The ever-increasing pace and impact of technological change has been the subject of fascination for investors, educators, entrepreneurs, and pundits of varying stripes at least as far back as 1965, when Gordon Moore first postulated his now-famous law. As emerging technology continues to build upon itself, the trajectory of change is likely to continue accelerating, and tomorrow’s workforce needs to get a handle now on the critical technical disciplines necessary to thrive in the future. On this episode of If/When, we explored the topic of STEAM education – what it is, why it’s important and how to get more of today’s students involved in it – with three STEAM education advocates from Jacobs: Kara Connon, STEAM Lead for Europe; Lainie Harber, Communications Project Manager; and Samuel Stanford, Structural Engineer, Jacobs Electronics Team.

In the world of popular music and culture, in terms of longevity, breadth and diversity of projects, he has few peers. From being the front man for legendary new wave band and video pioneers, Devo (2022 nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame), to a prolific film and TV composer whose credits include Thor: Ragnarok, The Royal Tenenbaums, Pitch Perfect 2, Happy Gilmore and The Lego Movie, Mark Mothersbaugh has left his own unique imprint on the world of audio and video media. In this episode of If/When, Mark discusses the inspiration of ideas, and maintaining fidelity to a creative vision when pioneering something new.

When it comes to weaponized AI, you can forget Skynet, Ultron and Hal 9000 – the AI villains plaguing commercial operations these days come in the forms of poisoned data sets, hijacked AI models, and adversarial samples. The world of malevolent data is no longer just the stuff of science fiction, but a reality that cybersecurity experts, data scientists and supply chain managers all need to be cognizant of. In this episode of If/When, we explored the topic of adversarial artificial intelligence with Dr. Jennifer Blum, Senior Director Data Scientist for Jacobs CMS Cyber & Intelligence Business Unit; and Charles Ramsay, Director/Data Scientist, Jacobs CMS Cyber & Intelligence Business Unit.

With the goal of improving environmental stewardship and economic resilience, innovators are employing new solutions to address the challenges of municipal waste management. At the forefront of concepts being explored is the circular economy model, which focuses on reuse, repair and recycling. In this episode of If/When we explored how a circular economic model can be deployed to address waste management, with guests Eric Oddo, Environmental Engineering Program Manager, Western Placer Waste Management Authority, and Janet Goodrich, P.E, Waste Solutions Global Technology Leader, Jacobs.

First observed in 2006, World Down Syndrome Day is celebrated annually to raise public awareness and insight into the lives of people who have Down Syndrome. Recognizing the need for global support in this endeavor, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in December 2011 to officially codify March 21 as World Down Syndrome Day. In this episode of If/When, we spoke about family life and Down Syndrome with Nicola Enoch, chief executive officer of Positive About Down Syndrome, a UK-based advocacy organization; Stephanie Bywater, Jacobs Divisional Director, Highways Framework Manager; and Lara Jumagdao, Jacobs Senior Architect/Fire and Life Safety Specialist.

In this special edition of Inflection Points, CEO of Crossrail Ltd, Mark Wild, joins Jacobs People & Places Solutions Senior Vice President for Europe and Digital Strategies Donald Morrison and Jacobs People & Places Solutions Program Director Russell Pilgrim, to discuss learnings from and benefits of the development of London’s new Elizabeth line.

Ever since the Space Age began in the 1950s, man-made objects have been filling the nighttime sky in an increasing number. But what happens to all those rockets and components floating around our world? Though some burn up in the atmosphere, an ever-growing number of artificial objects litter the stratosphere, presenting potential dangers to astronauts and costly damages to satellites and spacecraft. In this episode of If/When we explored the topic of orbital debris with Dr. Phillip Anz-Meador, Orbital Debris Principal Scientist, Jacobs JETS Contract Group. In the discussion that follows, we talked about the size and scope of the problem of orbital debris, the safety hazards it presents, and what is being done to remediate the problem.

In April 1972, he became the youngest person ever to walk on the Moon – a record he still holds to this day. Just three years prior, he served in a critical role as part of the Mission Control team for Apollo 11, and he was later a member of the backup crew for the ill-fated Apollo 13. But in the heyday of NASA’s lunar explorations, he would eventually get his own shot at walking on the moon. As we close in on the 50th anniversary of the flight of Apollo 16, we sat down with General Charlie Duke, lunar module pilot for this historic flight, to reminisce about his three-day excursion to earth’s farthest shore.

As more and more investors and boards elevate the importance given to Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance metrics, greater emphasis is being placed on reporting and transparency. To help ensure investors are able to make informed decisions related to ESG matters, the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (or TCFD) was founded in 2015 as a mechanism to provide standardized reporting methods for organizations to communicate their climate impact data. To learn more about the TCFD and business climate resilience, our guests are Adam Liddle – Jacobs Director of Corporate Sustainability, and Craig Clifton – Jacobs Global Technology Leader for Resilience and Climate Change.

With the intersection of advanced data technologies and the evolution of healthcare, both providers and patients look to benefit, but security, privacy and data hygiene still loom as potential areas of concern. In this episode of If/When, we discuss data science advances in the context of healthcare with two data science experts from Jacobs - Dr. Jennifer Blum and David Morgareidge.

In this final episode we discuss COP26 and the Path Ahead and reflect on learnings from across the series and to discuss how we can Collaborate. Act. Commit to create a more resilient and sustainable world, together.

Coming to you live from the World Climate Summit in Glasgow, we’ll be bringing you the key highlights from the event and chatting with some of the world’s most influential green leaders. Join us as we explore the latest partnerships, policies, innovations and investments that are driving action on climate change.