Author: Paul B

Top executives at McLaren Racing want cost-capping rules to be changed in F1 and Formula E, to enable teams to invest more in sustainability.
In the company’s 2023 Sustainability Report, CSO Kim Wilson and CEO Zak Brown say the cost caps have the “unintended consequence” of restricting spending on carbon-cutting measures.
The report outlines a number of positive sustainability developments.
But Director of Sustainability Kim Wilson says: “When I look back on our sustainability performance in 2023, one thing that strikes me is that just as with our F1 on track performance, it was very much a year of two halves.
“We started the year wanting to invest in sustainability but finding that this was restricted by the F1 and Formula E cost caps, as an unintended consequence of the financial regulations.”
CEO Zak Brown says: As a sport, we must continue to raise sustainability standards and aim to lead by example.
“But only strong collaboration with partners, other teams, rights holders and regulators can help us have a meaningful collective impact.
“For example, we’d like to see further progress around the 2026 regulations, an opportunity to firmly bake key sustainability requirements into this framework.”
Kim adds: “Incremental operational efficiencies are not enough to help us reach our net zero targets.
“We must lean into technological advancement to effectively address the emissions intensity of our operations and I am convinced that collaboration across sectors is the key to unlocking our collective potential to find climate solutions.”
The report includes plenty of examples of McLaren Racing prioritising carbon-cutting initiatives. Progress includes:
Zak says: “We pioneered the use of recycled carbon fibre on our F1 cars at last year’s US GP – an important step towards our ambition of developing a circular F1 car.
“We are proud to have made significant progress towards our ambitious DE&I targets – 45% of new starters in 2023 came from an underrepresented background, including women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, neurodivergence, the LGBTQ+ community, people from low socioeconomic backgrounds, and military veterans in the US – up 6% from 2022.”
He adds: “This means that, in total, 29% of our team are now from an underrepresented background and we are on track to reaching our 40% target by 2030.”
The difficulty of negotiating the cost caps has forced McLaren Racing to be creative in order to cut carbon.
Kim says: “This tested our ability to keep our long-term sustainability goals in sight and we had to quickly pivot our strategy.
“Nonetheless, we delivered some great progress within these constraints: using data to gain a much more granular understanding of our GHG footprint, benchmarking ourselves against recognised best practice, driving operational efficiencies and delivering two pioneering programmes to support women’s careers in motorsport – 60 Scholars and the award-winning Returnship.”
The result is a stronger sustainability strategy, says Kim.
“We used those insights to better understand the levers we need to pull to unlock positive change and reduce our negative impact.
“I believe that our sustainability strategy is much stronger as a result and I am encouraged that we have received external validation from the Science Based Targets initiative, the Global Benchmark for Sustainability in Sport and the Carbon Trust.”
 
The report reveals that McLaren Racing’s sustainability strategy is guided by five key principles:
Adopting a data-first approach to establish credibility and transparency  
The report says: “To set the standard, we need to be credible. That’s why our approach is rooted in data, and why we’ve invested resources into improving how we track, store and measure our sustainability data.  
“However, in the same way you couldn’t mark your own coursework at school, we can’t just trust that we’re moving in the right direction without having our work checked.  
“To this end, we’ve had our greenhouse gas (GHG) footprint assured by the Carbon Trust for the second year in a row, ensuring we’re equipped with the right insights to make decisions.”
Controlling the controllable and influencing wider change 
The report says: “We’re not only taking steps to influence issues outside of our control but also working harder than ever to drive what is within our control.  
“We now use renewable electricity in all our sites, and we’ve installed a HVO biofuel tank at the McLaren Technology Centre, which will reduce emissions of outbound journeys by up to 90% compared to regular road diesel.  
“Where possible, we send our freight by sea rather than air, which in 2023 saved 97% of emissions per kilo and has avoided a total of 1,215 tCO2e since 2021.”
Building a legacy with the Climate Contribution Programme  
The report says: “Greenwashing has understandably led to scepticism when it comes to climate projects – it’s now more important than ever for companies, like ourselves, to use our platforms for genuine good, to accelerate progress and thoroughly consider the reasons behind a project beyond how it looks.   
Reducing our emissions alone isn’t going to be nearly enough, and that’s why, in 2023, we launched the Climate Contribution Programme, which will allow us to contribute to projects we truly believe in.
