Real-World Supply chain, Freight and Martime Logistics and Port Operations

Arijit works in the domain of freight and maritime logistics and operations, supply chain management, transportation, manufacturing focussing on addressing environmental sustainability and mitigating possible risks from disruptions. Arijit collaborates with various industry stakeholders as part of his research projects and explores the application of artificial intelligence techniques such as mathematical optimization, agent-based simulation, machine learning, deep learning and robust algorithm for dealing with real-world problems. 

Arijit has acted as a PI/Co-I for his research and industry projects funded by EU Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe, ESRC, EPSRC, AHRC, Innovate UK, Alan Turing Institute etc., with a total funding amounts to more than £2.2m.

Software Tools and Programming Languages

Arijit has the experience of using following programming language and software tools for various practical research works - IBM CPLEX, OPL, Gurobi, JAVA Eclipse, Python, MATLAB, RStudio, AnyLogic, SAS, SPSS, Power BI and Tableau.

Projects

DEMARTECH – Decarbonizing Maritime Shipping through AI, Green Technologies and Strategic Voyage Planning, Humanities Strategic Investment Fund (H-SIF), £49,995.76, PI, (Project duration - 6 months).

Voyage Planning for Vessels Using Alternate Fuels, Battery Electric and Wind Propulsion (view project), UK-MaRes Flex Fund (EPSRC and DFT), £39,366.91, PI (Project duration - 6 months), Partners - DFDS, Port of Tyne, Smart Green Shipping, Connected Places Catapult, Naxxar Technology Ltd, Zizo Software, MCG UK

Optimising Vessel Operations: Simulation modelling for efficiency gains and time savings across differing load scenarios, UKRI IAA (EPSRS and ESRC IAA), £32,986.76, PI (Project duration - 9 months), Partner - DFDS

Hort2thefuture - Horticulture innovations in soil friendly practices to ensure a sustainable future, Horizon Europe, Euro 410,027.50, Co-I, EU contribution Euro 6.49 million, (Project Duration - 46 months)

Optimization of Solar Power Utilization for Marine Vessels through Data-Driven Modeling and Analysis, Innovate UK through Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester, £32,878.81, PI, (Project duration - 6 months), Partner - GrafMarine

Shipping decarbonisation and the winds of change, Alumni Breakthrough Fund, £184,187.55, Co-I, (Project Duration - 36 months). Partner - Smart Green Shipping

University of Manchester and Dover Harbour Board Dual Associate KTP. Innovate UK, £677,364.00, Co-I, (Project duration - 33 months). Partner - Port of Dover

Investigation of Fuel Bunkering and Electric Vessel Charging Operations at UK Ports (view project). EPSRC Catapult Network - ILN+, £50,000, PI, (March 2024 - April 2026). Partner - Connected Places Catapult and Port of Aberdeen

Sustainable maritime transportation network considering sulphur fuel regulation – application of advanced machine learning and optimization. ESRC CDT, £147,000, PI, (Sept 2023 to Aug 2027)

Assessment of the ability of cargo buses to improve the efficiency of small businesses’ logistics, reduce carbon emissions from transport, and improve the financial viability of rural bus services. ESRC CDT, £90,800, PI, (Sept 2023 to Aug 2027).

Reducing Environmental Risks in Mining Using Machine Learning and Data Fusion to Improve Tailings Analysis. ESRC CDT, £147,000, Co-I, (Project duration - 4 years).

Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) and wearable devices: A new developed technology to address Home Health Care (HHC) patients. Lord Alliance PhD Studentship, £147,000, Co-I, (Sept 2022 - Aug 2026). 

Relationship building with Port of Dover to explore possible research collaborations. UKRI IAA (AHRC, EPSRC and ESRC IAA), £9,804.85, PI, (July 2023 - June 2024). Partner - Port of Dover

Access to Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure to support the transition to zero emission vehicle mass access. UoM Seed Fund, £7,500, Co-I, (May 2023 - July 2023). Partner - Transport for Greater Manchester

The role of Social Responsibility in the employability of MSc Students. AMBS SR Fund, £5,200, PI, (Jan 2023 - June 2023). 

Turing Exchange Fellowship – Research work in collaboration with National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise. The Alan Turing Institute and UoM, £6,000, PI, (Oct 2022 - March 2023). Partner - FADNE

VALUMICS - Understanding food value chains and network dynamics. EU H2020, Euro 318,555, EU contribution Euro 5.9 million, Co-I, (June 2017 - Sept 2021). Partner - Ocean Supreme

Interested in supervising PhD and MSc Students on following areas - sustainable maritime operations, supply chain logistics, disruption within freight transportation, inter-modal transportation, port operations and fuel bunker management.

Methodological Expertise required for PhD and MSc students - operations research, machine learning, algorithm development, problem-based heuristics, data science, artificial intelligence and statistical knowledge.

My research has generated practical tools, influenced policy, and attracted media recognition, illustrating its wide-ranging impact beyond academia:

1. App Development for Industry and Sustainability

Battery & Vessel Route Simulation App: Developed in collaboration with GrafMarine, this interactive app (view app) supports real-time data visualization and analytics for marine-based renewable energy systems. The project was funded by Innovate UK under the Turing Innovation Catalyst Manchester initiative.

Farmer Sustainability Assessment App: This app (view app) was designed to help growers estimate key sustainability indicators in the agri-food sector. It was developed as part of the Hort2TheFuture project (hort2thefuture.eu), funded by Horizon Europe.

2. Media Recognition

My work on sustainable and data-driven supply chain systems has attracted attention from both industry media and national outlets, helping to raise public awareness and drive conversation around digital transformation in logistics:

• Connected Places Catapult: Featured in the article "Meet the Academic using AI to optimise logistics networks" (see article), this highlights my research related to using AI to improve delivery efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. It also discusses my novel approach to rural goods transport by enabling food producers to ship goods via passenger buses.
• Factory & Handling Solutions: The article rattling the supply chains examining how data and digital tools are reshaping business sustainability (see article).
• Manchester World: covered my research work around the sustainable supply chain logistics (see article). 
• National World (see article), London Daily News (see article) and NewsByWire (see article) also covered this work, showcasing its practical implications and broader relevance to public and private sector stakeholders.

3. Policy Influence

Findings from my research have directly contributed to policy discourse at the national level. Insights from recent projects were referenced in parliamentary questions raised in the UK Parliament, underscoring the relevance of the work in shaping national strategies on sustainability and innovation:

House of Lords Written Q&A for Department of Business and Trade

House of Commons Written Q&A for Department of Transport