Ian Milne

Dr. Ian Milne is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia's (UWA) School of Earth and Oceans and UWA Oceans Institute. He specializes in fluid dynamics, focusing on aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, and unsteady loading on wind and tidal turbines. His work integrates theoretical, numerical, and machine learning methods with experimental data from model-scale and field studies. He holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Auckland and has industry experience as a Senior Metocean Engineer at Woodside Energy Limited.

His research interests include turbulence in tidal farms, wave-structure interactions, and mooring system dynamics for floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units. He contributes to industry collaborations, such as the ITRH for Offshore Floating Facilities and the TIDE Hub, and teaches wind energy modules in the Renewable Ocean Energy course. Dr. Milne has supervised Masters and PhD students on topics like ship hydrodynamics and statistical metocean prediction.

He received the 2023 Oceans Graduate School Award for Research Impact and Innovation. Current projects include predicting vessel motions using machine learning, optimizing FPSO mooring systems, and deriving directional wave spectra from ship motion data. His work supports UN Sustainable Development Goals related to affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) and industry innovation (SDG 9).