A circular economy brings significant innovation opportunities
The report says: “Our long-term circular F1 car project has continued since the release of our last Sustainability Report, but we’ve also made inroads in other areas as we work towards a more circular economy.   
“In 2023, we decreased our hazardous recycled waste by 80% by upgrading our machinery and reducing our use of coolant and cutting oil. We also use soluble oil and water to clean and maintain our machines, and our electronics waste is now refurbished, redeployed or reused.   
“As part of our Circular F1 Car project, we worked to develop our understanding and use of data. This allows us to trace the journey of the materials we use – equivalent to 550 F1 cars in weight across a season – from extraction through their use phase all the way to disposal.”
Making diversity, equity and inclusion central to our identity  
The report says: “By 2030, we want 40% of our team to be made up of people from underrepresented groups, which includes women, ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, neurodivergence, the LGBTQ+ community and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds.  
“Last year, 45% of new starters and 29% of our team overall, came from underrepresented backgrounds. Twenty per cent of our team, and 31% of our early careers’ population, are now female.”
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Waste tires continue to burn Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at the closed Cottonport Monofill waste tire processing plant in rural Avoyelles Parish. The fire had been burning since Sunday, Jan. 16, and was extinguished on Wednesday, Jan. 26
Firefighters continue to put water on a raging tire fire at the closed Cottonport Monofill plant in rural Avoyelles Parish on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. The fire began Sunday, Jan. 16, and was extinguished Wednesday, Jan. 26.
Waste tires continue to burn Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at the closed Cottonport Monofill waste tire processing plant in rural Avoyelles Parish. The fire has been burning since Sunday, Jan. 16, and state officials can’t yet say when it will be extinguished.
Waste tires continue to burn Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at the closed Cottonport Monofill waste tire processing plant in rural Avoyelles Parish. The fire had been burning since Sunday, Jan. 16, and was extinguished on Wednesday, Jan. 26
Firefighters continue to put water on a raging tire fire at the closed Cottonport Monofill plant in rural Avoyelles Parish on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. The fire began Sunday, Jan. 16, and was extinguished Wednesday, Jan. 26.
Waste tires continue to burn Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, at the closed Cottonport Monofill waste tire processing plant in rural Avoyelles Parish. The fire has been burning since Sunday, Jan. 16, and state officials can’t yet say when it will be extinguished.
In January 2022, a defunct waste tire processing site in Avoyelles Parish caught fire, sending up a large plume of acrid black smoke that forced the evacuation of 1,500 prisoners from Raymond Laborde Correctional Center.
The rubbery blaze was eventually extinguished. But more than 100,000 waste tires and mounds more of chopped-up tires remain on the abandoned site, causing consternation for local leaders.
Now, Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality says cleaning up the 74-acre Cottonport Monofill site is a priority. On Wednesday, DEQ Secretary Aurelia S. Giacometto announced it was the second “legacy project” across the state, agency officials said.
The only other announced legacy project so far is the waste red mud ponds outside the shuttered LAlumina plant in Ascension Parish, where dust has repeatedly swirled into nearby neighborhoods.
“Consistent with Governor (Jeff) Landry’s directive to protect Louisiana’s second-to-none environment, DEQ is taking the difficult steps necessary to clean up unmitigated sites that have been left and forgotten by previous administrations,” she said.
Giacometto has established “Tiger Teams” to tackle these “legacy sites.” DEQ officials have said more sites are being examined but haven’t been announced yet.
The rollout of the initiative comes as the DEQ secretary has faced internal division from rank-and-file employees and seen some top departures over her management style during her first five months in office.
Complaints have included restrictions on employee communications with other agencies, a two-week halt in inspections and aggressive efforts to discipline or push out some employees.
Asked if the new program is an attempt to respond to some of those criticisms, Giacometto said the legacy site program fits with her management track record.
Giacometto noted that when she ran the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service under President Donald Trump, she visited agency sites in more than 20 states to get in the field and understand ongoing issues.
At the time, Fish and Wildlife refuges and other sites were left open during the pandemic, boosting visits and usage that required adjustment from her agency. She said she is applying a similar hands-on approach at DEQ.
“Change, transitions, they happen. They’re hard, but being here at DEQ, we have a responsibility to the community. We have a responsibility to the health of the community, the health of environment. That is the track in which we are operating,” said Giacometto, who is a lawyer and biologist by training.
