Over the past four months, Australia-based engineer Siamak Paulson (ADE Consulting Group Pty Ltd) has hosted an occasional podcast, the eponymously named Siamak’s Geosynthetics Podcast. Siamak interviews experts in the field in succinct bites (< 15 minutes) on careers, pressing environmental or technical issues, and more. Current episodes available on YouTube include interviews with Mike Dobie, Brendan Swifte, and, most recently, Boyd Ramsey.
SIAMAK PAULSON & BOYD RAMSEY
The interview between Siamak Paulson and Boyd Ramsey followed a two-day workshop in Brisbane. (Watch the video with the player atop this story.) A guiding note in the discussion is Australia’s strong engineering culture, characterized by a constant search for new solutions. The country’s climate extremes, Ramsey notes, are part of what spur this search. Geosynthetics in their basic formulations work great all over the world, including in Australia, but the Australian market is also very interested in formulations that are more specific to its environmental challenges.
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Other topics Siamak and Ramsey touch on, all of which are tied closely to environmental responsibility:
- Recycled material in geosynthetics
- Addressing PFAS contamination in the environment
- The value of a career in geosynthetics
KEY QUOTE
“We get to firsthand make the world a better place,” Ramsey says of the geosynthetics field. “We should feel proud of the accomplishments that our industry makes.”
Ramsey cites how engineering in a niche like geosynthetics gives him a sense of purpose, as it not just provides income but is deeply connected to topics that matter to him and so many others: the environment. He summarizes that purpose with a slide.
Watch the video above and subscribe to Siamak’s YouTube Channel.
