Angelina Spilnyk
Using AI to support an enhanced vessel routing system that avoids harming marine life, and turning that into workable policy.
PhD Start: 2024
Research Theme: AI for Transportation and Logistics, and AI for the Natural Environment
Project Title: AI-Driven Integration of Marine Biology Datasets for Policy Recommendations to Reduce Biodiversity Loss from Vessel Operations.
My Research: I am building a localised case study system of marine biodiversity datasets that can feed into vessel route optimisation, so ships can develop enhanced route planning, thus, avoiding the additional harm to the marine life. Alongside this, I am developing a natural language processing tool to analyse maritime regulations and working towards policy recommendations that use mechanism design to give everyone in the marine industry a reason to follow new rules. If this works, it could make a real difference to marine conservation, with vessels disrupting and killing far fewer species throughout their voyages.
How I got here: My route into this research was not a straight line. I studied international law in Ukraine, graduating in 2022, and after moving across Europe I settled in the UK. I spent time in London, first in PR for technology and legal-technology startups, then in client engagement at a law firm, before coming to the University of Southampton for a master's in Maritime Law. Bringing law, technology and the ocean together into one research project felt like the natural next step. The project was the idea, drawn from a wish to connect several of my interests into one theme with real reasoning and scale. It has grown in its detail over time, while staying close to the original proposal.
Outreach and Teaching: I taught a course I designed called Law, Science, and the Future of Oceans for the Brilliant Club, running across two 2026 terms in two schools. I was also part of the Talking Itchen project, taking AI and river conservation to the public at the Southampton Science and Engineering Festival and the British Science Festival.
Beyond my Research: Outside my research, I write creative work and poetry, with pieces published in both Ukraine and the UK. I keep bees and plants, fence, and volunteer on educational projects. I have just recently finished a project as a mentor with Teach for Ukraine. After my PhD I would like to combine legal practice with academia and legal engineering, focused on ocean rights and the maritime industry.