Hi, I’m Mark. I am a first-year PhD student at Lancaster University’s Statistics and Operational Research with industry (STOR-i) CDT. The title of my PhD project is Stochastic Programming Approaches to the Storage Location Assignment Problem. In this, I am working alongside my industry partner Tesco to develop models for warehouse optimisation, with a focus on scalabality. I discuss this in detail in my PhD Project page.
Before joining STOR-i, I completed an Integrated Master’s in Financial Mathematics, also at Lancaster University. The degree included modules drawn from mathematics, statistics, operational research, finance and economics, and provided me with a quantitative understanding of financial markets. I also have a Master’s of Research which I studied for and received during my time at STOR-i, in which I developed a competence for academic research.
During my time at STOR-i, I have been involved in numerous problem solving days hosted by industry-leaders including Tesco, Lubrizol, Haleon and The Very Group. The aim of these days is to draw from our knowledge of statistics and operational research and offer solutions to modern, real-world problems, which we present at the end of the day to representatives from the company. I have also been involved in numerous short group projects, as well as undertaken several large projects of my own, building an understanding outside of the narrow scope of a PhD.
In September 2025 I attended the Nordic PhD Course in Stochastic Programming, hosted by Bergen’s NHH University. The course was led by Stein Wallace, an expert in the field and professor at NHH, and featured talks by leading academics from across Europe. Taking part in this at such an early stage in my PhD allowed me to explore a broad selection of methods and applications in the field early-on. I furthered my knowledge in this area at the Nordic Winter School of Advanced Stochastic Optimisation at Trondheim’s NTNU University, which I attended in December of the same year. This focused on methods at the cutting-edge of the field, and introduced me to applications beyond transport and logistics, particularly in energy systems.
Before joining STOR-i, I worked alongside my studies at Vaughan Davies, a traditional men’s outfitters, gaining valuable interpersonal and professional experience outside of academia. I am now involved in teaching at the university, and maintain my longtime hobbies of bouldering and travelling.
Find me at the following links!
