The Grand Challengers Podcast

Manuel Fischer, Professor at the Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, group leader in Policy Analysis and Environmental Governance and head of the Environmental Social Sciences Institute at the Eawag, Switzerland shares some insights on the social dynamics between major actors in the political arena during times of stability and times of crisis and the importance of delving deeper i...

Shubber Ali, CEO of Garden for Wildlife, a spin-out from the National Wildlife Federation in the US, reflects on the journey from helping companies improve their innovation to how people can contribute to improving biodiversity in their own gardens through the use of native plants. We also discuss the twin crises of climate change and artificial intelligence (in particular, Generative AI) and look...

Jon Hathaway, Associate Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee Knoxville sheds light on the origins and practice of green infrastructure for stormwater management in the US, the impact climate change will have, needs for better asset management and maintenance and how we can operate these systems in a smarter way. We also compare notes and termi...

Markus Vogl, Professor at the University of Stuttgart, senior partner at Studio Urban Strategies and former "Walter Gropius Chair" at the Faculty of Architecture, Design and Urbanism at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina reflects on the power of social collaboration for urban transformation by retelling the story of perhaps the most impactful project in his career to date, the Bib...

Françoise Bichai, Associate Professor from Polytechnique Montreal discusses the complexity, challenge and necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration and how we should adapt our centralised water infrastructure to support growing cities and adapt to climate change. We also delve into her current work on supporting the planning of green infrastructure. Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Starsky by Alex Ker...

Danielle Dagenais, Professor in Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Montreal discusses her interdisciplinary journey from garden design to all things plants and how she is now tackling green infrastructure solutions for stormwater management and improving urban biodiversity in snowy Canada. Our conversation also unravels the paradox of nature and many myths surrounding t...

Belinda Hatt, waterways and wetlands research specialist at Melbourne Water and University of Melbourne, Australia, reflects on her journey through academia and practice around creating healthy waterways and her work on stormwater control measures or Water Sensitive Urban Design, in particular, rain gardens for water quality management. Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Breaking Sweat by Balloon Planet (C...

Anna Lintern, senior lecturer and head of the water group at te Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Australia, discusses how she has combined her passion for water, rivers and history in some 'forensic-esque' research using sediment core and other historical data sets. We also discuss the impact that such diverse and creative methods can have in supporting further environ...

Fritz Kleinschroth, senior research scientist at the Ecosystem Management Group of ETH Zurich reflects on various examples where human infrastructure and nature have collided, from the tropics to his own backyard in Zurich, Switzerland. We discuss the importance of reconciliation ecology going forward and how infrastructure can be planned to be more integrated with natural ecosystems. Podcast Intr...

Mohan Yellishetty from Resources Engineering at Monash University, Australia sheds light on the importance of minerals extraction and how we can undertake this sustainably. From fascination with Australia-India relations around cricket to growing up in the countryside in India, we discuss the life cycle of mines and the potential of 're-mining', rehabilitation and repurposing after their...

Mattheos Santamouris, the Anita Lawrence Professor of High Performance Architecture at the University of New South Wales, Australia, discusses the impending overheating crisis due to global climatic change that we are facing, his outlook and perhaps the most urgent strategy for counteracting and adapting to it. Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Breaking Sweat by Balloon Planet (Check out more of their tun...

Juan Pablo Rodríguez Sánchez, Associate Professor at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia shares how data scarcity is not a limitation, but rather, an opportunity for innovation in both the wastewater system and his current topic, nature-based solutions. We explore his passion for his country Colombia and career-long passion case study, Bogotá. Podcast Intro/Outro Song: Breaking Sweat by B...

Janine Bolliger, senior researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) and lecturer at the University of Zurich discusses the deeper subtleties behind the term 'biodiversity' and her recent work on how light pollution affects non-humans, namely bats and insects. We also delve deeper into what needs to be done to make cities more ecologically susta...

Veljko Prodanovic, a senior researcher at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Australia, discusses the intricacies of designing sustainable vertical greenery, which are thirsty, but, ironically, more beneficial in dry climates. We also touch upon how to design blue-green infrastructure to be 'culturally-inclusive' in order to build community ownership and stewardship as a way to dri...

Dr. Liah Coggins, an environmental engineer from the University of Western Australia shares how she has created impact in the water industry with a simple piece of technology and the growing complexity that engineering research and education need to embrace if we want to create innovative solutions. Under the mentorship of our guest from Episode 11 and through her own experiences over the last dec...

Anas Ghadouani, professor in environmental engineering at the University of Western Australia, limnologist and overall advocate for collaborative learning and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals paints a picture of how he is constantly learning and embedding fun, entertainment and learning into his research and teaching work. We delve into a connected story around a range of topics fr...

Daniele la Cecilia, a Maria Skłodowska-Curie Actions p ostdoctoral resresearch fellow from the University of Padova, Italy recounts his journey, combining his passions for water and food towards technological progress in agriculture. We cover the topic of plant protection products and new potential future pathways for agriculture, in particular the role of greenhouses that Daniele is now tackling...

Ana Deletic, professor in urban stormwater and Executive Dean of Engineering at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) shares her remarkable journey from former Yugoslavia to Australia in urban stormwater management, water sensitive urban design and urban nature-based solution technologies, good modelling practices, women in engineering and mentorship of young and aspiring researchers. Join me...

Associate Professor Megan A. Farrelly, a human geography and the Associate Dean of Graduate Research from the Faculty of Arts, Monash University Australia, discusses her transition from the physical to the social sciences and 15 years of experience in urban water governance research. We delve deep into the institutional challenges that have surrounded the story and journey towards Water Sensitive...

Dr. Abishek Narayan, research scientist at the Department of Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development (SANDEC) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag) shares his journey through the rapidly evolving field of urban sanitation planning in the global south. From humble beginnings in engineering and rowing in his river in Chennai India to current uptake of t...

Arya Arabshahi, an architect and territorial strategist discusses his take on the idea of citymaking - what we define as a city, what constitutes a city and how we should plan a city. We delve into the issue of a master plan and how learning from the past and thinking about future scenarios can lead to a palette of solutions rather than a set course for urban and territorial development. Based on...

Peter A. Vanrolleghem, professor in bio-engineering, environmental technology and urban water quality reflects on his journey from chocolate and spaghetti among others disciplines into the water sector. We explore how urban wastewater treatment is evolving to embrace resource recovery and digitalization and learn about the challenges of its planning, control and operation. Peter also offers some g...

 Sofia Boarino, an architect and musician specializing in urban soundscapes shares how she has been exploring the importance and necessity of acoustic design for our visually dominated society. We discuss four key projects that have shaped Sofia’s career to date, touching upon the sound design from a landscape, nature, technological and human perspective and some of her own personal experiences wi...

Martijn Kuller, an interdisciplinary researcher and tennis enthusiast discusses his journey across the world in pursuit of better tools to support not only the planning of nature-based solutions in cities, but also early flood warning systems, the subtleties of coffee and enjoyments of travel. On this episode, we uncover the role of values, gut feelings and rationality in decision-making and how q...

Scott Lloyd, an architect and founding member of TEN Studio in Zurich Switzerland has been exploring emerging themes in architecture and urban design through projects he has led and participated in across the globe. On this episode, we hear about Scott’s journey into architecture and his experience in designing housing to cope with rapid urbanization. Notably, we discuss the trending topic of ‘coh...