve our understanding...
In this episode, a panel of experts representing established, leading companies as well as new technology disruptors tackle one of the most difficult issues of our time: climate change. Specifically, how industry can innovate and transform to better overcome the emerging challenges. We discuss how to create a beehive of collaboration, not only within a...
Introducing Fugro’s Planet Beyond podcast. In this inaugural episode we look at the islands of the South Pacific, whose inhabitants are among the first to experience the hardships of climate change. Sea level rises, coupled with more frequent and more extreme weather events, are impacting the lives of these low-lying coastal communities. We are joined...
Welcome to the Planet Beyond podcast. Brought to you by Fugro, the leading partner in uncovering geo-data from the greatest subsea depths right to outer space and hosted by Jon Baston-Pitt. Planet Beyond is about doing business better in our fast changing, and acutely delicate, yet exquisite, world. Together we will explore issues beyond the...