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PODCAST

The Grand Challengers Podcast

Peter Marcus Bach

In a world facing climate change, urbanization, and population growth, inspiring individuals are stepping up with innovative solutions. Each episode features passionate guests working at the cutting edge of science, engineering, technology, and design. Through their journeys, they share insights and personal growth while creating new ways of thinking for an uncertain future. Tune in for actionable advice and inspiration for young professionals aiming to make a difference.If you enjoy the show,

education careers

All Episodes

88:56

#60 - Maryam Imani: Embracing failure to build...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2026/04/06

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

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92:41

#59 - Galina Yordanova: Human Consciousness is the...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2026/03/23

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

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100:56

#58 - Juan Pablo Carbajal: Tadpoles, tolerance and...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2026/03/02

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

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77:58

#57 - Hiten Sonpal: A LEGO crane, a belt and...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2026/02/16

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

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123:59

#56 - Fred Jordan: The power of mathematics,...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/12/29

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

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54:23

The NotebookLM Mini Series #10 (FINALE): The...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/12/28

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

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75:28

#55 - Julia K. Dietmar: A new take on “dress to...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/12/17

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

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58:36

The NotebookLM Mini Series #9: "Super SUPER tiny...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/12/01

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

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65:15

#54 - Mats Larsson: What it takes for the sustainable...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/11/24

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

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94:31

#53 - Alma Schellart: Making data open, making models...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/11/10

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

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77:56

#52 - Makoto Kern: Feature-centric to user-centric -...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/10/27

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

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98:12

#51 - Rob Wreglesworth: A culture reboot for nature,...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/10/13

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

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79:30

#50 - Tables Turned: Part 2 - Personal reflections on...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/10/06

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

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76:29

#49 - Nadja Kunz: Towards water stewardship in...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/09/08

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:

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70:53

#48 - Christoph Ort: Sewers, Drugs and Rock n' Roll -...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/08/25

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

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76:08

The NotebookLM Mini Series #8: "Broken Telephone" -...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/08/20

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

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77:00

#47 - Wei-Shan Chen: Valuing food waste and greening...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/07/24

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

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68:42

The NotebookLM Mini Series #7: The “Tablecloth...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/07/14

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

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80:20

#46 - Mark Swinnerton: Gravity vs. "giant hockey...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/07/07

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

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56:07

The NotebookLM Mini Series #6: These are neither the...

The Grand Challengers Podcast ·

2025/06/23

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

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71 results

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