The Grand Challengers Podcast
Episodes
#59 - Galina Yordanova: Human Consciousness is the most valuable business asset in the Age of AI
23 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In a world racing toward automation and AI-driven efficiency, what happens to the humans inside the machine? With nearly a billion people worldwide li...
#58 - Juan Pablo Carbajal: Tadpoles, tolerance and why AI alignment is really a human problem
02 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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...
#57 - Hiten Sonpal: A LEGO crane, a belt and disrupting the 600 billion dollar robotics industry
16 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
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 replac...
#56 - Fred Jordan: The power of mathematics, anti-counterfeiting to "wetware" and how biocomputing will disrupt our future
29 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fred Jordan, scientist, entrepreneur and co-founder of AlpVision and FinalSpark in Vevey, Switzerland reveals the power of mathematics to us and how h...
The NotebookLM Mini Series #10 (FINALE): The long-overdue critical reflection, "backstage pass" and exclusive conversation with AI on AI
28 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#55 - Julia K. Dietmar: A new take on “dress to impress” - the intersection of sustainability, fashion, AI and the magic number 30
17 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Julia K. Dietmar, co-founder and CEO of OpenWardrobe in Redwood City, California USA sheds some light on the sustainability of the fashion industry, t...
The NotebookLM Mini Series #9: "Super SUPER tiny plastic dust" explained at three levels of difficulty (feat. Denise Mitrano)
01 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#54 - Mats Larsson: What it takes for the sustainable energy transition - from electric vehicles to full grid transformation
24 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mats Larsson, Founder of the Global Energy Transformation (GET) Institute, based in southern Sweden, discusses what it takes to transition to global e...
#53 - Alma Schellart: Making data open, making models talk and embracing uncertainty to solve 100-year old urban drainage challenges
10 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Alma Schellart, Senior Lecturer in Water and Engineering at the University of Sheffield, England dives into the world of urban drainage, models and un...
#52 - Makoto Kern: Feature-centric to user-centric - UX Design to navigate global challenges and the “AI Competence Mirage”
27 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Makoto Kern, Founder and Principal Design Consultant at iiimpact in Austin Texas USA dives deep into the world of UX (User Experience) Design and show...
#51 - Rob Wreglesworth: A culture reboot for nature, biodiversity and conservation through incentives, conversations and T-shirts
13 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Rob Wreglesworth, Associate Ecologist and Innovation Lead at The Environment Bank, Co-Founder of No Longer Known and Host of the Innovate Eco Podcast,...
#50 - Tables Turned: Part 2 - Personal reflections on Switzerland vs. favourite places, academia, nature, music, my career and much more…
06 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To celebrate 50 episodes of The Grand Challengers Podcast (main series), we return with another "Tables Turned" episode, this time featuring...
#49 - Nadja Kunz: Towards water stewardship in mining, understanding critical minerals, safer and sustainable resource management
08 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Nadja Kunz, Associate Professor at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada shares her insights on...
#48 - Christoph Ort: Sewers, Drugs and Rock n' Roll - from wastewater surveillance to saving lives in the pandemic
25 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Christoph Ort, Group Leader and Head of the Urban Water Maangement Department at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology dives into the world of was...
The NotebookLM Mini Series #8: "Broken Telephone" - lost in translation between leapfrogging and Dunkelflaute (feat. Mashael Yazdanie)
20 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#47 - Wei-Shan Chen: Valuing food waste and greening - the experience in delivering technology and tools to close the carbon and water cycles
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Wei Shan Chen, also known as "Momo", Assistant Professor at Wageningen University shares his journey from Materials Engineering into the env...
The NotebookLM Mini Series #7: The “Tablecloth Problem”, headwaters in focus and the pollution party (feat. Belinda Hatt)
14 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#46 - Mark Swinnerton: Gravity vs. "giant hockey pucks" - what disused mines and renewable energy storage have in common
07 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mark Swinnerton, CEO of Green Gravity, shares his journey from metallurgy to mining operations and currently gravitational storage technology to suppo...
