Natalie Wu, machine health lead and software engineer at Oxford-based Alloyed, is helping to advance additive manufacturing using data-driven engineering.

The firm designs and produces high-performance metal components using advanced 3D printing, with clients including BMW, Boeing, Hitachi Metals and Microsoft.

Ms Wu said: “Alloyed is an Oxford-based firm that specialises in the design and manufacture of super strong, high-performance and lightweight metal components that can withstand extreme heat conditions, using 3D-printing technology.”

Recent projects include thrusters for the European Space Agency’s Argonaut programme and AR glasses frames, both requiring components that are lightweight and heat-resistant.

Ms Wu joined the company in 2024 and now leads a team focused on machine reliability and efficiency.

She said: “Fortunately, I’ve never felt underestimated simply because of my age.

“That said, working in a fast-paced, highly technical and traditionally male-dominated industry can naturally bring moments of imposter syndrome, especially when you’re surrounded by talented engineers with years of experience.”

She credits Alloyed’s trust in her abilities and emphasis on practical responsibility for boosting her confidence and professional growth.

The presence of strong role models and supportive networks is essential, she said, to attract and retain more women in engineering.

During her studies at Imperial College London, Ms Wu completed internships at Alloyed before joining full-time after graduation.

She encourages more young people, especially women, to explore the sector, describing it as collaborative, creative and deeply impactful.

The Goldfish Bowl, a long-standing and popular shop in Magdalen Road, will close its doors for the last time on July 31 this year.

A fundraiser to thank the owners of the beloved shop has gained over £2,000 of its £3,500 goal.

The fundraiser, started by Edward Tolputt, is for a gift from local people who have spent time in the shop.

Mr Tolputt said on the website: “My sister, Anna, and I are raising money to buy a thank you present for Barry and Ping, owners of “The Goldfish Bowl” on Magdalen Road, which is sadly closing after 60 years.

“We are both parents of children to whom the shop has brought so much joy, and yet we aren’t fish-keepers (yet…).

Fishes inside The Goldfish Bowl (Image: The Goldfish Bowl)

“So this is a thank from all the local little people who have spent time in the shop, transfixed by their aquatic beauties, and yet have never spent a penny.

“Barry and Ping – we will miss you.”

Owned by Barry Allday, the shop has served East Oxford not just as a shop where people could find equipment, tanks, food and a variety of exotic fish to keep, but also as a community hub.

A statement from Mr Allday and the team said: “This decision has not been taken lightly, and I am aware that The Goldfish Bowl has played a central role for many in their fishkeeping journey.”

The shop was set up in the 1950s as an aquatic livestock wholesaler and grew to become the UK’s premier aquatic supplies shop.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Krotos has released its Video to Sound plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro, available to Krotos Studio subscribers.

The launch brings Adobe’s editing software into Krotos’ broader effort to move more sound design work into the edit timeline rather than a separate audio workflow.

Within Premiere Pro, editors can analyse footage, choose the types of sounds to include, and generate synchronised sound effects on the timeline without leaving the project. Users can set in and out points before creating a sound pass, then swap in alternative sounds while keeping them aligned to picture.

The plugin launches with support for ambiences, whooshes, transitions, risers, impacts and cloth effects. These sounds come from Krotos’ royalty-free library of recorded audio rather than being generated from scratch.

The distinction matters because a growing number of post-production tools now use artificial intelligence not only to organise audio assets but also to create them. Krotos uses machine learning to analyse footage and identify relevant sound moments, while the clips placed on the timeline come from professionally recorded effects and ambience recordings.

That positions the product in a part of the editing market where speed is increasingly important, especially for smaller teams, social video producers and editors expected to complete rough sound design without handing a project to a dedicated audio department. For those users, the appeal is less about replacing full post-production sound work and more about cutting the time spent searching libraries, placing clips manually and rebuilding simple sound beds.

Krotos is based in Edinburgh and develops sound design software for film, television and games. Its tools have been used on productions including Game of Thrones, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Stranger Things, according to the company.

The Premiere Pro release also broadens access to a feature Krotos previewed earlier this year. By making it part of Krotos Studio, Krotos is tying the plugin to its existing subscription platform rather than offering it as a separate standalone product.

Workflow shift

The broader shift in post-production has been toward tighter integration between specialist tools and mainstream editing platforms. Video editors are increasingly handling more of the finishing process themselves, particularly on digital-first projects with smaller budgets and faster turnaround times. That has created an opening for software makers that can automate repetitive parts of sound editing while keeping editors inside familiar applications.

Adobe Premiere Pro is one of the most widely used editing platforms across online video, broadcast packages and independent production. A plugin that works directly in that environment lets Krotos target users who may not move projects into dedicated digital audio workstations until late in the process, if at all.

There are limits to what such tools can do. Complex dramatic sound design, detailed Foley work and final mix decisions still depend on human judgment and, in many productions, specialist teams. Even so, software that can create a first pass of matched effects may appeal to editors producing explainers, trailers, branded clips, documentaries and social content, where time pressure often outweighs the need for highly detailed sound construction.

Subscribers can install the Premiere Pro extension through Adobe Marketplace. The plugin is included with Krotos Studio, Pro and Max subscription plans.

Krotos has built its business around simplifying sound design tasks that have traditionally required specialist knowledge or lengthy manual work. Its products are aimed at a range of users, from professional sound teams to creators with less experience in audio post-production.

For Premiere users, the immediate question is whether automated sound placement can produce results useful enough to keep, or at least strong enough to serve as a draft. Krotos is positioning the tool as a way to turn silent footage into a workable soundtrack quickly, with room for later adjustments rather than a finished mix in one step.

Orfeas Boteas, Chief Executive Officer of Krotos, said the product addresses production schedules that leave editors handling more work in less time.

“Video editors are under constant pressure to deliver more content in less time. With Video to Sound for Premiere Pro, users can go from silent footage to a professional soundscape in just a few clicks, without ever leaving their edit. By combining intelligent analysis with real recordings from our sound library, we’re helping editors spend less time searching for sounds and more time creating,” said Orfeas Boteas, Chief Executive Officer of Krotos.