WINNER - Paul Simavari Wins Newcastle University's 3-Minute Thesis Final

Its a double victory taking both the Judges Award and the Peoples Choice Award

PhD researcher Paul Simavari has claimed a double victory at Newcastle University's 2025 Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition, winning both the Judges' Prize and the People's Choice Award for his compelling presentation on decarbonising the inland waterways.

Paul Simavari receiving his award from Dr Richy Hetherington organiser of the Newcastle University 3MT competition

The Winning Presentation: Decarbonising the Inland Waterways

"it was a real honour to win both the Judges award and the People’s Choice award — the standard from the other contestants was incredibly high, and it was inspiring to see such a range of research being communicated so powerfully. My project focuses on decarbonising inland waterway transport, and the first step is understanding how and when vessels use energy. We can’t build smart, clean systems without good data — and that’s what my research is trying to unlock. Taking part in 3MT pushed me to explain that in a way anyone can connect with, and I’ve taken a lot from the experience".

Paul's presentation captivated both judges and audience members with its engaging delivery and important message about an often-overlooked aspect of transportation infrastructure.

Paul's slide sought to capture the current situation with inland waterways transportation heavily reliant on fossil fuels, and the transition to greener zero-emission energy sources.

The Full Transcript of Paul's Winning Presentation

Did you know that more than 90% of every single thing in this building travelled by water to get here? Shipping is the backbone of global economic trade. It's efficient, vast, and relatively cheap.

Now you're probably imagining those huge container ships that travel from China filled with important products, like medical equipment, your smartphones and of course dog umbrellas. But I'm not talking about those boats. Zoom in a bit to see the capillaries of that global system, the rivers, canals and estuaries. They're called the Inland Waterways and they're vital arteries of global trade and industry.

But there's a problem. Whilst the world focuses on electrifying cars, planes and ocean-going vessels, inland waterway transportation is stuck in the past. Nearly 70% of these vessels are more than 30 years old, and some are older than Gods dog! They're dirty and smelly and overlooked in decarbonisation strategies.

Diesel is incredibly energy dense, batteries and hydrogen not so much. We're gonna need to charge these boats a lot more, so if we wanted to switch them all to electric, here's the real problem: we don't know when or where to recharge them

My names Paul Simavari and I've been designing propulsion systems for inland waterway vessels for nearly 20 years. You could say that I'm part of the problem, but I'd like to be part of the solution.

My research is asking a simple question: What if we could understand the energy needs of each individual vessel in real time, where they are on the water, how much energy they have left, and how far they still need to go?

Once we understand that, we can begin to imagine a system that can deliver energy when and where it's needed. A bit like Deliveroo... but instead of sushi and pizza, it's renewable energy being delivered to moving vessels along the waterway network – That's called dynamic energy delivery.

Now, I'm in the first year of my PhD, so this isn't a product pitch- it's an exploration into how this could work, what would the infrastructure look like, what energy sources could it support and crucially, could this be done in a way that's, affordable, scalable and fair?

Because here's the thing, the solution to a cleaner more efficient transport system might not be something new, it might be something ancient. We've been moving goods by water for thousands of years and its 5 times more energy efficient than by roads.

So instead of moving more goods by road, maybe we should clean up these dirty boats and use our rivers better.

After all, if over 90% of every single thing already travels by water to get here then maybe one of the smartest moves we can make for the future is to go with a cleaner flow.

Watch the Video

Watch Paul deliver his 3 Minute Thesis.

Why This Research Matters

"Inland waterways are a critically underused part of the transport system — they move goods efficiently, but are powered by ageing, polluting diesel engines. As the world pushes towards net-zero, these vessels are often overlooked in decarbonisation plans. My research looks to focus on how to deliver clean energy to inland waterway vessels dynamically — not just through fixed shore based infrastructure, but by understanding each vessel’s energy needs in real time and designing smarter, dynamic solutions that can adapt to changing conditions. By enabling vessels to access future energies like electricity or hydrogen when and where they need them, my work could transform the way we power transport across rivers, canals, and estuaries — helping to cut emissions, improve urban air quality, and unlock the full potential of a sustainable, water-based logistics network — Thats my dream at least!".

About the Three Minute Thesis Competition

The Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) is an academic competition developed by The University of Queensland, Australia, that challenges PhD students to present a compelling oration on their thesis topic and its significance in just three minutes, in language appropriate to a non-specialist audience.

Newcastle University's competition follows the international 3MT® rules, with judging based on comprehension, engagement, and communication style. Paul's double victory is a rare achievement in the competition's history at the university.

What's Next for Paul's Research?

With his victory at the university level, Paul will now prepare for the regional finals at the end of June. Paul will also compete in the Vitae national finals, with the Final heat decisions scheduled for the begining of October. More information on these finals can be seen here.

Meanwhile, Paul continues his PhD research in Newcastle Universities School of Engineering, where he is currently in the first year of his research and is in the process of creating a 'Vessel Data Portal' which he hopes will provide a single point where vessel operators and other major stakeholders can provide vital data that will help the sector understand the energy demands that will ultimatley inform the infrastruvctureto make zero-emission operations a reality for the inland waterways. He will then use that data to develop models and simulations for dynamic energy delivery systems that could revolutionise inland waterway transportation. His work has already attracted interest from industry partners and policymakers and he hopes to make a big noise over the next 3 years.

If your interested in Paul and his research, you can see more about it here.

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Paul Simavari - ZEIWW and Newcastle University Researcher

Marine engineer, researcher, and advocate for practical decarbonisation of Europe’s inland waterways. I write to share insights, challenges, and progress from my PhD journey — with the aim of turning data into real-world solutions that work for the people who rely on these waterways every day.