First observed in 2006, World Down Syndrome Day is celebrated annually to raise public awareness and insight into the lives of people who have Down Syndrome. Recognizing the need for global support in this endeavor, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution in December 2011 to officially codify March 21 as World Down Syndrome Day. In this episode of If/When, we spoke about family life and Down Syndrome with Nicola Enoch, chief executive officer of Positive About Down Syndrome, a UK-based advocacy organization; Stephanie Bywater, Jacobs Divisional Director, Highways Framework Manager; and Lara Jumagdao, Jacobs Senior Architect/Fire and Life Safety Specialist.

Ever since the Space Age began in the 1950s, man-made objects have been filling the nighttime sky in an increasing number. But what happens to all those rockets and components floating around our world? Though some burn up in the atmosphere, an ever-growing number of artificial objects litter the stratosphere, presenting potential dangers to astronauts and costly damages to satellites and spacecraft. In this episode of If/When we explored the topic of orbital debris with Dr. Phillip Anz-Meador, Orbital Debris Principal Scientist, Jacobs JETS Contract Group. In the discussion that follows, we talked about the size and scope of the problem of orbital debris, the safety hazards it presents, and what is being done to remediate the problem.

In April 1972, he became the youngest person ever to walk on the Moon – a record he still holds to this day. Just three years prior, he served in a critical role as part of the Mission Control team for Apollo 11, and he was later a member of the backup crew for the ill-fated Apollo 13. But in the heyday of NASA’s lunar explorations, he would eventually get his own shot at walking on the moon. As we close in on the 50th anniversary of the flight of Apollo 16, we sat down with General Charlie Duke, lunar module pilot for this historic flight, to reminisce about his three-day excursion to earth’s farthest shore.

As more and more investors and boards elevate the importance given to Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance metrics, greater emphasis is being placed on reporting and transparency. To help ensure investors are able to make informed decisions related to ESG matters, the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (or TCFD) was founded in 2015 as a mechanism to provide standardized reporting methods for organizations to communicate their climate impact data. To learn more about the TCFD and business climate resilience, our guests are Adam Liddle – Jacobs Director of Corporate Sustainability, and Craig Clifton – Jacobs Global Technology Leader for Resilience and Climate Change.

With the intersection of advanced data technologies and the evolution of healthcare, both providers and patients look to benefit, but security, privacy and data hygiene still loom as potential areas of concern. In this episode of If/When, we discuss data science advances in the context of healthcare with two data science experts from Jacobs - Dr. Jennifer Blum and David Morgareidge.

On this episode of If/When we sat down with two experts from the famed SETI Institute whose passion is listening to the stars and seeking new life - Dr. Nathalie Cabrol, Director of the Carl Sagan Center for the Study of Life in the Universe and Dr. Seth Shostak, Senior Astronomer. We asked Nathalie and Seth to expound on topics such as, "If intelligent life is out there, why has it been so hard for us to find any evidence of it?"; "What kinds of advances in technology will be needed to discover life among the stars?"; and "What can extreme environments on Earth teach us about the potential presence of life on other planets?"

As sea levels rise, coastal habitats will find it necessary to migrate landwards. But when human-made constructions such as sea walls impede their progress, the habitats are squeezed, resulting in the loss of life-sustaining environments. To lessen those impacts, scientists are developing solutions such as compensatory habitats to preserve affected sea-life. In this episode of If/When, we explore the challenge of coastal squeeze with Dr. Chrissy Mitchell, National Principal Research Scientist - Flood, Coast, Reservoirs, UK Environment Agency and Dr. Nigel Pontee, Global Practice Leader, Coastal Planning & Engineering, Jacobs.

Winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, Dr. Daniel Kahneman is Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs Emeritus at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology Emeritus at Princeton University, and a fellow of the Center for Rationality at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In this episode of If/When, Dr. Kahneman shared his thoughts on how to recognize cognitive noise and decrease its negative effects, as well as where emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence will potentially factor into human decision making.

On this episode of If/When, we discuss the evolving role of the data scientist and how organizations can embrace greater confidence in the use of data and analytics in their decision-making activities, with Dr. Kirk Borne, chief science officer at DataPrime, and Jacobs Global Technology Lead for Predictive Analytics Michael Brown.

Gary Rydstrom, film director and sound designer with Skywalker Sound, has built a career of using innovation, imagination and technology to help bring to life some of the most beloved cinematic stories of the last forty years. On this episode of If/When, we discussed the lessons Gary has learned as an innovator, the role of playfulness in the creative process, and what keeps him motivated to continue delivering superior results.

With a body of work that includes two dozen solo records and a resume of working with the who’s who of rock royalty, our guest’s place in the pantheon of popular music is as truly unique as the inventive sounds and songs he produces with his guitar. On this episode of If/When we had the pleasure of sitting down with the one and only Adrian Belew.

On this episode of If/When, we’re discussing cybersecurity with an emphasis on the built environment and the infrastructure needs of smart cities with Dr. Rick Robinson, Jacobs Director – Smart Places, Telecommunications & Digital Infrastructure, and Nigel Stanley, Jacobs Director of Cybersecurity - People & Places Solutions.