Associate Professor Trung Hieu Tran, Reader in AI and Digital Innovation at Loughborough Business School and a member of the UK Supply Chain and Logistics Excellence (UK SCALE) Centre, has received the Operational Research Society’s 2026 Lyn Thomas Award. The award recognises academic operational research that demonstrates both novelty and real-world impact, supported by evidence.
The award-winning research, developed with Dr Thu Ba T. Nguyen of the University of Bedfordshire, created advanced planning models to help rural authorities decide where to locate agricultural-waste storage and treatment facilities and how to route vehicles between them. The project’s development and implementation were supported by funding from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
The models account for disruption risks including flooding, unreliable facilities and vulnerable road networks. They are designed to minimise costs while ensuring agricultural waste is collected and used to produce bio-organic fertiliser and biomass energy, supporting more sustainable and circular agricultural systems.
As part of the UK SCALE Centre, Trung Hieu contributes expertise in artificial intelligence, digital innovation and operational research to the Centre’s work addressing complex supply chain and logistics challenges. The award reflects the Centre’s focus on translating rigorous research into practical solutions with economic, environmental and societal impact.
The work has moved beyond research into long-term public-sector planning. It has been used in Quang Tri province since 2022 as part of a 20-year sustainable agriculture and waste-management strategy and was expanded to An Giang in the Mekong Delta in 2024.
Evidence submitted with the award application reports that, in Quang Tri between 2022 and 2025, the approach supported the elimination of burning 6.5 million tonnes of rice straw, avoided 5.6 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and replaced 2.1 million tonnes of inorganic fertiliser. The application also reports increased household income, new rural employment and substantial reductions in respiratory illness and smoke-related road accidents.
Reflecting on the award and the impact of the research, Associate Professor Trung Hieu Tran said:
“For me, this award is recognition not only of the methodological innovation behind the research, but of what operational research can achieve when it is developed closely with the communities and public authorities who will use it. By turning complex data into practical decisions, we are helping create cleaner, more sustainable agricultural systems and better livelihoods. I am grateful to our partners in Vietnam, my co-author Dr Thu Ba Nguyen and everyone who has helped move this work from research into lasting real-world impact.”
The research responds to a major national challenge. Vietnam produces more than 76 million tonnes of agricultural waste each year, according to the award application, while open-field burning contributes to air, soil and water pollution. By helping planners collect and repurpose this material, the work supports climate adaptation, public health and the development of a circular agricultural economy.
The research team is now seeking to scale the approach more widely across the Mekong Delta and internationally. The framework has been designed for replication in other climate-vulnerable regions, with potential applications across Asia, Africa and Latin America.
