Best Peter Marcus Bach Podcasts (2025)

1
#42 - Mashael Yazdanie: "Doing the right things the right way" - how to holistically plan for sufficiency and renewable energy 1:34:21

11d ago1:34:21

1:34:21

Mashael Yazdanie, Group Leader, Scientist and Lecturer at the Urban Energy Systems Lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Materials Science & Technology (Empa) traces her journey across the renewable energies towards more holistic thinking around energy, sustainability, society and sufficiency. We cover her projects in both the global north and sout…

1
The NotebookLM Mini Series #3: Multi-tasking superheroes and going meta on AI (feat. Veljko Prodanovic) 58:32

18d ago58:32

58:32

Welcome to this Mini-Series on The Grand Challengers Podcast! The topic of generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been in all our minds over the past few years and is gaining even more momentum with rapid advancements in text, audio and video. Google recently released NotebookLM, a powerful research-support AI that can generate not only summar…

1
The NotebookLM Mini Series #2: Playing "Urban Tetris" and "Heat Detectives" with Blue Green Systems (feat. João P. Leitão) 55:40

24d ago55:40

55:40

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 summar…

1
#41 - Don Weatherbee: "Catalyzing" change beyond the mine - scaling up metals regeneration to enable the future circular economy 1:04:35

1M ago1:04:35

1:04:35

Don Weatherbee, CEO of Regenx Tech Corp in Alberta, Canada shows us how you can scale up metals recycling (or regeneration as he calls it) sustainably. We discuss his journey from studying accounting to joining the mining and resources industry and how he is now leveraging opportunities to close the loop and create the circular economy around criti…

1
The NotebookLM Mini Series #1: Cooling establishment time, it's like baking a cake (feat. Lucas Gobatti) 1:02:42

2M ago1:02:42

1:02:42

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 summar…

1
#40 - João P. Leitão: Studying the extremes - "when it rains, it floods", and "just add water" when "the heat is on" 1:09:13

2M ago1:09:13

1:09:13

João P. Leitão, Senior Researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag), Professor at ETH Zurich and the first guest of this podcast returns for a Part 2 to reflect on the podcast 40 episodes later, more fun topics about Portugal and major research topics that we did not cover on the first episode including urban dr…

1
#39 - Lucas Gobatti: Spinoza, science, spirituality - confronting ‘displacements’ in planning urban nature, climate and heat 1:26:48

3M ago1:26:48

1:26:48

Lucas Gobatti, PhD research at ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) goes deep into how Albert Einstein, Benedictus de Spinoza and Karl Marx have shaped his worldview and connection to cities and nature. As a trained architect, civil engineer and urban planner, we discuss how he balances science and sp…

1
#38 - Patricia Cuervo Uría: The human side of planning and flood risk in London - the challenge of embedding history into policy 1:21:53

3M ago1:21:53

1:21:53

Patricia Cuervo Uría, Regional Delivery Manager at Binnies in the UK, Chartered Planner and fellow member of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (CIWEM) discusses her experience in planning for flood risk and discussing the impending challenge of mental health in relation to climate change. With over 18 years of experien…

1
#37 - Brett Ferrin: "Safeguarding the ordinary" - achieving traffic safety planning and management in a data-rich, AI-powered world 1:15:43

4M ago1:15:43

1:15:43

Brett Ferrin, Vice President of Sales North America at Traffic Logix discusses the evolving and more complex nature of traffic safety management and gives insight into the many ways we can ensure safety on our roads for vehicle operators and other users. We discuss the implications of rapidly exploding amounts of data and the potential of artificia…

1
#36 - Tables Turned: Part 1 - Guests ask me questions on the podcast origin story, life choices and more 1:03:29

5M ago1:03:29

1:03:29

To finish off 2024 and reflect on the 35 episodes of The Grand Challengers Podcast so far, here is a very special episode. 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, we look into 22 questions relating to the origin story and plans fo…

1
#35 - Yannick Back: The answers are beyond the "clouds" - the water-energy link for climate adaptation in a world of data ubiquity 1:22:55

6M ago1:22:55

1:22:55

Yannick Back, Research Fellow at the Unit of Environmental Engineering, Innsbruck University shares an alternative way of looking at planning for urban heat mitigation, which is the intrinsic link between water and energy fluxes. We discuss how Yannick has harnessed the power of remote sensing (both aerial and satellite data sets) and geographic in…

1
#34 - Denise Mitrano: A world of plastics from macro and micro to nano - should zero plastics be the long-term goal? 1:10:59