As she did at LAlumina in March, she visited Cottonport Monofill on Monday with other agency officials and met with local officials to get a better sense of what the cleanup will require.
“I believe in getting into the field, and I believe in making a difference,” she said.
Avoyelles Parish officials said they welcomed the attention from DEQ after they had asked local legislators to reach out to the agency for help.
Kevin Bordelon, Avoyelles’ civil works director, said the abandoned property is perhaps only a year from going back to the parish for taxes, what’s know as being adjudicated.
“Now everyone is concerned the Police Jury will be stuck with the property and a couple million-dollar bill to clean it up,” Bordelon said. “It’s not the taxpayers of Avoyelles Parish’s fault this place is closed.”
Permit records show unprocessed tires were piled 20 to 25 feet high in long mounds before many were broken up, injected with water and covered with dirt to extinguish the fire.
Many of the burning tire bits were pushed into at least one of the ponds on the property, a post-fire agency report says.
Waste oil from the burning tires also drained into the ponds on the site. Contractors at the time used booms and other equipment to collect 646 barrels of burned tire oil, the agency report says.
On Monday, agency employees were running drones and doing other steps to assess the site in addition to meeting with local officials, Giacometto said. They also have been researching the ownership history of Cottonport Monofill.
How the site will be cleaned up and who will pay for the work of dealing with an estimated 123,000 tons of tire waste remains unresolved. At least one of the retention ponds on the site will also have to be drained and remediated, DEQ officials said.
The response to the fire and some initial cleanup alone has already cost DEQ around $2 million, Giacometto said.
Often, state agencies try to force the responsible party, typical a facility’s permit holder, to pay for environmental cleanup.
Cottonport Monofill was first permitted in 1995 to chip and shred waste tires for civil engineering projects, playground surfaces and as an industrial fuel source. But the operation filed for bankruptcy 10 years later, DEQ officials said.
Lloyd Ward, the principal of Cottonport Monofill, is believed to be living in Tanzania, agency officials said.
His company had taken out a $4 million mortgage on the property and its equipment. During bankruptcy proceedings, however, the inheritor of the loan, First Guaranty Bank, declined to take ownership because of the liabilities, DEQ officials said.
“DEQ has put a talented and resourceful Tiger Team, headed by Oscar Magee, in place who will work with the local officials to identify and agree upon the necessary mitigation steps, secure the necessary funding and supervise the Cottonport Monofill cleanup project to its completion,” Giacometto said.
David J. Mitchell can be reached at dmitchell@theadvocate.com.
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Brice Nordquist, founder of the Engaged Humanities Network, welcomed guests to the inaugural EHN Showcase at the Salt City Market in Downtown Syracuse.
The research and collaborative work of teams from Syracuse University in partnership with community organizations was front and center at the Engaged Humanities Network (EHN) showcase held in Downtown Syracuse’s Salt City Market on May 3.
The event marked EHN’s first open-house style celebration of community-engaged projects, courses and creative scholarship generated by interdisciplinary groups from the University and their local partners (view a full list of participants at the end of the article).
Guests perused information tables and chatted with researchers to learn more about their respective projects. Throughout the day, presenters took the stage to provide an overview of their research and share their team’s accomplishments.
Sarah Nahar, a Ph.D. candidate in religion in the College of Arts and Sciences and environmental studies at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, served as the emcee throughout the day and introduced each presenter.
The Engaged Humanities Network, which was founded by Brice Nordquist, Dean’s Professor of Community Engagement in the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of writing and rhetoric, has been seeding and supporting innovative opportunities for faculty and students to engage in research, teaching and learning that immerses them in the community. By applying their knowledge and skills to these initiatives, members of EHN help build relationships of trust and mutual support across communities.
This commitment to cultivating scholarly work for the betterment of society ties directly to human thriving and experiential inquiry, key areas of distinctive excellence in the University’s Academic Strategic Plan. Over the past four years, EHN has helped to foster collaborations that have connected teams at the University with 35 community-based organizations. In addition, EHN has supported 14 courses, 35 active projects and over 350 faculty, staff and students who are engaged in community work.
Phil Arnold (second from left), associate professor of religion in the College of Arts and Sciences, and Sandy Bigtree (second from right), a citizen of the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne, talked with guests about the Indigenous Values Initiative.
