'Sustainable solutions in practice' was the theme of the second session at Engineers Ireland's recent national conference, and where members listened to presentations from ESB's Paddy Hayes; Transport Infrastructure Ireland's Peter Walsh; Arup's Mathew Vola; Atkins' Nicole La and Intel's Cathy Cronin.

While accurately predicting earthquakes is in the realm of science fiction, early warning systems are very much a reality. As advances in research and technology make these systems increasingly effective, they’re vital to reducing an earthquake’s human, social and economic toll.

Researchers are finding ways to ensure we have a sufficient supply of the raw materials needed to make everything from laptops to satellites. We look at the high-tech geomodels that could lead Europe into a more secure and independent future.

Researchers argue the plant could provide multiple benefits for California, including desalinated water and clean hydrogen fuel. 

Climate models are used to predict how the climate will likely respond to rising greenhouse gas concentrations in the coming decades, a timescale crucial to meeting the terms of the Paris Agreement. That’s why it’s necessary to keep developing and refining such models to better support climate policies.

Established energy sources such as offshore wind will play a big role in decarbonising the economy and slowing climate change. But how can a fully net-zero grid guarantee electricity when the wind drops again in the future? There is another way of generating clean energy that the UK has so far failed to exploit: tidal stream power.