Advancing Autonomous Robotic Chemists

Dr. Gabriella Pizzuto

Principal Investigator

I am a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Robotics and Chemistry Automation on a joint appointment across the School of Computer Science and Informatics and the Department of Chemistry, a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow, ECR Co-Chair on the EPSRC AI Hub in Chemistry (AIChemy) and Research Area Lead at the Henry Royce Institute.

Dr. Xin Yang

PDRA

My research focuses on modeling and optimisation for robotic systems in automated chemistry laboratories. I am particularly interested in developing methods to improve efficiency, robustness, and adaptability in experimental workflows.

Nikola Radulov

PhD Student (Leverhulme Research Centre for Functional Materials Design)

I specialise in bridging the sim-to-reality gap in robotic manipulation by integrating physical insights into computational models. My current work focuses on the autonomous manipulation of granular materials to accelerate the pace of materials discovery.

Anna Kisil

PhD Student (Leverhulme Research Centre for Functional Materials Design)

My research project aims to enhance the capabilities and situational awareness of autonomous robotic systems in chemistry laboratory environments, with an overarching goal of improving their safety and enhancing human-robot interaction.

Cenk Cetin

PhD Student (RAEng Research Fellowship)

I work on contact-rich robotic manipulation and adaptive control, applying reinforcement learning to develop dexterous robot skills, sim-to-real transfer, force-aware control, and robotic lab automation.

Laura Jones

PhD Student (CDT DAMC)

My research is focused on using imitation learning techniques to develop safer robotics chemists. I have a backround in industrial control and I am interested in blending traditional control strategies with learning methods to equip robot chemists with autonomy and safety assurance.

Ayesha Sana

PhD Student (CDT DAMC)

My research focuses on automating pharmaceutical dissolution testing in collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb. I am particularly interested in uncertainty-aware, human-in-the-loop robotic systems that can intelligently determine when to act autonomously and when to defer to human expertise.

Matthew Stock

PhD Student (EPSRC NIA)

TBC

PhD Student (AIchemy)