The student, faculty and community teams at the EHN Showcase included Project Mend (Syracuse University with Center for Community Alternatives); Write Out (Syracuse University and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, with YWCA); Doctrine of Discovery (Syracuse University with Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center); Breedlove Readers (Syracuse University with South Side Communication Center); Narratio Fellowship (Syracuse University with North Side Learning Center); La Casita Mother’s and Women’s Group; Listening to the Elders (Syracuse University with Skä•noñh Great Law of Peace Center and Onondaga Nation); Spanish in Action (LLL with La Casita); Data Warriors (Syracuse University with Nottingham High School); Environmental Storytelling CNY (EHN with SUNY ESF); Syracuse University Research in Physics (Syracuse University with Syracuse City School District); The Turning Lens Collective/Family Pictures Syracuse (SU with P.E.A.C.E, Inc.); Natural Science Explorers Program (Syracuse University with North Side Learning Center); CODA Educational Support Program (SU with Deaf New Americans Advocacy, Inc.); Photography and Literacy (PAL) (Syracuse University Art Museum with Mercy Works); Teens with a Movie Camera (VPA in collaboration with Nottingham High School); along with members of the inaugural Engaged Courses Initiative: ENG 420: Everyday Media and Social Justice (Professor Roger Hallas and students), LIN 300: Linguistics at Work (Professor Amanda Brown and students) and WRT 114: Creative Non-fiction: Writing and Translating Courses (Professor Sevinç Türkkan and students).
Learn more about the Engaged Humanities Network.
For more photos and videos of the event, visit the College of Arts and Sciences’ website.
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May 15, 2024 16:05 ET | Source: TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc. TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc.
FREDERICK, Md., May 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc.^® (“TOMI”) (NASDAQ: TOMZ), a global company specializing in disinfection and decontamination utilizing its premier Binary Ionization Technology (BIT) platform through its SteraMist brand of products, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

TOMI Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Halden Shane, stated, “Although revenue was below expectation in the first quarter, we saw continued growth in our sales pipeline, as well as an increase in demand for our CES systems and iHP corporate service.   In addition to the $1,100,000 in sales for the quarter, our sales backlog at the end of the quarter was $900,000 which we expect will primarily be recognized in the second and third quarters of 2024. We’re seeing positive signs throughout the marketplace, particularly in the pharmaceuticals and healthcare sectors, where we’re seeing increased pipeline activity.  
“One of the notable wins in the first quarter was a notification from the Department of Homeland Security that our SteraMist technology has been included in their Science and Technology Directorate Budget overview. The department expects to purchase 16 SteraMist Environment Systems for the amount of approximately $2,000,000 to support the decontamination of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center.   In addition, TOMI has recently received notification from a U.S. based multinational pharmaceutical company that two of the Company’s CES systems, delivered in 2022, have finally been qualified for use. Additional CES systems operating in the marketplace is important for the positive long term growth and evolution of our business model as these systems tend to be meaningful consumers of our BIT solution.
“In the first quarter we continued to develop our government relationships. This quarter TOMI was invited to submit a proposal and apply to the Department of Defense to participate in a $3,000,000 grant in connection with mitigation of the residual effects of ethylene oxide. We recently submitted our proposal and are currently waiting for a decision.
“We are off to a solid start in 2024 and will continue to focus on executing our strategies to grow revenues, expand business development and deliver improved results and value for our shareholders,” Dr. Shane concluded.
Financial Results for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to March 31, 2023
Balance sheet highlights as of March 31, 2024
Recent Business Highlights:
Conference Call Information
TOMI will hold a conference call to discuss first quarter 2024 results at 4:30 p.m. ET today, May 15, 2024.
To participate in the call by phone, dial (844) 369-8770 approximately five minutes prior to the scheduled start time and request the “TOMI Environmental Solutions first quarter earnings call.” International callers please dial (862) 298-0840. To access the live webcast or view the press release, please visit the Investor Relations section of the TOMI website or register at the following link: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2262/50600.
A replay of the teleconference will be available until Wednesday, May 29, 2024, and may be accessed by dialing (877) 481-4010. International callers may dial (919) 882-2331. Callers should use replay access code: 50600. A replay of the webcast will be available for at least 90 days on the company’s website, starting approximately one hour after the completion of the call.
