Aart Winthorst and Paula Ooms win Maarten van der Vlerk Thesis Prize 2024

Aart Winthorst and Paula Ooms are the winners of the Maarten van der Vlerk Thesis Prize 2024, the prize for excellent Bachelor's or Master's theses in the field of Econometrics and Operations Research (and Actuarial Studies). Winthorst won the prize for his Master’s thesis on how microgrid infrastructure investments can help airports realize the net-zero carbon emission goal of 2050. Ooms won the prize for her Bachelor’s thesis on the treatment effects of midwifery licensing requirements on maternal health outcomes.

Best Master’s thesis

Aart Winthorst’s master's thesis introduces a novel framework that incorporates Scope 3 emissions (those arising from energy-dense Fossil Jet Fuel) into airport emission calculations and determines the necessary carbon offsets. Winthorst proposes a stochastic linear model with recourse actions designed to minimise investment costs in microgrid technologies while reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions, thereby simulating the complex decision-making process faced by airports. 

In Winthorst’s research, Groningen Airport Eelde (GAE) serves as a case study, revealing that the optimal solution involves the early adoption of solar panels, while other microgrid technologies are economically unfeasible. Annual and scenario-based analyses provide a clearer understanding of the impact of the chosen scenarios and associated parameter values, such as hydrogen price, commodity carbon equivalent emissions and carbon credit prices. According to the jury of thesis prize, Winthorst’s thesis stands out for its societal, practical, and scientific contribution. Jury chair Professor Kees Jan Roodbergen: “It offers a new perspective on reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions in the aviation industry, and as such addresses a pressing global challenge. The case study on Groningen Airport Eelde shows the real-world applicability of the model.” After his graduation, Winthorst has been collaborating with his thesis supervisors to get his thesis published in a scientific journal. “We have refined the model to an hourly level to better approximate reality. We also made some other adjustments to make the model as realistic as possible.”

Best Bachelor’s thesis

In her thesis, Paula Ooms, currently a Master’s student in Econometrics, Operations Research & Actuarial Studies and a Master’s student in Finance, uses Two-Way Fixed Effects (TWFE) and Difference-in-Differences (DiD) methodologies to empirically analyze the treatment effects of midwifery licensing requirements on maternal health outcomes. Midwifery licensing has been a policy intervention aimed at improving U.S. maternal mortality rates.

The analysis of treatment effects through both methodologies indicates the applicability of both methodologies for estimating the impact of midwifery laws on maternal mortality rates. Specifically, the findings indicate that the introduction of midwifery licensing corresponds with an approximate 8% reduction in maternal mortality. Ooms’ esearch highlights the importance of carefully selecting statistical approaches for policy evaluation to ensure accurate and reliable conclusions. The jury of the thesis prize was impressed by Ooms’ use of advanced econometric tools. Jury chair Roodbergen: “Implementing these methods required a thorough understanding of complex techniques. Paula delivered a thesis that is both well-written and meticulously presented with graphs and tables thoughtfully designed to support the analysis.”

Maarten van der Vlerk Thesis Prize

The two other nominees for the Bachelor’s Thesis Prize were Dirk Dortland and Floris Pol. Dortland was nominated for his thesis titled ‘Unlocking Personal Preferences: A Random Forest Approach for Estimating Random Coefficients in Multinomial Mixed Logit Models’. Pol was nominated for his thesis titled ‘Machine learning approximations of the Vehicle Routing Problem’. The Thesis Prize is a tribute to late professor Maarten van der Vlerk, who was the director of the Bachelor Econometrics and Operations Research (EOR) and the Master Econometrics, Operations Research and Actuarial Studies (EORAS) for almost 10 years. The winners of the Maarten van der Vlerk Thesis Prize receive € 1,000 each.