Latest news with #Kirkham
Business Wire
14 hours ago
- Business
- Business Wire
MindBridge Appoints Rachel Kirkham as Chief Technology Officer to Lead Next Phase of Innovation and Growth
OTTAWA, Ontario--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- MindBridge, the global leader in AI-powered financial decision intelligence, is pleased to announce the promotion of Rachel Kirkham to the role of Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Kirkham, who most recently served as Senior Vice President, AI and Product, will lead the company's technology and innovation strategy, with a focus on advancing product capabilities, transparency and trust in AI, and scaling impact for MindBridge's growing enterprise customer base. 'As AI reshapes the financial landscape, MindBridge is uniquely positioned to lead with transparency, trust, and purpose,' said Rachel Kirkham. 'I'm honored to take on the CTO role at such an exciting time in our journey." Share For over 15 years, Kirkham has bridged the gap between advanced data analytics and the complex realities of audit and finance. She has built applications and visualizations that solve real-world problems and empower finance professionals with greater clarity and control. Since joining MindBridge, she has been instrumental in shaping the company's AI-driven risk scoring, integrating data science into the product fabric, and driving a technology vision that supports continuous insight and proactive decision-making. 'Rachel's promotion comes at a pivotal time as we expand rapidly into the enterprise space,' said Stephen DeWitt, CEO of MindBridge. 'She combines deep technical expertise with product intuition and domain credibility in a way few leaders can. Her leadership will be essential as we continue to deliver intelligent, trustworthy, and transformative solutions to global finance teams.' 'As AI reshapes the financial landscape, MindBridge is uniquely positioned to lead with transparency, trust, and purpose,' said Rachel Kirkham. 'I'm honored to take on the CTO role at such an exciting time in our journey. I look forward to continuing to push the boundaries of what's possible in financial intelligence and delivering meaningful value to our customers around the world.' Prior to MindBridge, Kirkham served as Head of Data Analytics Research at the UK National Audit Office, where she led a multidisciplinary team of analysts and data scientists to develop innovative audit analytics tools for public sector financial oversight. She is an ACA-qualified chartered accountant, a subject matter expert for the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), and holds an MBA from Imperial College London. The appointment reflects MindBridge's continued momentum and investment in technology leadership as it scales across enterprise markets. With expanding global partnerships, patented innovations, and a growing roster of clients, the company remains committed to helping its customers see the unseen, unlocking strategic insight for finance professionals everywhere. About MindBridge Analytics Inc. MindBridge is the leader in AI-powered financial decision intelligence. The MindBridge platform empowers finance teams to analyze 100% of financial transactions in real time, enabling organizations to detect risk, surface anomalies, and optimize performance with greater speed and accuracy. At the core of the platform is the Central Insights Factory, a proprietary AI engine that transforms complex financial data into trusted, actionable insights. Trusted by auditors, finance leaders, and regulators around the world, MindBridge delivers transparent, explainable AI that strengthens internal controls, enhances compliance, and supports smarter financial decision-making. Learn more at
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Nearly 40% of the world's glaciers are already doomed, scientists say
The world's glaciers are in dire health with almost 40% of their total mass already doomed, even if global temperatures stopped rising immediately, a new study has found. Researchers estimate glaciers will eventually lose 39% of their mass relative to 2020, a trend that is already irreversible no matter what comes next and will likely contribute a 113-millimeter increase to global sea level rise. The loss rises to 76% if the world continues to pursue its current climate policies, which will likely fail to keep global warming under 1.5 degrees Celsius, according to a paper published in the journal Science. The latter scenario could prove disastrous for countries that depend on glacial meltwater for irrigation, power and drinking water; a world in which 39% of the glacier mass is lost compared to 76% is the 'difference between being able to adapt to the loss of the glacier and not,' James Kirkham, a glaciologist at the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative told CNN. Even though the study offers a bleak prognosis for the world's glaciers, its authors are trying 'to give a message of hope,' said Lilian Schuster, a researcher at the University of Innsbruck in Austria, who co-led the study. 