No Problem Too Big: Why I Do What I Do

“I love solutions, but you know, I think I love a problem more…”

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“I'm a scientist, and I've always liked the idea of doing two things at the same time: of bringing together different disciplines, or of bringing new solutions to old problems. It’s that sense of combining ideas and approaches that gets me out of bed in the morning, I suppose."

“Right from the start, I was studying engineering but also entrepreneurship alongside it. For me, it was about getting some science into everything I was doing in my day job. As a result of that, one of the things I’ve witnessed in my career is how great an impact you can have when you introduce new technology, in a sensible, grounded way, to industries that may have had reservations about it in the past. Industries that may – understandably - not be early-adopters, but when they do get to grips with a technology and use it to take a fresh look at their own operations, they’re the ones that make big, big advances. A lot of what I’m committed to is being able to make that happen.

“I think early on I realised that mining – and certainly successful mining – was rooted in science, the science of geology. And while I might have many ideas of how technology could support mining to be more productive and sustainable, I couldn’t approach all the intricacies of the industry without a strong set of geology skills. That’s why meeting Mason, with all his huge and detailed experience in the field, was so instrumental in bringing the ideas behind MinersAI to life.  

“For a time, I studied Quantum Physics, taking a degree while also working full time (like I said, never happy just doing one thing at once!). It was very theoretical, and I really enjoyed the idea that there’s order and there’s chaos. That theoretical approach trains your mind to tackle complex problems in a much more structured way. So whenever something looks really extremely complex, irrational and hard to explain, you learn there’s always a way to take a step back and start putting structure to how things work.

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No problem is too big to solve

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“In most of the jobs I’ve had – from the European Space Agency, to gas security at Engie – it’s invariably involved tackling major problems within an industry, and finding ways that technology can make them better. 

“And however big that problem is, I’ve learned that nothing is too complex to test, to hypothesise, to correct your thinking based on experience, and to arrive at a solution.

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The jobs that shaped me

The most adventurous: One of my first jobs was with the European Space Agency, running a Parabolic Flight Campaign. Basically a big Airbus, totally empty, that we got to do parabolic manoeuvres. It goes up, the engine cuts off, and then it goes down, and for 20 or 25 seconds everything in the plane is in microgravity, experiencing weightlessness. Yes, there was some very, very serious science involved, but we had a lot of fun. A lot. The closest I ever got to an astronaut experience. 

The most testing: At Engie [previously Gaz de France] it was a matter of securing access to natural gas for all its customers, so that even if we had the worst winter of the whole century, we could still provide enough gas for everyone to heat their homes. There was a lot of maths, and we had to make some giant leaps, because it wasn’t just about safeguarding supplies even in the worst possible circumstances. It was also about being able to do that and remain profitable. That was a major challenge, with huge consequences for millions of people if you get it wrong. But also a very formative test of whether you can have a strong scientific mindsight, and be entrepreneurial with an eye on profit at the same time. (There’s that two things at once concept again…)

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“But I’m also the type of person who needs a little pressure; something that drives you on to reach an answer. You do find that more in the commercial world rather than the academic one, so that’s where I went. 

“Over the years I’ve worked with five different startups, each time joining as a first employee kind of thing, then seeing it become a company of 30, 40, or more people. That kind of growth is amazing. When you have an idea – but not real certainty – and you develop it into something remarkable.

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“Many of my roles have involved bringing technological solutions to industries that are maybe a little conservative or doubtful – perhaps with good reason - but are now facing major problems they need to solve, and can appreciate the advantages of a good idea when it’s properly tailored to them.

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“For example, on one project in Belgium – a startup called Sitemark – we saw there’d been a dramatic growth of utility scale solar panels, but with no real way of monitoring them, even though there were hectares and hectares of panels to maintain. We created a platform that introduced drones and AI to the monitoring process, which could rapidly identify the sub-optimal panels. Yes, there was a massive amount of data to process, but an AI approach – with a human in the loop; critically important - enabled us to do it, and it became a huge time and money saver for the operators.

“On another occasion, I worked for two startups (ScanWorld and constellr) that were building satellite constellations for agriculture. Again, this is big technology applied to what you might consider a conservative industry, farming. Yet agriculture – perhaps like mining – is an industry under intense pressure to increase productivity and do it sustainably to satisfy rapidly changing supply chains across the world. We were using satellites to help farmers detect diseases earlier, identify appropriate fertilisation, optimise water consumption, and so on. Basically, to help them use data to react faster and with more certainty. Again, not so different from what mineral exploration needs to do.

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No industry is too complex to help

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“So yes, bringing new, big technology to industries that haven’t used it, and making it relevant, useable, and most importantly, impactful for them is what really excites me. But while I’m a tech advocate, I also hate that heavy-handed ‘tech push’ – using it just for the sake of using it. In a world where AI models are becoming a commodity, what matters is the access to data and the expert’s interpretation. That’s key to us at MinersAI.

For us it’s about introducing companies to technology that can change their lives and their business; making it understandable to them; making it work for them. And, as always - two things at once - making it profitable for them.”

Get in touch with Tomi to chat about how MinersAI can solve your organisation's challenges at tomi@minersAI.com.