Imagine a time when a magnitude 7.5 earthquake on the Wellington Fault is as insignificant as a thunderstorm. Where the buildings we live and work in are built to withstand ground shaking and ground deformation caused by earthquakes. 

This isn’t just a dream. Everyday scientists and engineers are working side by side to improve building, infrastructure, and urban design to be safer and more resilient to the effects of earthquakes. 

With new technology uncovering the earth’s secrets, we have never been in a better position to use this knowledge to fortify our built environment and ensure we build smartly. 

Seismologists Nicola Litchfield and Anna Kaiser come together to discuss the future of our dynamic landscape and how scientists are supporting smarter cities to keep people safer and the economy moving.

In this episode, Bill takes us behind the scenes of New Zealand’s only ion beam facility — a powerhouse of science and innovation with roots stretching back to the legacy of Ernest Rutherford, the father of nuclear physics. While it might sound like science fiction, this particle accelerator is a hidden force shaping our future.

From developing new materials and improving hydrogen catalysts to solving crime scenes and advancing 5G technology, ion beam science is quietly shaping the world around us. Our researchers can engineer new materials at the atomic level in ways that aren’t possible in many other places in the world. At the moment, we’re advancing innovations like hydrogen energy generation, magnetic semiconductors, and energy-efficient coatings. They’re also creating magnetic structures to manipulate magnetic fields — think glow-beam technology depositing silver on hip implants!

Our ‘land of the shaky isles’ – is subject to the whims of tectonic plates and volcanoes, oceans, and geological processes. Using leading tech, the RiskScape powered supercomputer is humming away, crunching data and scenarios every second. It can tell us which roads would close following an Alpine Fault earthquake, whether volcanic ash will land on your roof and even whether a sea wall would protect your community from both tsunami and erosion. Dr. Nick Horspool discuss the science behind the endless possibilities to reduce our exposure to risk.