Fugro

Episode 34: A globe-spanning eye into the deep past

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…

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Short: Dakota Peebler on youth activism in ocean conservation

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…

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Ocean Decade 24 – Setting the Scene

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…

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Episode 33: Epic Swim Maui and the value of our ocean

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…

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Short: Femke De Jager on failing better

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…

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Episode 32: Mangroves, drones, and data

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…

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Short: Michael Neuhaus – A career in listening

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…

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Short: Jeff Richardson on the UK’s HM Coastguard

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…

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Short: Katherine Scrimgeour on thinking differently

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…

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Episode 30: Cutting Carbon at sea

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…

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Short: David Tindall – From rocks to innovation

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…

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Episode 29: Women inspiring girls, in sport and business

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….

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Short: Paul Lawrie – Learning and Mentoring

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…

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Episode 28: Why Men Win at Work

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…

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Episode 27: Managing Earthquake Risk

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,…

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Short: Helen Stewart – Soft Skills for Science

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…

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Episode 26: Energy Transition – No Miracles Needed

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…

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Short: Myrna Staring – Understanding Each Other

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…

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Short: Daniela Taliana – Spreading the art bug

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…

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Episode 24: The resilience mindset

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…

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Episode 23: Data and insurance emergency response

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…

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Short: Yvan Petillot – Looking to nature, and beyond

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…

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Short: Denise Swanborn – Exploring oceans in a submersible

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…

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Episode 18: The Award Winning Episode

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,…

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Episode 15: The Future of Ocean Technology

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…

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Episode 8: Climbing Mountains with Mark Heine

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…

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Episode 6: Floating Wind’s Environmental Potential

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…

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Episode 3: Ocean Science For Planetary Health

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…

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Episode 2: Innovation for Transformation

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…

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Episode 1: Saving the South Pacific

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…

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