Issues

Issue 104

September 2025

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Artist's illustration of several polished and cut diamonds, each containing depictions of potential applications for diamond technology, such as navigation and improving our understanding of the body.
  • Materials
  • Issue 104

Not just a pretty face: lab-grown diamonds in engineering

Far more than a sparkly rock with a hefty price tag, diamond is an incredibly versatile material that can help us solve some of our biggest problems – from diagnosing diseases earlier to making the electronics underpinning data centres more efficient. Leonie Mercedes finds out how.
A black fabric woven with over a thousand solar cells, which are seen as a white threaded pattern.
  • Materials
  • Electricals & electronics
  • Design & manufacturing
  • Issue 104

The road to scaling electronic clothes

Electronic clothes could become the next generation of wearable technology but haven’t landed in our wardrobes just yet. Florence Downs talks to the engineers weaving electronic components and circuits into textiles that are manufacturable, sustainable, and can withstand everyday life.

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A person wearing a white PPE suit and blue gloves, unrolling insulation in an attic.
  • Environment & sustainability
  • Technology & robotics
  • Innovation Watch
  • Issue 104

The drones diagnosing heat loss in buildings

Retrofitting the UK’s buildings could slash emissions and energy bills – but it can be hard to know where to start. Startup Kestrix aims to accelerate the process with drones equipped with thermal imaging technology and AI.

Quick read

A tall and short aluminium can, both silvery and unbranded, stand side by side.
  • Design & manufacturing
  • How does that work?
  • Issue 104

How are aluminium drinks cans made?

Ever taken a sip of a drink and wondered how the can, with seemingly no joins, is created and keeps your drink fresh? The answer is a finely tuned balance of design, engineering and sustainability.

A woman with long dark hair and wearing glasses stands in front of a bush outside while smiling at the camera
  • Civil & structural
  • Energy
  • Profiles
  • Issue 104

Bringing geotechnical engineering to the surface

Having made her way into engineering by “accident”, Professor Susan Gourvenec FREng is now a leading authority in resilient and intelligent ocean engineering, particularly when it comes to offshore wind farm infrastructure.
The plastic covered geodesic domes of the Eden Project seen below a bright but cloudy sky.
  • Energy
  • Environment & sustainability
  • Issue 104

Deep geothermal energy: a renewable option for the UK?

In the UK, geothermal energy is not recognised as a natural resource, such as water or gas is. But this might all be about to change thanks to several pioneering projects and innovative technologies allowing us to tap into the heat locked deep within the ground beneath our feet, says Lee Williams.

Three children sit in a ride carriage with their backs to the camera in front of a simulation of colourful hot air balloons on a large screen
  • Sports & leisure
  • Technology & robotics
  • Issue 104

Dark rides: how digital technologies are transforming theme parks

Theme parks often look for ways to test the limits of what is possible in their rides, relying on speed, height and numerous inversions to give riders the ultimate thrill. Now, advances in digital technologies are becoming just as essential to their daily operations and existence.