Original version

BBC World Service Australasia

Discovery

Documentaries

Factual: Science & Nature

Factual: Science & Nature: Science & Technology

No Master Brand

BBC World Service Online

BBC World Service schedule for American satellite radio and the Caribbean

BBC World Service Americas and the Caribbean

BBC World Service

BBC World Service South Asia

BBC World Service News Internet

BBC World Service Europe and the Middle East

BBC World Service East Asia

BBC Afghan Radio

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa Schedule

BBC World Service East and Southern Africa

BBC World Service West and Central Africa Schedule

BBC World Service West and Central Africa

Discovery: The Life Scientific: Deborah Greaves

Magazines & Reviews

Deborah Greaves

09/10/2023 GMT

The Life Scientific: Deborah Greaves

BBC World Service - Discovery, The Life Scientific: Deborah Greaves

Jim Al-Khalili speaks to Deborah Greaves about wave energy and her love of the sea.

If you’ve ever seen the ocean during a storm, you’ll understand the extraordinary power contained in waves. On an island nation like Britain, that power could well be harnessed to produce clean energy; so why have we barely begun to tap this bountiful resource?
Deborah Greaves is trying to change that. As Professor of Ocean Engineering at the University of Plymouth, she combines physical wave tanks with sophisticated computer modelling to test how well wave power devices respond to stormy seas. And as Director of the Supergen ORE Hub, she brings together researchers in offshore renewable energy to imagine a future of widespread, eco-friendly ocean power.
Deborah tells Jim Al-Khalili about growing up in Plymouth fascinated by the sea, and about breaking from the norm in her arts-focused family, to pursue a degree in engineering. But she spent years as a civil engineer building tunnels for the London Underground - and going on expeditions to the Arctic with her husband - before undertaking a PhD at Oxford University, exploring what happens when waves crash into solid structures.
She eventually returned to Plymouth and set up the institute’s Coastal, Ocean and Sediment Transport (COAST) Laboratory - a building with a swimming-pool-sized wave tank for testing new technologies. As Jim hears, these wave devices have an extraordinary diversity of uses - and could help to propel Britain into a greener energy future.

(Photo: Deborah Greaves. Credit: Deborah Greaves)

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Discovery

The Life Scientific: Deborah Greaves

Genres

Formats

Brand

BBC World Service Australasia

About BBC World Service