The NotebookLM Mini Series #6: These are neither the pollutants nor researcher you are looking for (feat. Lena Mutzner)
23 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#45 - Lena Mutzner: “A list that keeps getting longer” - understanding pollutants of emerging concern for healthier aquatic environments
16 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lena Mutzner, Group Leader in the Urban Water Management Department at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology discusses the i...
The NotebookLM Mini Series #5: Plot Twist! Figure 3 says more than a thousand words and a third of the hot dogs (feat. Yannick Back)
02 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#44 - Jarrod Luxton: What does a best-practice sustainability strategy look like? Discussing nature, valuation, Nordic and Aussie contrasts
19 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Jarrod Luxton, Senior Lead at the Finnish Innovation Fund (Sitra), Board Member of Finland's Sustainable Investment Forum (finsif) and Founder of...
The NotebookLM Mini Series #4: Jalapeños as part of the urban form and a lesson in Dutch (feat. Martijn Kuller)
12 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#43 - Tom Young: Answers to sustainability are in the links between green roofs, beer, mushrooms, golf, water, cowboys and community
05 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Thomas Young, Associate and Blue-Green Infrastructure Specialist at The Environment Partnership (TEP) in the UK shows us his journey from the technica...
#42 - Mashael Yazdanie: "Doing the right things the right way" - how to holistically plan for sufficiency and renewable energy
21 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mashael Yazdanie, Group Leader, Scientist and Lecturer at the Urban Energy Systems Lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Materials Science & Techn...
The NotebookLM Mini Series #3: Multi-tasking superheroes and going meta on AI (feat. Veljko Prodanovic)
14 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The NotebookLM Mini Series #2: Playing "Urban Tetris" and "Heat Detectives" with Blue Green Systems (feat. João P. Leitão)
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#41 - Don Weatherbee: "Catalyzing" change beyond the mine - scaling up metals regeneration to enable the future circular economy
31 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The NotebookLM Mini Series #1: Cooling establishment time, it's like baking a cake (feat. Lucas Gobatti)
17 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
#40 - João P. Leitão: Studying the extremes - "when it rains, it floods", and "just add water" when "the heat is on"
10 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
João P. Leitão, Senior Researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag), Professor at ETH Zurich and the first ...
#39 - Lucas Gobatti: Spinoza, science, spirituality - confronting ‘displacements’ in planning urban nature, climate and heat
10 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Lucas Gobatti, PhD research at ETH Zurich and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) goes deep into how Albert Einstein...
#38 - Patricia Cuervo Uría: The human side of planning and flood risk in London - the challenge of embedding history into policy
27 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Patricia Cuervo Uría, Regional Delivery Manager at Binnies in the UK, Chartered Planner and fellow member of the Chartered Institution of Water and E...
#37 - Brett Ferrin: "Safeguarding the ordinary" - achieving traffic safety planning and management in a data-rich, AI-powered world
13 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Brett Ferrin, Vice President of Sales North America at Traffic Logix discusses the evolving and more complex nature of traffic safety management and g...
#36 - Tables Turned: Part 1 - Guests ask me questions on the podcast origin story, life choices and more
09 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
#35 - Yannick Back: The answers are beyond the "clouds" - the water-energy link for climate adaptation in a world of data ubiquity
11 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Yannick Back, Research Fellow at the Unit of Environmental Engineering, Innsbruck University shares an alternative way of looking at planning for urba...
#34 - Denise Mitrano: A world of plastics from macro and micro to nano - should zero plastics be the long-term goal?
28 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Denise Mitrano, Assistant Professor in the Environmental System Science Department at ETH Zurich sheds some light into the topic of plastics pollution...
#33 - Bill Hunt: America's evolving stormwater management, our innate connection to water and walking your "Camino"
30 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Bill Hunt, Professor and Extension specialist at North Carolina State University, USA shares with us his journey from a love of hydrology to creating ...