6M ago1:10:59

1:10:59

Denise Mitrano, Assistant Professor in the Environmental System Science Department at ETH Zurich sheds some light into the topic of plastics pollution, from macro and micro to nano. Trained as an analytical chemist, we hear how Denise is using her skills to better understand how we can quantify, replace and reduce the sources for better environment…

1
#33 - Bill Hunt: America's evolving stormwater management, our innate connection to water and walking your "Camino" 1:35:30

7M ago1:35:30

1:35:30

Bill Hunt, Professor and Extension specialist at North Carolina State University, USA shares with us his journey from a love of hydrology to creating major impact in America's stormwater management. We cover his achievements in the field of stormwater green infrastructure, his current activities in ancient Roman engineering and hear his wisdom on l…

1
#32 - Luis Angel Sañudo Fontaneda: Partnering with nature in Spain's journey to Sustainable Drainage and Climate Adaptation 1:15:49

8M ago1:15:49

1:15:49

Luis Angel Sañudo Fontaneda, Associate Professor at the University of Oviedo, Spain, brings us on a journey through Spain's history in adopting Sustainable Drainage Systems and how its dynamic policies have shifted towards climate adaptation and sustainability. We look into the marvel of pervious pavements and swale systems, an engineering-focussed…

1
#31 - Neil Armitage: Reflections, from a canoe chute and litter traps to Day Zero and South Africa's Sustainable Drainage 1:23:21

9M ago1:23:21

1:23:21

Neil Armitage, Emeritus Professor from the University of Cape Town reflects on his journey from engineering through to academia and the human side of sustainable drainage systems. We reflect on South Africa's integrated urban water management challenges and have fun picking at terminology around SuDS, WSUD, LIDs and the like. We see what Neil is up…

1
#30 - Tobias Baur: From tropical Singapore to Europe - the "ABC Waters" of sponge cities and climate adaptive design 53:16

11M ago53:16

53:16

Tobias Baur, Professor in Landscape Architecture at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST), Rapperswil and former partner at Studio Ramboll-Dreiseitl, sheds some light on Singapore's Active, Beautiful and Clean Waters Program, the country's journey in water management, and how sponge cities have evolved from stormwater to clim…

1
#29 - Katrin Pakizer: Grassroots movements, policy instruments and timing for transforming water, biodiversity and underground management 1:16:34

11M ago1:16:34

1:16:34

Katrin Pakizer, Research Associate from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag) joins us to discuss how to create transformative change and to transition cities towards more sustainable natural resources management from the lenses of water infrastructure, biodiversity …

1
#28 - Alexa Delbosc: A social psychology toolkit for changing transport planning, built environment and future mobility 1:05:44

1y ago1:05:44

1:05:44

Alexa Delbosc, Associate Professor at the Monash University Institute of Transport Studies, Australia demonstrates how social psychology concepts and thinking can be applied to transport planning. We explore a variety of topics including dehumanization of cyclists, changing lifestyles of millennials, the impact of the pandemic on transport, work fr…

1
#27 - Darcy Molnar: A personal journey, from Africa to Switzerland - insights on education, nature-based solutions and women scientists 1:14:38

1y ago1:14:38

1:14:38

Darcy Molnar, Senior Program Coordinator at the Leopold-Bachmann Foundation and the Masters in Advanced Studies (MAS) in Water Resources Program Coordinator at ETH Zurich reflects on three major initiatives she has undertaken to foster better knowledge exchange on solving global crises, bridging global north and south and providing more opportuniti…

1
#26 - Manuel Fischer: The Good, the Bad, and the Socio-Political - can science really support collaborative policymaking? 1:04:20

1y ago1:04:20

1:04:20

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 time…

1
#25 - Shubber Ali: Your garden, the 'field of dreams' for tackling the twin crises of climate change and artificial intelligence 1:43:14

1y ago1:43:14

1:43:14

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 in…

1
#24 - Jon Hathaway: The ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of green infrastructure, opening a ‘can of worms’ and gaining control of watersheds 1:20:17

1y ago1:20:17

1:20:17

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…

1
#23 - Markus Vogl: To give 'space' - from a library to collaborative urban transformation and rethinking the architect's role 1:23:47

1y ago1:23:47

1:23:47

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 impactfu…

1
#22 - Françoise Bichai: "God-like technologies in medieval institutions", discussing paradigm shifts for greener, water-resilient cities 1:26:38

1+ y ago1:26:38

1:26:38

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 infrastruct…

1
#21 - Danielle Dagenais: The paradox of nature - process and parts and its implications for green infrastructure 1:13:02

