Neeraj Podichetty, a native of India, is a 2021 graduate of the Master in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the Luxembourg Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management (LCL). He is one of 25 doctoral researchers out of 108 applicants selected to receive an AFR (Aides à la formation-recherche) grant from the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR). Mr. Podichetty is also the only candidate from the Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance to receive an AFR grant during the 2021 call.
Before enrolling at the University of Luxembourg, Mr. Podichetty sailed around the world on Merchant Navy ships. He started his career as a dual cadet officer as part of his Bachelor programme. Following graduation, he stayed in Merchant Navy and moved up the ranks to third and then second officer, responsible for various vessel operations such as navigation, cargo handling, passage planning, legislation compliance and the inspection of navigation and communication equipment. In 2020, he obtained his ship captain (unlimited) license, which is the highest grade of seafarer qualification and has no limits on the tonnage, power, or geographic location of the ships that he can command. Upon learning more about transportation through a number of courses offered by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), he decided to change heading and explore logistics and supply chain management from an academic point of view.
During his time working in the maritime shipping industry, Mr. Podichetty noticed that the ships are often not carrying their maximum cargo capacity. This means that the carbon emissions produced per container are higher. In order to create a more sustainable industry, cargo ships need to transport at or near capacity. Mr. Podichetty’s research project “Reducing Carbon Emissions by Increased Collaborative Vessel Utilisation”, supervised by LCL professor and transportation expert Anne Lange, aims to help companies transport cargo more efficiently and sustainably. By developing precise mathematical models, Mr. Podichetty will be able to measure the level of carbon reduction attained when companies collaborate through the usage of common resources such as ships, thereby increasing their load and lowering the amount of carbon emissions per container of goods.
“After many years working in the field, I wanted to give back,” says Mr. Podichetty, “By focusing on research and in particular on questions of sustainability, I can help the industry move into the future.”
The project will begin at the start of the academic year 2021-2022 and run for a maximum of 4 years. To learn more about the FNR AFR grant and see all the 2021 recipients, visit https://www.fnr.lu/results-2021-afr-call/.