#32 - Luis Angel Sañudo Fontaneda: Partnering with nature in Spain's journey to Sustainable Drainage and Climate Adaptation
16 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Luis Angel Sañudo Fontaneda, Associate Professor at the University of Oviedo, Spain, brings us on a journey through Spain's history in adopting ...
#31 - Neil Armitage: Reflections, from a canoe chute and litter traps to Day Zero and South Africa's Sustainable Drainage
12 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Neil Armitage, Emeritus Professor from the University of Cape Town reflects on his journey from engineering through to academia and the human side of ...
#30 - Tobias Baur: From tropical Singapore to Europe - the "ABC Waters" of sponge cities and climate adaptive design
03 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Tobias Baur, Professor in Landscape Architecture at the Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences (OST), Rapperswil and former partner at Stu...
#29 - Katrin Pakizer: Grassroots movements, policy instruments and timing for transforming water, biodiversity and underground management
27 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Katrin Pakizer, Research Associate from the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Tech...
#28 - Alexa Delbosc: A social psychology toolkit for changing transport planning, built environment and future mobility
30 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Alexa Delbosc, Associate Professor at the Monash University Institute of Transport Studies, Australia demonstrates how social psychology concepts and ...
#27 - Darcy Molnar: A personal journey, from Africa to Switzerland - insights on education, nature-based solutions and women scientists
09 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Darcy Molnar, Senior Program Coordinator at the Leopold-Bachmann Foundation and the Masters in Advanced Studies (MAS) in Water Resources Program Coord...
#26 - Manuel Fischer: The Good, the Bad, and the Socio-Political - can science really support collaborative policymaking?
18 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Manuel Fischer, Professor at the Institute of Political Science, University of Bern, group leader in Policy Analysis and Environmental Governance and ...
#25 - Shubber Ali: Your garden, the 'field of dreams' for tackling the twin crises of climate change and artificial intelligence
05 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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 im...
#24 - Jon Hathaway: The ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of green infrastructure, opening a ‘can of worms’ and gaining control of watersheds
19 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Jon Hathaway, Associate Professor at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee Knoxville sheds light on the origi...
#23 - Markus Vogl: To give 'space' - from a library to collaborative urban transformation and rethinking the architect's role
05 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Markus Vogl, Professor at the University of Stuttgart, senior partner at Studio Urban Strategies and former "Walter Gropius Chair" at the Fa...
#22 - Françoise Bichai: "God-like technologies in medieval institutions", discussing paradigm shifts for greener, water-resilient cities
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Françoise Bichai, Associate Professor from Polytechnique Montreal discusses the complexity, challenge and necessity of interdisciplinary collaboratio...
#21 - Danielle Dagenais: The paradox of nature - process and parts and its implications for green infrastructure
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Danielle Dagenais, Professor in Urban Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Montreal discusses her interdisciplinary journey from g...
#20 - Belinda Hatt: Stormwater control measures, healthy waterways, battleships and karate at the riverside camp
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Belinda Hatt, waterways and wetlands research specialist at Melbourne Water and University of Melbourne, Australia, reflects on her journey through ac...
#19 - Anna Lintern: Diving deep into the underground, ‘forensics’ on river water quality to uncover environmental past and future?
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Anna Lintern, senior lecturer and head of the water group at te Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Australia, discusses how she has c...
#18 - Fritz Kleinschroth: From tropical forests to the city - reconciliation ecology between human infrastructure and nature conservation
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Fritz Kleinschroth, senior research scientist at the Ecosystem Management Group of ETH Zurich reflects on various examples where human infrastructure ...
#17 - Mohan Yellishetty: What to do with a hole in the ground - re-mining for critical minerals, rehabilitation and repurposing
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mohan Yellishetty from Resources Engineering at Monash University, Australia sheds light on the importance of minerals extraction and how we can under...
