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Rossi Setchi FLSW FIET FIMechE FBCS

Professor Rossi Setchi

FLSW FIET FIMechE FBCS

Professor in High-Value Manufacturing and Director of the Research Centre for AI, Robotics and Human-Machine Systems (IROHMS)

School of Engineering

Users
Available for postgraduate supervision

Overview

Overview

Professor Rossi Setchi is Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and Professor of High-Value Manufacturing at the School of Engineering. She is Director of the Research Centre in AI, Robotics and Human-Machine Systems (IROHMS) and Co-Director of the Centre for Advanced Manufacturing Systems at Cardiff (CAMSAC).

Rossi has a distinguished track record of research in a range of areas including AI, robotics, systems engineering, additive manufacturing, industrial sustainability, Cyber-Physical Systems and Industry 4.0, and, in particular, has built an international reputation for excellence in knowledge-driven symbolic AI, computational semantics and human-machine systems. Her edited books on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing are among the top Springer publications that address important United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Over a period of 25 years, Professor Setchi has worked with more than 150 co-authors and contributed over 280 peer reviewed publications including 16 edited books and over 120 journal articles, secured external grant support totalling more than £26 million and supervised to successful completion 28 PhD students. She has collaborated with over 20 UK and 30 overseas universities, 15 research organisations and 30 industrial companies from more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia and Australia. She has provided research leadership on over 30 collaborative projects funded by UK and overseas funding bodies, including the Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering, EPSRC and the European Commission. 

Professor Setchi has contributed invited keynotes at prestigious conferences in Australia, China, Croatia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, UK and USA, and delivered invited lectures at world-class universities in Colombia, China, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Spain, UK and the USA.

Professor Setchi is Chartered Engineer, Chartered IT Professional, and European Engineer. She is Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, Fellow of the British Computer Society, and Senior Member of IEEE. Rossi is member of IFIP Technical Committee on Computer Aided Innovation (WG5.4), IFAC Technical Committee on Human-Machine Systems (WG4.5) and IEEE Task Force on Human-like Intelligence of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society. 

For many years she was a trustee of Engineering Education Scheme – Wales (EESW), and is currently a member of the Tech Valleys Strategic Advisory Board. She has acted as a judge on a number of occasions and often contributes as panellist and speaker to public events and debates.

Professor Setchi has considerable experience at national and international level in evaluating research quality and impact. She is a member of the EPSRC Pier Review College since 2003 and has chaired many EPSRC Panels. She is actively helping the European Commission and several European Agencies and Councils with project selection and evaluation. Professor Setchi was a member of the REF2021 Panel for Engineering (UoA 12). She currently serves as External Examiner at The University of Hong Kong.

Honours and awards

  • 2024: Teaching of the Year Award for ENT 4110 Mechatronics
  • 2023: Teacher of the Year Award for ENT604 Measurement Systems
  • 2019: Distinguished Visiting Professor at Shandong University, China
  • 2017: Visiting Professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China.
  • 2017: Tan Chin Tuan Senior Fellowship in Engineering at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
  • 2015: Award for Outstanding Contribution to Knowledge Engineering Systems, awarded at KES 2015, Singapore.
  • 2004: Donald Julius Groen Prize awarded by IMechE for a journal paper in the area of digital manufacturing and overall contribution to manufacturing.
  • 1999: Literati Club Award awarded for a journal paper on computational modelling and robotics.

In addition, papers co-authored with her PhD students and Research Associates have received Best Paper Awards at IEEE LifeTech 2020, Kyoto, Japan, SDM 2016, Chania, Greece, KES 2016, York, UK, KES 2013, Kitakyushu, Japan, and KES 2012, San Sebastian, Spain.

Technical Committees and Advisory Boards

  • 2018-present: I-Form Scientific Advisory Committee, UCD, Ireland.
  • 2018-present:TechValleys Strategic Advisory Board.
  • 2017-present: MIEEE Task Force on Human-like Intelligence of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society.
  • 2016-present: IFIP Technical Committee on Computer Aided Innovation (WG5.4) and IFAC Technical Committee on Human-Machine Systems (WG4.5)
  • 2013-present: Chair of the KES Sustainable Design and Manufacturing Society with more than 500 members world-wide.
  • 2010-present: Executive Board of KES International. The KES association is a community consisting of several thousand research scientists working in three key areas: Knowledge Based and Intelligent Information and Engineering Systems, Renewable Energy and Sustainability, and Knowledge Transfer and Innovation.