TOMI™ Environmental Solutions, Inc.: Innovating for a safer world®
TOMI™ Environmental Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:TOMZ) is a global decontamination and infection prevention company, providing environmental solutions for indoor surface disinfection through the manufacturing, sales and licensing of its premier Binary Ionization Technology® (BIT™) platform. Invented under a defense grant in association with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defense, BIT™ solution utilizes a low percentage Hydrogen Peroxide as its only active ingredient to produce a fog of ionized Hydrogen Peroxide (iHP™). Represented by the SteraMist® brand of products, iHP™ produces a germ-killing aerosol that works like a visual non-caustic gas. TOMI products are designed to service a broad spectrum of commercial structures, including, but not limited to, hospitals and medical facilities, cruise ships, office buildings, hotel and motel rooms, schools, restaurants, meat and produce processing facilities, military barracks, police and fire departments, and athletic facilities. TOMI products and services have also been used in single-family homes and multi-unit residences.
TOMI develops training programs and application protocols for its clients and is a member in good standing with The American Biological Safety Association, The American Association of Tissue Banks, Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, America Seed Trade Association, and The Restoration Industry Association.
For additional information, please visit https://www.steramist.com/ or contact us at info@tomimist.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contain forward-looking statements that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections of future performance based on management’s judgment, beliefs, current trends, and anticipated product performance. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, ability to accelerate revenue; financial performance and operating results for 2024; upcoming launch of new products; expected growth in sales pipeline and market demand; revenue opportunities of CES products and brand recognition of our products. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, our ability to acquire new customers and expands sales; our ability to maintain and manage growth and generate sales, our reliance on a single or a few products for a majority of revenues; the general business and economic conditions; and other risks as described in our SEC filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 filed by us with the SEC and other periodic reports we filed with the SEC. The information provided in this document is based upon the facts and circumstances known at this time. Other unknown or unpredictable factors or underlying assumptions subsequently proving to be incorrect could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, level of activity, performance, or achievements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information provided in this press release is as of today’s date, unless otherwise stated, and we undertake no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:
John Nesbett/Roz Christian
IMS Investor Relations
tomi@imsinvestorrelations.com
 

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Cloudy skies early will become partly cloudy later in the day. High 67F. Winds NNE at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy. Low around 55F. Winds light and variable.
Updated: May 16, 2024 @ 2:07 am
Newly appointed Conneaut City Manager Nick Sanford, left, speaks to Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere at a meet-and-greet for Sanford at the Conneaut Human Resource Center on Wednesday afternoon.

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Newly appointed Conneaut City Manager Nick Sanford, left, speaks to Ashtabula City Manager Jim Timonere at a meet-and-greet for Sanford at the Conneaut Human Resource Center on Wednesday afternoon.
CONNEAUT — City residents were invited to meet the new city manager at an event on Wednesday afternoon.
Conneaut City Council voted last month to hire Nick Sanford as the new city manager, after former city manager Jim Hockaday left the position earlier this year.
Sanford said his first week and a half has been “exciting, busy and exhilarating all at once.”
He said he has not bee able to put into words the level of energy he has felt from the community.
“I feel a level of support behind me that is almost sublime,” Sanford said.
Refreshments were served at the event, and Sanford spent time speaking to those in attendance.
“For everybody to come together, break some bread, share ideas, even as much as to say ‘hello’ and share the day, is tremendous, even if I just saw them a few days ago, or a couple hours ago, in some cases, I love it,” he said.
Sanford said he would not be opposed to participating in informal events with the community, such as town hall meetings, in the future.
Sanford previously worked at CT Consultants, the county Department of Environmental Services, and Aqua. He also served on Conneaut City Council in 2018 and 2019.
Sanford was hired at a council meeting on April 24, and he started May 6.
“I want to make sure that all our departments have the tools and resources they need to provide the services that are essential to their mission,” he said. He also wants the city to have a climate that is welcoming to businesses, and is conducive to growth.
Sanford said code enforcement will be a focus.
“I know that that has been a priority of council, I’m going to see to it that it continues,” he said. “It starts at home, with our buildings.”
He said the city has a good team in place.
“In every role that I’ve been in, I’ve had the high honor of working with some exceptional people, and it comes down to how you empower them to do their job, and it comes down to providing them with all the resources that they need,” Sanford said.
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KARACHI   –    At a ceremony held at the premises of the SOS Technical Training Institute located on the Infaq Foundation campus in Korangi, Karachi, a new eco-friendly car was launched on Tuesday.
