Fully Funded PhD in AI & Robotics for Scientific Discovery - University of Liverpool (UK)
gabriell...@gmail.com
Dear WiML Community,
We are seeking a highly motivated individual for a fully funded PhD studentship at the University of Liverpool, working on a cutting-edge project titled 'From single robotic chemist action to end-to-end experiment resilience'.
Position Overview.
Location: Primarily based at the University of Liverpool (AIchemy Hub), with in-person secondments to the Centre for AI in Assistive Autonomy at the University of Edinburgh.
Supervisory Team: Dr. Gabriella Pizzuto, Prof. Andy Cooper (Liverpool), Dr. Xenofon Evangelopoulos, and Prof. Ram Ramamoorthy (Edinburgh).
Funding: Fully funded (UK tuition fees and stipend) for 3.5 years.
Application Deadline: 30 May 2026
Start Date: 1 October 2026
About the Project. Current robotic chemists are largely constrained by deterministic, linear pipelines or isolated, single-task learned models. This project aims to design a resilient robotic framework that can autonomously replan within real-world, laboratory conditions. You will develop novel robotics and machine learning methods that learn task-relevant manipulation skills to build long-horizon experiments; support autonomous replanning in the presence of unexpected disturbances (e.g., environmental changes, hardware failures); incorporate an experiment-aware agentic framework capable of steering the robotic system to complete chemistry workflows and evaluate performance in realistic chemical discovery pipelines, in close collaboration with experimental scientists.
Candidate Profile. We are looking for applicants with a Master’s degree (or equivalent background) in Robotics, Machine Learning, Computer Science, Data Science, Applied Mathematics, Mechatronics, Engineering or related quantitative disciplines. The ideal candidates should also have an enthusiasm for interdisciplinary research, an interest in collaborating directly with experimental scientists, and hands-on experience with real robotic systems.
How to Apply. For full details on the project, the research centers involved, and the subsequent formal university application steps, please visit our official posting here: https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/from-single-robotic-chemist-action-to-end-to-end-experiment-resilience
Please feel free to share this with anyone who might be interested, and do not hesitate to reach out with any questions on Gabriell...@liverpool.ac.uk.
Best regards,
Gabriella