Management and advisory board positions

Centre for Advanced Manufacturing Systems at Cardiff (CAMSAC)

Research Centre for AI, Robotics and Human-Machine Systems

Tech Valleys Strategic Advisory Board

SFI Research Centre for Advanced Manufacturing (I-Form), Ireland

Research Expert Advisory Group (REAG), Intellectual Property Office (IPO)

Publication

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

2002

2001

Articles

Book sections

Books

Conferences

Monographs

Research

Research theme: Mechanics, Materials and Advanced Manufacturing

In the area of high-value manufacturing, Rossi’s contribution to learning includes theoretical and experimental studies of metal nanocomposites, multi-material additive manufacturing and sustainable manufacturing. Her team has achieved an improved understanding of the macroscale and nanoscale friction and wear mechanisms, the dynamics of the reinforced particle migration and the effect of aging, remelting, and laser post-processing on the quality of the manufactured components using a wide range of metal powders and nanocomposites. For example, our research has demonstrated that the addition of nanoparticles results in the elimination of microcracks, which is a significant research challenge. Our pioneering work in multi-materials includes theoretical modelling of multi-material powder deposition and laser interaction with powders across multiple scanning tracks and different building layers. Our studies provide an in-depth understanding of the molten pool evolution, defect formation and track morphology of multiple materials deposited on the same and across different layers. These studies have resulted in practical implementations at several Welsh manufacturing companies based in Wales, including Airbus, Continental Teves, Qioptiq and Sandvik Ospreys, and have attracted research funding to Wales through projects funded by the Royal Society, Royal Academy of Engineering, EPSRC and the British Council.

Rossi’s main contribution to learning in Human-Centred AI is in developing novel algorithms for contextual reasoning and augmented cognition. Her main focus is on advanced human-like AI that adapt to context (defined as humans, environment, and task) in real time. This involves considerations of mental structures, cognitive processes, behaviours, and complex decision making. For example, our novel machine learning models for learning daily routines and discovering new patterns in the daily activities performed by individuals integrate multimodal contextual spatiotemporal information to identify time-sensitive patterns and detect abnormalities. The main research challenge addressed by her research is the need for more acceptable, predictable and explainable AI. Her novel methods based on Computational Semantics create, discover, manage and reason with knowledge in various domains including design and innovation, intellectual property, Cyber-Physical Systems and medical diagnostics. They have led to improved creativity, situational awareness, intuitive interaction and enhanced quality of life. For example, one of Rossi’s novel semantic methods uses image schemas to evaluate, quantitatively and systematically, experience of meaning (usability) and experience of emotion (affect). In the area of Internet of Things, Rossi’s team use semantic reasoning with cross-layer parameters from heterogeneous network architectures to manage and optimise the performance of mobile networks. The team has employed semantics, for the first time, to quantify the likelihood of confusion due to similarities in the lexical meaning of trademarks. Rossi’s research in AI and semantics has led to projects with IPO, Carlisle Brakes and Friction, and Continental Teves, all based in Wales. It has attracted significant amounts of research funding to Cardiff University and Wales through European projects with European companies including Fiat, Stile Bertone, Pertimm and Smart Brain.

Recent Contracts

Over a period of 25 years, Professor Setchi has been able to secure, with colleagues, external grant support totalling more than £26 million. She has collaborated with over 20 UK and 30 overseas universities, 15 research organisations and 30 industrial companies from more than 20 countries in Europe, Asia and Australia. She has provided research leadership on over 30 collaborative projects sponsored by UK and overseas funding bodies. See Professor Setchi's recent contracts in the table below.

List of Recent Contracts 

Setchi, R., Evans, S. E.

Title: Transforming Foundation Industries Hub (TransFIRe), led by Cranfield University

Sponsor: UKRI

Value: £345,810 (for Cardiff), Duration: 1/07/21 - 30/06/23

……………………………………………………

Setchi, R., Allen, S., Jones, D.

Title: Research Centre in AI, Robotics and Human-Machine Systems (IROHMS)

Sponsor: WEFO and Cardiff University

Value: £5.4m; Duration: 1/04/19 – 01/01/23

……………………………………………………

Setchi, R., Naim, M. and Weeks, I.

Title: ASTUTE 2020

Sponsor: Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO)

Value: total £4,762,654 (for Cardiff), external funding £3,168,181, 60% for ENGIN; Duration: 1/07/15 – 30/09/22

Partners: Welsh manufacturing companies, Welsh Universities

……………………………………………………

Setchi, R., Naim, M. and Weeks, I.