1+ y ago1:13:02

1:13:02

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 …

1
#20 - Belinda Hatt: Stormwater control measures, healthy waterways, battleships and karate at the riverside camp 1:05:25

1+ y ago1:05:25

1:05:25

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 Int…

1
#19 - Anna Lintern: Diving deep into the underground, ‘forensics’ on river water quality to uncover environmental past and future? 1:07:55

1+ y ago1:07:55

1:07:55

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 method…

1
#18 - Fritz Kleinschroth: From tropical forests to the city - reconciliation ecology between human infrastructure and nature conservation 1:14:20

1+ y ago1:14:20

1:14:20

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 mor…

1
#17 - Mohan Yellishetty: What to do with a hole in the ground - re-mining for critical minerals, rehabilitation and repurposing 1:25:16

1+ y ago1:25:16

1:25:16

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', re…

1
#16 - Mattheos Santamouris: A 'hot' topic for cooler cities - high performance architecture to combat urban overheating 1:26:44

2y ago1:26:44

1:26:44

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 Sw…

1
#15 - Juan Pablo Rodríguez Sánchez: "Restrictions and constraints breed innovation" - sewers and nature-based solutions in Colombia 1:03:21

2y ago1:03:21

1:03:21

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, Bog…

1
#14 - Janine Bolliger: Lights, Camera, GPS and Action around biodiversity enhancement in human-dominated landscapes 1:06:00

2y ago1:06:00

1:06:00

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 don…

1
#13 - Veljko Prodanovic: Going vertical in a green horizontal world and promoting urban water and nature co-design 1:23:04

2y ago1:23:04

1:23:04

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 o…

1
#12 - Liah Coggins: "Pondering" conversations around banana bread and boats from across the fence 1:11:06

2y ago1:11:06

1:11:06

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…

1
#11 - Anas Ghadouani: A limnologist, filmmaker, foodie, water diplomat, and passionate teacher walk into a kitchen… 1:18:18

2y ago1:18:18

1:18:18

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 …

1
#10 - Daniele la Cecilia: Backyard balsamic vinegar, a pizza oven and technological progress in agriculture 56:25

2y ago56:25

56:25

Daniele la Cecilia, a Maria Skłodowska-Curie Actions postdoctoral 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 …

1
#9 - Ana Deletic: From first flush and manholes to pendulums of stormwater, engineering and life 1:16:13

2y ago1:16:13

1:16:13

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 ment…

1
#8 - Megan A. Farrelly: Don't forget the social - experiments in urban water and energy transitions 1:24:30

2y ago1:24:30

1:24:30

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 surroun…

1
#7 - Abishek Narayan: There are no silver bullets for the toilet, city or life's journey - just keep rowing 1:11:10

2y ago1:11:10

1:11:10

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…

1
#6 - Arya Arabshahi: Citymaking in times of crises, from yoghurt shops to plans of resistance 1:12:57

2y ago1:12:57

1:12:57

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 cours…

1
#5 - Peter A. Vanrolleghem: Like wastewater for chocolate - control, serendipity and digital twins 1:23:33

2y ago1:23:33

1:23:33

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 plannin…

1
#4 - Sofia Boarino: Good vibrations – a sensorial journey into urban soundscapes and acoustic design 1:09:39

2y ago1:09:39

1:09:39

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 perspe…

1
#3 - Martijn Kuller: A game of planning, a set of maps and a match of nature-based solutions 1:08:58

2+ y ago1:08:58

1:08:58

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 fee…

1
#2 - Scott Lloyd: Cohabitation and close encounters with myths in urban design 1:07:05

2+ y ago1:07:05

1:07:05

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 urbanizati…

1
#1 - Joao P. Leitao: Engineers never say never and never say always - a new take on flood models 55:07

2+ y ago55:07

55:07

João Paulo Leitão is a researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag) and lecturer at ETH Zurich working on data-driven flood models and urban water asset management. On this inaugural episode of the Grand Challengers Podcast, we discuss how João's Portuguese heritage has influenced his work and how he is using mo…

1
#0 - Teaser 2:10

2+ y ago2:10

2:10

The Grand Challengers Podcast is a show about inspiring individuals who are stepping up to a variety of global challenges such as climate change, rapid urbanization, biodiversity loss and many more. Each episode centres around a guest from the cutting edges of the natural and social sciences, engineering, technology and design, who offers not only …

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Peter Marcus Bach Podcasts

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