Employment History

02/2024-today: Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Robotics. University of Bristol/Bristol Robotics Lab.
01/2019 - 01/2024: Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Robotics. University of Bristol/Bristol Robotics Lab.
09/2017 - 12/2018: Lecturer in Mechatronics. University of the West of England/Bristol Robotics Lab.
01-08/2017: Research Fellow in Surgical Robotics, funded by EU’s H2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 732515 (SMARTsurg project). Bristol Robotics Lab.
03-12/2016: Research Associate in Surgical Robotics: μAngelo project for robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery, funded by the North Bristol NHS Trust. Bristol Robotics Lab.
2012-2015: Associate Lecturer in Robotics. University of the West of England, Bristol.
2012: Laboratory assistant and instructor in Practical Electronics. University of the West of England, Bristol.

Academic Qualifications

2020 - Aurora Programme, Advance Higher Education
2019 - Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (Higher Education Academy Fellowship). University of the West of England.
2016 - PhD in Medical Robotics, Department of Engineering Design and Mathematics, University of the West of England, Bristol Robotics Laboratory, UK. Thesis: “Anthropomorphic Surgical System for Soft Tissue Robot-Assisted Surgery”.
2011: MSc in Robotics with Distinction. University of the West of England, Bristol, UK. Thesis: “3D Simulation and Development of a Robotic System for Hand Rehabilitation”.
2009: MEng, Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Thesis: “Object Manipulation and 3-Dimensional Rolling by Dual Human-like Robotic Fingers”.

Admin Roles

10/2013-today: Concordat Champion for the School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology, University of Bristol.
11/2019-04/2022: Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity Lead for the School of Civil, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Bristol.

Research Grants

06/2023: (co-I) pump priming funded project “Prototype Resonant Inductor Smart-Glove”, University of Bristol, £5k.
05/2022: (coI) Brigstow Institute funded project “Towards creating inclusive performance spaces - introducing haptics in performance art to dismantle ableist barriers”, budget of £1k.
10/2021: (PI) EPSRC Impact Accelerator Award project “Kinds of Conversation: Making The Intangible Tangible”, budget of £20k.
05/2021: (PI) pump priming funded project “Optimisation and Evaluation of a Soft Exoskeleton glove for hand rehabilitation”, University of Bristol, budget of £5k.
04/2021: (coI) NCNR COVID relief grant, budget of £111k.
2020: (academic PI) EPSRC Industrial Cooperative Awards in Science & Technology (iCASE), with Thales Alenia Space, UK, on ‘Haptic technologies for tele-operation in Space Exploration’.
2019: (coI) CRUK-EPSRC project ARTEMIS (Advanced Robotic breasT ExaMination Intelligent System), total consortium budget of £100k.
2019: (PI) seed project funded by Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for public engagement in health research.
2016: (Researcher coI) EU H2020 research and innovation programme funded project SMARTsurg (SMart wearAble Robotic Teleoperated surgery), grant agreement No 732515, total consortium budget of 4 million Euros.

Awards, Honours and Distinctions

2021: Shortlisted amongst 50 women in robotics you need to know about 2021
2016: Researcher Links scheme and Queen Mary University of London travel award for participation in the Biomedical Engineering and Biorobotics Researcher Links Workshop in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
2015: BOSCH travel award for participation at the Women In Robotics workshop of the Robotics, Science and Systems conference in Rome, Italy.
2014: Santander PhD student travel bursary for participation in the IEEE BioRob conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
2013: 2nd Prize for best poster presentation in the 'Simulation, Robotics and Telemedicine' conference of the Royal Society of Medicine and the Severn Deanery.
2012: Best presentation prize in the B.E.S.T (Business and Technology in Surgical Technologies) Innovation Course, IRCAD, Strasbourg, France.
2012: Best poster presentation prize in the joint 2012 FIRA RoboWorld Congress and TAROS Conference 2012, Bristol, UK.
2011: 2nd Prize for best poster presentation in the Research Student Summer Connections Event in the University of the West of England, Bristol, UK.
2010: “Next Generation prize” (£1000 team award) in the 5th Annual Student Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Challenge Europe.