Title: ASTUTE 2020 - EAST

Sponsor: Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO)

Value: total £4,249,716 (for Cardiff), external funding £2,049,315, 60% for ENGIN; Duration: 1/10/17 – 30/09/22

Partners: Welsh manufacturing companies, Welsh Universities

……………………………………………………

Setchi, R., Spasic, I.

Title: AI-assisted Prior Art Search

Sponsor: BEIS/Industry

Value: £88,200

Duration: 21/01/19 – 20/10/19

Partner: IPO

……………………………………………………

Weeks, I. (PI), Setchi, R., Gumbleton, M., Westwell, A., Naim, M., Sloan, A.

Title: ACCELERATOR East and West

Sponsor: WEFO

Value: £3,200,650

Duration: 01/06/18 - 31/05/21

 

 

Teaching

Professor Setchi is Director of the MSc degree course in Advanced Mechanical Engineering. Her teaching is based on a reflective, reasoned and innovatory approach and on total commitment to the highest quality.

She works closely with industry and has supervised a large number of UG and MSc projects with industrial companies including Airbus, BAE Systems, Bosch UK, Orange Box, Qioptiq, Panalpina, Renishaw and The Royal Mint. Her teaching responsibilities include ENT636/ENT637 Advanced Mechanical Case Study, ENT604 Measurement Systems and EN4100 Mechatronics. Modules taught in the past: EN3033 Materials and Manufacturing, EN2909 Product Design and Systems Integration, EN2008 Computing 2, EN3905 Computer Controlled Manufacture and more.

Biography

Professor Rossi Setchi received her Double Honours degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (first class, Summa Cum Laude) from Moscow Technological University in Russia, and her PhD from Cardiff University, UK. She joined the School of Engineering as a Lecturer in 2000; she was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2007 and Personal Chair in 2011. She was a member of the REF2021 Panel for Engineering (UoA 12).

Education

  • PhD in Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK.
  • Dipl. Eng. in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, double Honours degree (first class), MEng in Automation and Robotics, Moscow Technological University, Moscow, Russia.

Scientific Leadership: International Conferences since 2020

  • 2023: Associate Editor (4.5. Mechatronics, Robotics and Components - Human Machine Systems) for 22nd IFAC World Congress 2023, Yokohama, Japan, Invited Chair of a Special Session at KES 2023, Athens, Greece and SDM 2023, Bari, Italy. Invited Chair of a Special Session at KES 2023, Athens, Greece and SDM 2023, Bari, Italy. Reviewer for ICRA 2023, Explainable Robotics Workshop. Member of the Scientific Committee of the IC3DP International Conference on Design for 3D Printing, Jeju Island, South Korea.
  • 2022: Invited Chair of a Special Session at KES 2022, Verona, Italy and two Invited Sessions at SDM 2022, Split, Croatia. Member of the International Scientific Committee of Global Conference on 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing, Valencia, Spain. Honorary Chair of the 8th Int Conf on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing SDM-22, Split, Croatia.
  • 2021: Invited Chair of a Special Session at KES 2021, Szczecin, Poland. Honorary Chair of the 7th Int Conf on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing SDM-21, Split, Croatia.
  • 2020: Member of the International Scientific Committee of DESIGN 2020, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Honorary Chair of the 7th Int Conf on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM-20), Split, Croatia, Invited Chair of 2 Special Sessions at KES 2020, Verona, Italy.

Scientific Leadership: Recent Editorial Work 

  • Guest Editor of a Special Issue on Material-Structure Integrated Additive Manufacturing for Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering: Additive Manufacturing Frontiers. Editors: Dongdong Gu, NUAA, China, Jihong Zhu, Rossi Setchi, Yicha Zhang.
  • Guest Editor for an Article collections Engineering Human-Machine Interfaces for Nature Scientific Reports. Editors: Sanja Dogramadzi, University of Sheffield, UK, Rossi Setchi, Cardiff University, UK, Woon-Hong Yeo, Georgia Tech, USA.
  •  Guest Editor for an Article collection Additive Manufacturing of Composites for the Journal of Virtual and Physical Prototyping (NVPP), 2024. Editors: Dongdong Gu, NUAA, China, Amit Bandyopadhyay, Washington State University, USA, Rossi Setchi, Cardiff University, UK, Bilal Gökce, University of Wuppertal, Germany

