About
I am a Lecturer in the Department of Operations & Supply Chain Management at the University of Liverpool Management School, where I currently serve as Director of Studies for the MSc Business Analytics & Big Data (BABD) programme.
I hold a PhD from the University of Liverpool. During my doctoral research, I addressed two critical optimisation problems related to container stacking and relocation operations at seaports, proposing novel solutions that significantly improve the retrieval efficiency of import containers. My PhD thesis was awarded First Prize in the 8th Maritime Economics & Logistics (MEL) Best PhD Thesis Competition in the 2019-2022 triennium.
My research interests lie in transport and logistics systems management, with a particular focus on maritime logistics and port operations. I apply methodologies from Operations Research (OR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI)—including mathematical modelling, exact algorithms, meta-heuristics, simulation, machine learning, and data analytics—to solve complex planning and operations optimisation problems. My work aims to support effective decision-making and generate actionable managerial insights.
My research has been published in esteemed journals in transportation and operations research, including Transportation Research Part B: Methodological and European Journal of Operational Research (both ABS 4-rated journals), among others. I contribute to the research community as a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review (ABS 3-rated journal) and serve as a regular reviewer for various influential journals in transportation, operations research, and artificial intelligence, including Transportation Research Part A/B/C/E, OR Spectrum, Computers & Operations Research, and Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, etc.
Currently, my research focuses on driving efficient and sustainable port operations under uncertainty through advanced OR and machine learning techniques. My ongoing funded research projects include:
Song, DP, Levers, A., Iris, C. and Feng, Y. "Data-enabled decarbonisation at seaports", funded by ESRC and EPSRC Joint Impact Acceleration Account at University of Liverpool.
Feng, Y and Razavi, S. “Enhancing Environmental Sustainability and Resiliency of the Ports”, funded by Global Partnerships Fund at University of Liverpool.
Prizes or Honours
- Research Early Career Award (University of Liverpool Management School, 2025)
- Global Partnership Seed Fund (University of Liverpool and Shanghai Jiaotong University, 2025)
- Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA) with Distinction (Advance HE, 2024)
- Best PhD Thesis in the 8th Maritime Economics & Logistics PhD Competition (Springer-Palgrave-Macmillan, 2022)
- First Place Winner of Best Paper Competition (Student) (The 9th International Conference on Logistics and Maritime Systems, 2019)
- Excellent Presentation Award (The 10th International Conference on Systematic Innovation, 2019)
- End of Year Outstanding PhD (University of Liverpool Management School, 2022)
- End of Year Outstanding PhD (University of Liverpool Management School, 2021)
- End of Year Outstanding PhD (University of Liverpool Management School, 2020)