'With the study, we want to show that with every tenth of a degree less of global warming, we can preserve glacier ice,' she told CNN. Nearly 200 nations pledged to work together in the 2015 Paris Agreement to limit global warming. Nations committed to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and, if possible, below 1.5 degrees. Each country is responsible for developing its own plans for achieving those goals. But temperatures keep rising — the world is currently on track for up to 2.9 degrees of warming by 2100. And every additional increase of 0.1 degrees between 1.5 and 3 degrees of warming results in an additional 2% of the global glacier mass being lost, the study predicts. 'We're not activists, this is science talking,' said Harry Zekollari, a researcher at Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium and ETH Zürich in Switzerland, who co-led the study. 'Sometimes, the remarks we get is like 'you're alarmist and making people scared.' I say, 'I'm trying to give out what our computer numbers give us.'' This 'landmark' study is 'one of the most important pieces of glacier projection work that's been done this decade,' said Kirkham, who wasn't part of the research team but presented the paper at a United Nations conference on Saturday. Until this paper, previous projection studies ended their predictions at 2100 — the date often used in policy circles to measure the potential effect of the climate crisis, Kirkham said. But glaciers can take years, even centuries, to stabilize after the climate has changed, meaning that the true effect of rising temperatures can be masked for years, too. To investigate this phenomenon, this study used eight pre-existing glacier models and ran simulations stretching over centuries, predicting how each glacier will evolve in that timeframe. Using so many models produced a wide range of results. For example, the finding that glaciers will eventually lose 39% of their mass if current temperatures persist was the median result in a data set ranging from 15% to 55%. But although the range of results is 'quite large,' they're 'all showing the same trend,' said Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir, a professor at the University of Iceland, who wasn't involved in the study. 'The message is very clear,' she told CNN. 'All the models are showing the same thing, that with increased warming, the more mass of glaciers we lose.' For Zekollari, the uncertainties in the results show 'there's still a lot to be done when it comes to comparing the different models.' These effects vary by region too, depending on how exposed each glacier is to climate change, the study found. Glaciers in Western Canada and the United States, northeast Canada, Scandinavia and the Russian Arctic are among those particularly at risk.
The Sun
5 days ago
- General
- The Sun
‘Beautiful' schoolboy, 15, drowns in river after passers-by tried to save him as his devastated family pays tributes
A FAMILY have paid tribute to their "beautiful" boy who drowned in a river despite passers-by trying to rescue him. Lotus Bowker, 15, from Kirkham, Lancashire, died after getting into difficulty in water on May 17. Emergency services were called to the riverbank at around 2:30pm and the teenager was airlifted to hospital. But despite medics' best efforts, he passed away the following morning. Cops have urged anyone with information related to the boy's death to come forward and urged people to "think twice" before going into open water. The lad's parents have paid tribute to their "beautiful boy" who they say is "sadly" missed by his family. They said: "Our beautiful boy, sadly missed by his Mummy, Daddy, his brothers and sister deeply. Words cannot describe the pain we are going through.' Regarding the tragic incident, DI Adie Knowles, said: "First and foremost my thoughts remain with Lotus's loved ones at this incredibly difficult time. "They have lost a son and a brother in the most tragic circumstances and I just want to echo David's words around water safety. "I'd just ask that people think twice before going into rivers, reservoirs or any form of open water. You are unnecessarily putting your lives at risk, and I really don't want to have to knock on your parents door to tell them that you won't be coming home." "Any individuals with information related to Lotus's death should contact Lancashire Police on 101, quoting log 834 of May 17, 2025." 1
BBC News
23-05-2025
- BBC News
Lotus Bowker: Boy, 15, who died in river was 'lovely boy'
A 15-year-old boy who died after getting into difficulty in a Lancashire river "was such a lovely boy", his father has Bowker, from Kirkham, was found in the River Wyre near Garstang Cricket Club in Lancashire at about 14:30 BST on of the public tried to resuscitate him before he was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition. He died the following day, police tribute, his father David said "he meant the world to me, my wife, daughter and four sons" and warned about the dangers of swimming in rivers and open water. "I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Those waters aren't meant to be swam in," he said."I want any individuals and especially youngsters to think twice before visiting these dangerous locations regardless of social pressures or feeling the need to be included." Lancashire Police said the teenager's death was not being treated as in any way Insp Adie Knowles said: "First and foremost my thoughts remain with Lotus's loved ones at this incredibly difficult time."They have lost a son and brother in the most tragic of circumstances and I just want to echo David's words around water safety. "I'd just ask that people think twice before going into rivers, reservoirs or any form of open water. "You are unnecessarily putting your lives at risk, and I really don't want to have to knock on your parents door to tell them that you won't be coming home." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Fingerprints of city-sized icebergs found off UK coast
