Lancaster University graduate, Tom Butterwick, has had his research published in the highly respected journal, Renewable Energy.

Tom studied MSc Business Analytics in 2020-21. His research focuses on the optimisation of offshore wind farm design.

Tom started this research while he was completing his Master’s degree. Tom worked on two optimisation projects during his Master’s about cabling layouts and turbine positioning. He combined the insights from these projects into one optimisation model.

Tom comments: “To tackle this project, I utilised selection hyper-heuristics which aim to identify the next best 'move' to either adjust a turbine position or cabling layout with the aim of lowering the objective value.”

“I received valuable help from my tutors who had previously published extensively on the use of hyper-heuristics to other real-world problems.”

Tom’s project was completed with support from the project’s industrial partners, ORTEC and Shell.

Since completing his MSc, Tom has taken a role with Amazon Supply Chain. He credits his studies at Lancaster with giving him important skills he uses in his professional life.

“At Amazon, I regularly utilise the advanced analytical and problem-solving skills that I gained during my project.”