Representing a collaboration between SOS TTI and Shell Pakistan, the small, slim single -seater car is strikingly named “ Thunderer “. It moved smoothly and well on its first, short trial run after the ceremony. Attended by both young men and women who are acquiring technical proficiency in one or more of the 12 specialist 6-month courses offered by SOS TTI for the benefit of youth from low-income families residing in Korangi and other areas of Karachi, the ceremony was also attended by representatives of Shell Pakistan, SOS Children’s Villages of Sindh and Infaq Foundation.
Welcoming guests, Comdr (r) Khalid Wasim, Principal, stated that the project was proposed by Shell Pakistan Ltd and an MoU was signed with SOS TTI in March, 2023. Shell Pakistan took a bold decision to give this project to SOS TTI as this is the first time that this kind of technical project was given to a Vocational Technical Training Institute. In the past this kind of project was assigned to Engineering Universities as a part of students’ study projects.

The length of the car is 9.6 feet and width is 4 feet. The chassis is of aluminum and TIG welded to form a lattice. A 100 CC EFI engine has been installed with a range of 50 KM per liter. After intensive testing and trials, the project was completed end -April, 2024 as scheduled. 80% of the fabrication work was done at SOS-TTI. Ms Nida Tanzeel, Social Performance Manager of Shell Pakistan, appreciated the promptness and proficiency with which the SOS TTI team completed the project. She stressed that Shell has consistently supported training and capacity building of young women and men in technology and in the related services-sector. She distributed cash awards to the project team.
While acknowledging Shell for sponsoring the project and felicitating the team and the principal on their success, Senator (r) Javed Jabbar, Chairman, SOS Children’s Villages of Sindh lauded the voluntary contributions made by his colleagues towards establishing and operating TTI which has so far, in about ten years, produced about 13,000 skilled youth currently gainfully self-employed or engaged in productive capacities with different organizations. He acknowledged the generous philanthropic funds provided to TTI by Ms Ava Cowasjee who was also present, and stressed the need for youth to gain technical empowerment as well as the need to explore innovations and creativity in the age of A.I and machine-learning systems.

Yacoob Zamindar, Tamgha-i-Imtiaz, Chairman Emeritus, SOS Sindh, on behalf of Mr Sanaullah Qurieshi, Chairman, SOS-TTI who was absent due to indisposition, delivered the Vote of Thanks. This very challenging project involved designing and fabrication of the vehicle and to make it operational in a cost effective and fuel -efficient manner. The car uses normal petrol but with high efficiency and low emissions.
After SOS-TTI agreed to accept the challenge, the 5-member project team was led by Mr Muhammad Abdullah, Head of the Motor Cycle Deptt. at TTI, supported by trainees Mr Danyal Riaz, Ms Maima Faraz, Mr Habib Ullah and Mr M. Faisal.

NIPCO House, 4 – Shaharah e Fatima Jinnah,
Lahore, Pakistan
Tel: +92 42 36367580    |     Fax : +92 42 36367005
Nawaiwaqt Group | Copyright © 2024
Nawaiwaqt Group | Copyright © 2024

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Gleb Ziuzin shared a breakdown of the Mythical Door project inspired by Suzume, showing how he set up a water shader and explaining the texturing algorithm that helps him achieve more organic materials.
Hi, I'm Gleb Ziuzin, an environment artist. I'm incredibly passionate about how artistic compositions and visual images can evoke impressions in my viewers. I've always wanted to fully master these tools so that my creations can resonate with ideas, images, and emotions in people's hearts.
I decided to work in the game industry, and during my year of study, I created my first works for my portfolio. After that, I joined my first studio, Studio 1518, where I worked on the environment for the game "The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria". Later, I moved to Dekagon Studio and at the same time worked on weapons for the "World of Guns" project. Right now, I am looking for projects that might interest me. 
I've thought for a long time about the main direction in 3D, and I decided to focus my professional development on creating environments for two main reasons: firstly, environments best reflect the atmosphere and mood, and secondly, they take up a significant portion of the game space.
I'm a big fan of Japanese animation. Makoto Shinkai's works have always stood out to me with their vast, deep, densely-clouded skies that expand the entire space, captivating camera angles, and detailed frame work. His style takes its color palette from Studio Ghibli but maintains rich shading and a modern Seinen drawing style.