Invited Colloquia

02/2024: UK-RAS Robot Talk Podcast.
01/2024: euRobotics Telerobotics & Teleoperation Topic Group Winter Seminar.
06/2023: Human Rights in the Digital Age interdisciplinary group at the University of Nottingham.
05/2023: Chair of Manipulation and Grasping oral papers session at ICRA 2023.
03/2023: Lecture series: Design in Extreme Robotics, at Louvain Bionics, Institute of Mechanics, Materials, and Civil Engineering, UC Louvain.
01/2023: Bristol Cancer Research Network Interdisciplinary Research Symposium on the Prevention, Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer.
12/2022: Baden-Württemberg International virtual roadshow on “Artificial Intelligence in Health Care and Medical Technologies”.
05/2022: ICRA 2023 workshop on Human-centered Autonomy in Medical Robotics.
02/2022: Bristol Robotics Laboratory Seminar.
06/2021: Bristol Robotics Laboratory conference.
04/2021: University of Bristol Research Showcase.
06/2019: Chair of Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Real-Time Systems, Technical University of Munich, Germany.
06/2019: Intelligent Systems Department, Max Planck Institute, Stuttgart, Germany.
06/2019: Perceiving Systems Department, Max Planck Institute, Tuebingen, Germany.
05/2019: Sheffield Biorobotics Lab, Sheffield University, UK.
02/2018: OneHealthTech event for Robotics in Healthcare.
02/2018: Preston Royal Robotic Colorectal Course.
11/2017: Royal College of Surgeons “Mid-career surgeons conference”.
10/2016: Biomedical Engineering and Biorobotics Researcher Links Workshop in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
07/2015: Women In Robotics workshop of the Robotics, Science and Systems conference in Rome, Italy.
11/2013: 'Simulation, Robotics and Telemedicine' conference of the Royal Society of Medicine and the Severn Deanery, Bristol, UK.
07/2012: ‘Robotics and Medicine’ at the 138th Session of the Bristol Medico Chirurgical Society.

Editor

Associate Editor: Robotics and Automation Letters Journal, IEEE, 2021-today. ICRA 2019-2022, IROS 2020-2021.

Guest Editor: Frontiers in Robotics and AI, section Biomedical Robotics

Organisation Activities

2024: Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics Programme Committee.
2024: UK-RAS Manipulation Workshop Programme Committee.
2023: ICRA Senior Programme Committee.
2023-today: TAROS steering committee.
2021: Bristol Robotics Laboratory conference.
2019: UK-RAS Conference on Embedded Intelligence Programme Committee.
2017: European Robotics Forum workshop ‘Ethical, Legal and Social Aspects of Healthcare Robotics’.
2013: ICRA Workshop on Unconventional Approaches to Robotics, Automation and Control Inspired by Nature Programme Committee.

Selected Outreach

2021-today: on the Board of Directors of the Worldwide Network of Women in Robotics.
10/2023: Fantastic Careers and where to find them, Women in Robotics UK Chapter.
03/2022: International Women's Day - Supporting Women Founders, Future Space Bristol.
12/2021: UKRI Pathways to Independence Event.
11/2020: West of England Career Inspiration Show.
2019: ‘I am an Engineer, get me out of here’ (Healthcare zone) STEM outreach for schools.
2017: Organiser of #63 Bristol Girl Geek Dinner.
10/2016: ‘Ethics on sci-fi and robotics’ event at Bristol Literature Festival.
2016-2021: Founder and organiser of Bristol Women in Robotics chapter.

 Contact

Dr Antonia Tzemanaki
Senior Lecturer in Robotics
Ada Lovelace Building, School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology
Tankard's Cl, BS8 1TW
Bristol, UK

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Bristol Robotics Laboratory