Email: m.a.young@soton.ac.uk
Address: Boldrewood Campus, Burgess Road, SO16 7QF (View in Google Maps)
I have had a rather convoluted career path to this point. My first degree was in Aquatic Biology (from Aberystwyth University) and I initially worked in the water industry in a number of scientific and regulatory roles. I then re-trained in IT, became a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, and worked in various IT roles at the University of Cambridge. I began as an IT Technician in the Geography department, moved on to become IT Manager at Cambridge Programme for Industry (now known as Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership), and in my final role was a Computer Officer in the University Computing Service, responsible for the Small Institution Support Service.
While at Cambridge, I studied part-time via distance learning for an MSc in GIS at Ulster University and my research project won the part-time student award for “Outstanding Contribution to GIS”. A few years later, with a move to Devon in between, I started my PhD at the University of Southampton in 2014. My research focussed on developing improved aggregate models to forecast demand for new local railway stations by incorporating probabilistic station catchments defined using station choice models. The potential of the models I developed to produce more robust station demand forecasts was recognised by transport practitioners at the national level, with work completed for the Welsh Government to assess the expected demand at 12 proposed new station locations.
This was followed by Impact Acceleration Account (IAA) funding to convert my work into an automated rail demand forecasting tool hosted on the Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure (DAFNI). This was then further developed into the open source Station Demand Forecasting Tool which is used on a regular basis to produce station demand forecasts for consultancy clients.
Since 2010 I have been an e-tutor for several modules on the distance-learning PGDip/MSc in GIS run by Ulster University.