Choosing the right concept is one of the most important stages in working on a location, and selecting it can take up a significant amount of time. Often, the correct silhouette, composition, and guidelines can turn what seems to be a dull concept into something beautiful. I really enjoyed working with the concept from the anime "Suzume"; it's clear that an experienced team of artists worked on it.
In this example, I schematically marked the compositional base.

Also, by converting the picture to black and white, we can understand how colors differ in Value. These differences also allow us to highlight the objects that the viewer will notice first (in our example, it's the door). Because the colors are less bright, the viewer will focus on other elements that stand out due to their Value.
When I settle on a style and concept, I draw inspiration from artists who have successfully realized the main ideas of this style in 3D. For example, I was impressed by the foliage and atmosphere of abandoned ruins by Kima Honma in the project "Stray".
I decided to set the level of detail on the objects to be realistic with a slight inclination towards stylization. The best example I found was from Pawel Kostecki in the "Dying Light" project.
Working on the blockout started with dividing everything into three groups: props, modules, and foliage.
I created a basic mesh model for the door and the first-floor modules, based on human dimensions. I set up the camera, calibrated the lens, and began fine-tuning the focal length so that all blockout lines exactly matched the concept.
I bought the sky from the marketplace and quickly modeled the hill in ZBrush.
Firstly, I started working with assets and modules to industry standards. I did all the unwrapping in RizomUV. The main rules were to calculate the texel density, straighten the islands, overlap them, and pack them tightly. I baked the normal maps in Marmoset Toolbag or used a bevel normal in Blender.
Secondly, I decided to refine the entire background because I'm working with these kinds of backgrounds for the first time. I added a gradient to the sky image to make the colors more dynamic. I drew the clouds in Photoshop, making them fluffier and airier than in the concept. To reduce the contrast of the clouds, I added a slight transparency to the edges. Then I planted trees on the hill.
I chose to work through the layer system in UE5 as it seemed simpler to me than placing point lights. The directional light divided the scene into two halves, creating a directional light spot on the right. A second directional light was placed for additional shadows to give depth to the objects. The overall fill light illuminated the entire scene, and the skylight served to soften the black color in the shadows and to illuminate the water.
In the end, I achieved a result with basic lighting, shadows, and the background. Refining the props in Substance by setting a single contrast and HSL preset for all future textures imported into UE5 helps me save time on unique textures and materials with reflections.
A shader is one of the most important parts of creating a detailed and optimized environment. To realize the full potential of the environment pipelines for this and future projects, I wrote my own shader.
I provided an example of how materials were assembled in this scene using the pipeline with masks.
In this way, I configured each layer in the shader's general material. I created it for the current and future projects to allow me to work with tile textures and displacement and blend them together using Blend, Tint, Reveal Masks, Vertex Color, and UV sets. This allows me to reuse many of the same textures, achieving various materials.
Since I was working with water for the first time, I spent the most time experimenting with it.
In the liquid, four materials are combined at different distances from the surface, and a separate material is used to work with caustics. In the concept, we see shallow depth, light refraction giving us a gradient, and glares. To convey this, I had to create the water materials myself as the purchased water systems did not fit my task.
To create a sense of space and volume of light from the background as well as convey the feeling of abandoned empty interiors I created a glass material.
I can enthusiastically and in great detail talk about what good unique textures are and how important volumes, gradients, color variations, accents, and storytelling are. But that's a topic for a separate course. In this article, I want to focus more on the logic of texturing.
To achieve more organic materials when working with unique textures, I use a specific texturing algorithm. Here's the list:
This logic serves as a foundation for development. Afterward, it's refined to the required level, considering the time you want to spend on the asset. You can work on textures indefinitely, just don't forget to eat.
I meticulously and for a long time adjusted the asset colors using color tint, contrast, and saturation in the shader to match the reference.
That's why the color correction in UE was mainly needed to give the shadows the desired color and saturation. Another task was to refine the tonality of areas where the light was too bright.
Working on masterpieces like the works of Makoto Shinkai allows me to significantly expand my artistic skills. I've dived into the development of environment technologies and shaders.
The advice I'd like to give to readers: work on interesting and heart-touching concepts. My goal is to find a studio where I can realize my ambitions in collaboration with talented colleagues who share a passion for art.
I would like to express my gratitude to the 80 Level team for the opportunity to share this project with you.

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