Innovation Incoming: Weather Warnings from AI celebrated the achievements of Google DeepMind, the 2024 recipient of the MacRobert Award, the UK’s longest running and most prestigious prize for engineering innovation, hosted by BBC Weather presenter and meteorologist Tomasz Schafernaker.
This panel discussion delved into Google DeepMind’s ground-breaking GraphCast technology and how it utilises AI to provide weather forecasts with unprecedented accuracy.
Our panel of experts provided insights into the development and functionality of GraphCast as well as discussed the challenges overcome during its creation, the technology's real-world applications, and its potential to save lives and mitigate the economic impact of extreme weather events.
The panel consisted of:
- Professor Sir Richard Friend FREng FRS, Immediate Past Chair, MacRobert Award Committee
- Professor Penelope Endersby CBE FREng, CEO, The Met Office
- Dr Joshua Macabuag FREng, Co-Founder and CPO, Renew Risk
- Peter Battaglia, Research Scientist, Google DeepMind
Tomasz Schafernaker
Peter Battaglia
Professor Penelope Endersby CBE FREng
Professor Sir Richard Friend FREng FRS
Dr Joshua Macabuag OBE FREng
Dr Joshua Macabuag OBE FREng is the CEO of renewable risk analytics firm, Renew Risk. As one of the company’s co-founders, and previously serving as Chief Product Officer, Macabuag has played a central role in shaping Renew Risk since its formation in 2021. Today, his focus is on leading the firm’s strategic direction and highlighting the need for a new approach to risk management for the renewable energy industry to insurers, energy developers and investment firms. Prior to Renew Risk's formation, Macabuag spent his career across engineering and catastrophe modelling roles, holding positions at several (re)insurers, The World Bank, and University College London. Outside of his work at Renew Risk, Macabuag has spent 14 years volunteering as an Urban Search & Rescue Engineer for the NGO SARAID, which has seen him deployed internationally to disasters including the 2015 Nepal earthquake, Hurricane Irma recovery in the Turks and Caicos Islands in 2017, and to the Beirut port explosion in 2020. His contributions were recognised in 2025 with an Order of the British Empire (OBE).