In the latest episode of The Engineers Collective from New Civil Engineer, host Rob Hakimian welcomes Professor John Orr from the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) and Cambridge University Department of Engineering.

They discuss the IStructE’s upcoming 2024 Structural Awards, which seeks to honour the outstanding structures from all over the globe that have been completed in the last year.

After discussing the history of the awards and how they’ve evolved over the years, John talks about what the IStructE looks for in the outstanding candidates. These are centred around the four key judging attributes: planet, people, process and profession. John highlights four entries from this year’s Structural Awards, which offer variety of type, purpose and location and were emblematic of each of those four attributes.

The discussion concludes with looking ahead to further editions of the Structural Awards and what factors John would like to see more of from entries going forward.

Prior to the interview portion, Rob welcomes NCE’s senior reporters Tom Pashby and Thomas Johnson to discuss recent site visits to GE Vernova’s new valve manufacturing facility, Tottenham Hotspur’s stadium and under construction nuclear power plant Hinkley Point C.

The latest episode of the Engineers Collective is out now: listen in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or your usual platform.

This month we’re joined by the International Hydropower Association (IHA) to discuss the “grandfather” of renewable energy. IHA senior energy policy manager Rebecca Ellis chats to NCE news editor Rob Hakimian about the history and importance of pumped storage hydro, covering how it works, its ability to “store” energy and why this is so crucial as the world transitions to a zero carbon energy system.

Rebecca also tells us about the engineering and risks involved with developing pumped storage hydro schemes, talks about the appetite for pumped storage hydro projects in the UK and around the globe and highlights some of the exciting new schemes and technologies that are emerging in the sector.

Prior to the interview portion, Rob is joined by NCE senior reporter Tom Pashby to discuss the potential impact of Hinkley Point C on fish populations in the Bristol Estuary and how a recent legal ruling could impact its plans, as well as the news that Liverpool City Region’s Mersey Tidal barrage scheme is moving forward.

The latest episode of The Engineers Collective from New Civil Engineer is all about the development and construction of East West Rail (EWR), the brand new railway being built between Oxford and Cambridge. Our interviewee is former East West Rail Company innovation manager Daisy Chapman-Chamberlain, who was involved with all the future-facing elements of this exciting project. It should be noted that since this interview was recorded in early May she moved on to a new role at Transport for the North.

Nevertheless, Chapman-Chamberlain’s insights about the way that EWR has been designed and specified to be a “railway fit for the future” are still relevant and pertinent not only to this project but to all railway developments. We also broaden out the conversation to hear her valuable insights on the state of the UK rail sector, innovating to improve areas including efficiency and accessibility, the challenges of inclusion and diversity in the rail sector and the prospect of rail reform.

Prior to the interview section, NCE news editor and podcast host Rob Hakimian chats with senior reporter Tom Pashby about the first weeks of the new government and what the infrastructure, energy and railway Bills announced in the King’s Speech signal to the civil engineering sector.