Recent refereeing for research councils and scientific programmes: UK 

  • 2015 - 2022: EPSRC/DST Panel Chair for Resilient Solutions NetworkPlus (2022), Responsive Manufacturing (2021), EPSRC/AI Turing Institute Fellowships (2020), Centres for Doctoral Training (2018), Portfolio grants (2017), Prosperous Nation (2017), Design the Future 1 (2015). Thank you letters in Recognition of significant contribution to EPSRC Peer Review (2019, 2021, 2023).
  • 2012 - 2024: ESRC Panel member for Manufacturing Made Smarter NetworkPlus Panel (2021). EPSRC Panel member for Prioritisation Panel (2024), Programme Grants (2020), Manufacturing Hubs (2018), Design by Science (2016), Design the Future 2 (2015), Capital Funding for Centres for Doctoral Training (2014), Centres for Doctoral Training (2013), and Flexible and Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems (2012). ESRC Panel member for Manufacturing Made Smarter NetworkPlus (2021)

Recent refereeing for research councils and scientific programmes: European Research Programmes

  • 2024: Project reviewer for Horizon projects AWARE, ASTOUND, CONVERGING and AI-PRISM. Evaluation expert for HORIZON-EIC-2024-PATHFINDEROPEN-01 and HORIZON-CL4-2024-DIGITAL-EMERGING-01-03. 
  • 2023: Project reviewer for Horizon "The European Robotics Research Infrastructure Network" (TERRINet) project. Evaluation expert for Horizon HORIZON-WIDERA-2022-ACCESS-07.
  • 2022: Evaluation expert for EIT Manufacturing on Human-Centred Factories. Evaluation expert for Horizon EIC PATHFINDEROPEN and EISMEA-TRANSITION and WIDERA.
  • 2021: Evaluation expert for Horizon TWIN-OPEN, TWIN-TRANSITION and EIC PATHFINDER.
  • 2018-2020: Evaluation expert for H2020 FETOPEN, DT-ICT, Digital Transformation calls. Project reviewer for DIGICOR, DigiCor and openMOS projects.
  • 2017: Policy adviser at the European Institute of Innovation and Technology; innovation area: Knowledge Innovation Communities (KICs) in Added-Value Manufacturing.

Recent refereeing for research councils and scientific programmes: Overseas Research Councils

  • 2023, 2024: Evaluation expert for the Academy of Finland
  • 2020: Panel member for Singapore's Advanced Manufacturing Engineering Programme.
  • 2019: Proposal evaluator for the National Research Foundation, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore, Slovakian Research Agency
  • 2018: Proposal evaluator for the the Research Foundation – Flanders, Reviewer of the SMACC Centre, VTT and TU Tampere, Finland
  • 2017: Policy adviser at the European Institute of Innovation and Technology; innovation area: Knowledge Innovation Communities (KICs) in Added-Value Manufacturing. Evaluation expert of Horizon 2020 5.ii. Leadership in enabling and industrial technologies - Nanotechnologies, Advanced Materials, Biotechnology and Advanced Manufacturing and Processing; H2020 mid-term review. Focus: Private-Public Partnerships.
  • 2016: Proposal evaluator and Panel member for the Austrian Research Council FFG; research area: Manufacturing Engineering and Cyber-Physical Systems.

Honours and awards

  • 2017: Visiting Professor at Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China.
  • 2017: Tan Chin Tuan Exchange Fellowship in Engineering at Nanyang Technological University
  • 2015: Award for Outstanding Contribution to Knowledge Engineering Systems, awarded at KES 2015, Singapore
  • 2004: Donald Julius Groen Prize awarded by IMechE for a journal paper in the area of digital manufacturing and overall contribution to manufacturing
  • 1999: Literati Club Award awarded for a journal paper on computational modelling and robotics

Papers co-authored with her PhD students and Research Associates have received Best Paper Awards at SDM 2016, Chania, Greece, KES 2016, York, UK, KES 2013, Kitakyushu, Japan, and KES 2012, San Sebastian, Spain.