Icebergs as large as cities, potentially tens of kilometres wide, once roved the coasts of the UK, according to scientists. Researchers found distinctive scratch marks left by the drifting icebergs as they gouged deep tracks into the North Sea floor more than 18,000 years ago. It's the first hard evidence that the ice sheet formerly covering Britain and Ireland produced such large bergs. The findings could provide vital clues in understanding how climate change is affecting Antarctica today. The scientists searched for fingerprints of giant icebergs using very detailed 3D seismic data, collected by oil and gas companies or wind turbine projects doing ocean surveys. This is a bit like doing an MRI scan of the sediment layers beneath the present-day seafloor, going back millions of years. The researchers found deep, comb-like grooves, interpreted to have been created by the keels of large icebergs that broke off the British-Irish ice sheet more than 18,000 years ago. Some of these scratch marks are as close as 90 miles (145km) to Scotland's present-day east coast. "We found [evidence of] these gigantic tabular icebergs, which basically means the shape of a table, with incredibly wide and flat tops," said James Kirkham, marine geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey and lead author of the new study, published in the journal Nature Communications. "These have not been seen before and it shows definitively that the UK had ice shelves, because that's the only way to produce these gigantic tabular icebergs." Ice shelves are floating platforms of ice where glaciers extend out into the ocean. By analysing the size of the grooves, the scientists estimate that these icebergs could be five to tens of kilometres wide and 50-180m thick, although it's difficult to be exact. That means they would have covered an area roughly as big as medium-sized UK cities like Norwich or Cambridge. The icebergs are comparable in size to some of the smaller icebergs found off present-day Antarctica, such as blocks that calved from the Larsen B ice shelf in 2002. Dr Kirkham described seeing such an iceberg when working in Antarctica two years ago. "Those of us working on this paper were standing together, gazing out onto this iceberg and thinking, 'Wow, that's probably a similar size iceberg to what was found off the shore of Scotland 18,000 years ago, staring us at us right in front of us in Antarctica today.'" Hundreds of ice shelves surround about three-quarters of today's Antarctic ice sheet, helping to hold back its vast glaciers. But if ice shelves are lost, the glaciers behind can speed up, depositing more and more ice into the ocean and raising sea levels worldwide. Exactly how this plays out, though, is "one of the largest sources of uncertainty in our models of sea level rise", Dr Kirkham told BBC News. That's partly because scientists have only been able to use satellites for a few decades to observe about 10 cases of ice shelves collapsing - hence the desire to look for examples further back in time. No ice shelf setting is the same, but the researchers say their findings from the former British-Irish ice sheet could help understand how Antarctica might respond to today's rapidly warming climate. By looking at the changing scratch marks on the seafloor, the researchers discovered an abrupt shift in Britain's icebergs about 18,000 years ago, a time when the planet was gradually warming from a very cold period. The occasional production of giant bergs ceased. Instead, smaller ones were produced much more frequently. That indicates that the ice shelves suddenly disintegrated; without these massive floating platforms, such large icebergs could no longer be produced. And it's potentially important because this coincides with the time when the glaciers behind began to retreat faster and faster. The crucial, but unresolved, question is whether the disintegration of Britain's former ice shelves was merely a symptom of a quickly melting ice sheet - or whether the loss of these shelves directly triggered the runaway retreat of ice. Resolving this chicken-and-egg dilemma, as Dr Kirkham put it, would shed light on how serious the impacts of losing today's Antarctic ice shelves might be. "These ocean records are fascinating and have implications for Antarctica, as they illustrate the fundamental role of ice shelves in buttressing [holding back] the flow of continental ice into the ocean," said Prof Eric Rignot, glaciologist at the University of California, Irvine, who was not involved in the study. "But the argument that the collapse of ice shelves triggered ice sheet collapse is only part of the story; the main forcing is warmer air temperature and warmer ocean temperature," he argued. Graphics by Erwan Rivault Scientists probe the secrets of mega icebergs West Antarctic ice shelf melt 'unavoidable' Norwegian seafloor holds clue to Antarctic melting 'Stunning' seafloor ridges record Antarctic retreat