#16 - Mattheos Santamouris: A 'hot' topic for cooler cities - high performance architecture to combat urban overheating
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Mattheos Santamouris, the Anita Lawrence Professor of High Performance Architecture at the University of New South Wales, Australia, discusses the imp...
#15 - Juan Pablo Rodríguez Sánchez: "Restrictions and constraints breed innovation" - sewers and nature-based solutions in Colombia
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Juan Pablo Rodríguez Sánchez, Associate Professor at Universidad de los Andes in Bogotá, Colombia shares how data scarcity is not a limitation, but...
#14 - Janine Bolliger: Lights, Camera, GPS and Action around biodiversity enhancement in human-dominated landscapes
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Janine Bolliger, senior researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL) and lecturer at the University of Zuri...
#13 - Veljko Prodanovic: Going vertical in a green horizontal world and promoting urban water and nature co-design
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Veljko Prodanovic, a senior researcher at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Australia, discusses the intricacies of designing sustainable verti...
#12 - Liah Coggins: "Pondering" conversations around banana bread and boats from across the fence
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Liah Coggins, an environmental engineer from the University of Western Australia shares how she has created impact in the water industry with a si...
#11 - Anas Ghadouani: A limnologist, filmmaker, foodie, water diplomat, and passionate teacher walk into a kitchen…
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Anas Ghadouani, professor in environmental engineering at the University of Western Australia, limnologist and overall advocate for collaborative lear...
#10 - Daniele la Cecilia: Backyard balsamic vinegar, a pizza oven and technological progress in agriculture
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Daniele la Cecilia, a Maria Skłodowska-Curie Actions postdoctoral resresearch fellow from the University of Padova, Italy recounts his journey, combi...
#9 - Ana Deletic: From first flush and manholes to pendulums of stormwater, engineering and life
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Ana Deletic, professor in urban stormwater and Executive Dean of Engineering at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) shares her remarkable journe...
#8 - Megan A. Farrelly: Don't forget the social - experiments in urban water and energy transitions
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Associate Professor Megan A. Farrelly, a human geography and the Associate Dean of Graduate Research from the Faculty of Arts, Monash University Austr...
#7 - Abishek Narayan: There are no silver bullets for the toilet, city or life's journey - just keep rowing
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Abishek Narayan, research scientist at the Department of Sanitation, Water and Solid Waste for Development (SANDEC) at the Swiss Federal Institute...
#6 - Arya Arabshahi: Citymaking in times of crises, from yoghurt shops to plans of resistance
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Arya Arabshahi, an architect and territorial strategist discusses his take on the idea of citymaking - what we define as a city, what constitutes a ci...
#5 - Peter A. Vanrolleghem: Like wastewater for chocolate - control, serendipity and digital twins
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Peter A. Vanrolleghem, professor in bio-engineering, environmental technology and urban water quality reflects on his journey from chocolate and spagh...
#4 - Sofia Boarino: Good vibrations – a sensorial journey into urban soundscapes and acoustic design
13 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Sofia Boarino, an architect and musician specializing in urban soundscapes shares how she has been exploring the importance and necessity of acousti...
#3 - Martijn Kuller: A game of planning, a set of maps and a match of nature-based solutions
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Martijn Kuller, an interdisciplinary researcher and tennis enthusiast discusses his journey across the world in pursuit of better tools to support not...
#2 - Scott Lloyd: Cohabitation and close encounters with myths in urban design
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Scott Lloyd, an architect and founding member of TEN Studio in Zurich Switzerland has been exploring emerging themes in architecture and urban design ...
#1 - Joao P. Leitao: Engineers never say never and never say always - a new take on flood models
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
João Paulo Leitão is a researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science & Technology (Eawag) and lecturer at ETH Zurich working on d...
#0 - Teaser
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The Grand Challengers Podcast is a show about inspiring individuals who are stepping up to a variety of global challenges such as climate change, rapi...