Professional memberships

  • 2023: Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales. Member of the STEMM5 Scrutiny Committee.
  • 2022-2024: Member of the Royal Society Working Group on Disruptive Technology for Research. Report 'Science in the Age of AI' to be published in May 2024.
  • 2017 - present: Member of the IEEE Task Force on Human-like Intelligence of the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society.
  • 2016 - present: Member of IFAC Technical Committee on Human-Machine Systems (WG4.5).
  • 2015 - present: Member of IFIP Technical Committee on Computer Aided Innovation (WG5.4).
  • 2014 - present: IEEE Senior Member.
  • 2013 - present: Chair of the KES Sustainable Design and Manufacturing Society with more than 500 members. Member of the KES Executive Board (since 2010).
  • 2013-2015: Member of the Cognitive and Learning Disabilities Accessibility Task Force of the W3C Working Group on Protocols and Formats (PFWG).
  • 2011 - present: Member of the Institute of Leadership and Management; Awards in Practical Leadership for University Management (2013), and Leadership and Management for Research Team Leaders (2011).
  • 2010 - present: Chartered Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (FIET). Committee member of the Manufacturing and Management Section, East South Wales branch. IET Technical Assessor supporting the IET Registration and Standards Committee.
  • 2009 - present: Chartered Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (FIMechE). Industrial Advisor appointed by the Professional Review Committee to help with assessment of applications. Member of the Panel of Assessors supporting the Academic Assessment Committee (AAC) and the Qualifications and Membership Board (QMB). Interviewer of CEng and FIMechE candidates (2010-2014).
  • 2007 - present: Chartered Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS).
  • 2006 - present: Chartered IT Professional (CITP).
  • 2004 - present: European Engineer (Eur.Ing.) chartered by FEANI, member of the International Association of Engineers (IAENG).
  • 2003 - present: Chartered Engineer (CEng)

External Examiner

  • 2013 - 2018: External Examiner of 10 MSc programmes at Warwick Manufacturing Group, Warwick University: E-Business Management, Engineering Business Management, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, International Technology Management, Management for Business Excellence, Manufacturing Systems Engineering, Process Business Management, Programme & Project Management, Service Management & Design, Supply Chain & Logistics Management.
  • 2012 - 2017: External Examiner of 3 MSc programmes at Brunel University: MSc Advanced Engineering Design, MSc Advanced Manufacturing Systems and MSc Packaging Technology Management.
  • 2009 - 2014: Award and Subject External Examiner of AS programmes (Mechanical, Mechanical and Manufacturing, and Marine Engineering) at the University of Portsmouth, UK.
  • 2005 - present: External Examiner of PhD students at the University of Lorraine, France (2017), Brunel University (2016), University of Reading, UK (2015), Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, Spain (2014), Strasbourg, France (2014), Anna University, India (2015, 2012, 2011 and 3 in 2013), Bath University, UK (2012), Griffith University, Australia (2012), Deakin University, Australia (2010, 2009 and 2008), Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2012, and 2 more in 2009), University of Rousse, Bulgaria (2009), Open University, UK (2007) and University of Seville, Spain (2006).

Supervisions

I am interested in supervising PhD students in the following areas:

  • Additive layer manufacturing (metal)
  • AI and Robotics
  • Human-machine systems
  • Computational semantics

Supervised PhD Students: Current

  • Sijie Yu, Additive Manufacturing of Soft Magnetic Materials
  • Shuping Kang, Transfer of Skills for Ultrasound Examinations from Humans to Robots
  • Mumin Biyiklioğlu, Laser Powder Bed Fusion of Multi-Functional High Temperature Magnetic Alloys
  • Tong Tong, Human Intention Recognition and Prediction
  • Benjamin Mason, Postprocessing for Metal Additive Manufacturing
  • Awn Harbi Alghamdi, Decision Support for Remanufacturing.
  • Xiaodan Wang, Intuitive Human-Robot Interaction in Unstructured Environments

Past projects

Previous PhD students have successfully completed projects in Additive Manufacturing (2022, 2020, 2019 and 2017), Clinical Decision Support (2021, 2020, 2017 and 2015), Product Change Management (2017), Design for Intuitive Use (2016), Heterogeneous Networks (2016), Situational Awareness (2016), Human-Computer Interaction (2015), Decision Support for Sustainability (2015), Trademark Similarity Assessment (2015), Fit Manufacturing (2014), AI (2013), Diagnostic Support (2013), Semantic Clustering (2013), Reminiscence Support (2013), Risk Management (2013 and 2009), Semantic Retrieval (2012), Knowledge Engineering (2007), Information Retrieval using Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing (2006), and Machine Learning (2005).

Contact Details

Email Setchi@cardiff.ac.uk
Telephone +44 29208 75720
Campuses Queen's Buildings - South Building, Room S/2.41, 5 The Parade, Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 3AA

Research themes

Specialisms

  • Additive manufacturing
  • Artificial intelligence
  • Robotics
  • Semantics
  • Manufacturing engineering
University staff and alumni named as Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales

University staff and alumni named as Fellows of the Learned Society of Wales

08 May 2023

ASTUTE 2020+ contributes £541 million to the Welsh economy

ASTUTE 2020+ contributes £541 million to the Welsh economy

15 December 2022

Cardiff supports Foundation Industries green recovery research consortium

Cardiff supports Foundation Industries green recovery research consortium

06 June 2021