Posted inBlog
My Health – A True Blessing
Health is one of the greatest blessings in life, and there is no substitute for it. All the luxuries of the world can only be enjoyed if a person is…
Posted inEnergy
South Africa’s power generation plans are out of date: an urgent rethink is needed
South Africa’s economy has taken a number of very heavy body blows recently. These include a slowdown due to measures taken to control the spread of COVID-19, on top of…
Posted inEnergy
China will no longer build overseas coal power plants – what energy projects will it invest in instead?
Chinese President Xi Jinping recently announced at the UN General Assembly that China “will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad”.Chinese banks have already swung into gear. Three days after…
Posted inBlog
Getting more energy from the sun: how to make better solar cells
Global demand for energy is increasing by the hour as developing countries move toward industrialization. Experts estimate that by the year 2050, worldwide demand for electricity may reach 30 terawatts…
Posted inBlog
‘Digital twins’ can help monitor infrastructure and save us billions
Urban infrastructure – bridges, roads, railways, pipelines, power transmission towers and so on – must be inspected regularly to operate safely. Imagine if we used advanced technologies available to us,…
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The future impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on society and the labour force have been studied and reported extensively. In a recent book, AI Superpowers, Kai-Fu Lee, former president of…
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Sinkholes: when the ground fights back after centuries of exploitation
First, it swallowed a car. A few hours later, two terraced buildings. At 9pm on January 20, a crater measuring 4 sq metres appeared in Walmer Street, Manchester. Another sinkhole…
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How to train 21st century engineers for tech discoveries
The year is 1985. Portable CD players like the Sony Discman are the epitome of consumer technology: a battery-operated device that allows you to listen to music anywhere (provided you…
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Dyson’s move may not be about Brexit – but the timing was bound to fan flames
If a private company with around 5,000 employees moved its headquarters overseas a few years ago, it might not have attracted much attention beyond concerns for the local economic impact.…
Posted inBlog
Whisper it – jet engines are getting quieter
With no sign of our appetite for air travel diminishing, we need to create quieter aircraft that are easier to live with. In fact, while those living near airports may…
Posted inBlog
Want more innovation? Try connecting the dots between engineering and humanities
_This article is a part of The Conversation’s series on unique courses. For other articles in this series, read here and here. _Today’s college students may benefit from an exciting…