A PROFESSOR from the De La Salle University placed second in the Queen Mary UK Best PhD in Robotics Award.

Dr. Alexander Abad, who studied Computer Science and Informatics at Liverpool Hope University, was recognized for his thesis “Fine-grained Haptics: Sensing and Actuating Haptic Primary Colours.”

Abad is the first Filipino student to finish in the top three in the competition’s history.

His study focused on the development of a novel sensor that could be used in telemedicine and telerobotics.

He presented his research during the 2023 TAROS Conference, the longest running UK-hosted international conference on robotics and autonomous systems.

“It is a great honor to finish second in the prestigious Queen Mary UK Best PhD in Robotics Award,” Abad said.

“I am very grateful to my PhD Supervisor, Dr. Anuradha Ranasinghe, and Director of Studies, Professor David Reid as well as the support from the Department of Science and Technology – Engineering Research and Development for Technology Foreign PhD scholarship, and Mme. Maillefer Study Program of De La Salle University,” he added.

Sponsored by the Centre for Advanced Robotics at Queen Mary, the UK Best PhD in Robotics Award is open to students who attend a robotics PhD program at a UK University and sees their work reviewed by a panel of international experts.