Dr Federico Colecchia
Lecturer in Creative Electronics and Programming

Summary

I am a specialist in emerging technologies and innovation. My research focusses on the integration between technology development and user-centred design to facilitate the achievement of positive societal and economic impact. My work has a marked interdisciplinary character and a significant part of it has been carried out in close collaboration with private sector organisations. My current research focusses on machine learning, and artificial intelligence more broadly, the Internet of Things, and immersive technologies.

I have 20+ years of R&D experience in academia and in the private sector, which has led to the establishment of a broad international network of academic and industrial collaborators. 

I have been active in Higher Education since 2002 leading undergraduate and postgraduate modules and am presently in charge of a Year 3 undergraduate module covering electronics and microcontroller programming for product design, as well as of the Brunel Design MSc dissertation module. I also teach Systems Design and electronics to Year 2 undergraduate students.

I was awarded a doctoral degree (PhD) in Physics from the University of Padova in 2001, following work on a large-scale physics experiment at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center in the USA. I subsequently built an interdisciplinary research and innovation portfolio focussing on applications of artificial intelligence across disciplinary boundaries with an emphasis on the biomedical domain - brain tumour segmentation from MRI scans, protein-DNA binding site prediction, informed decision making in the pharmaceutical industry.

Following my work in Padova and at Stanford, I have been a research staff member at University College London (UCL), Brunel University London and Lund University, honorary research scientist with the UCL Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and project leader in the private sector - artificial intelligence and informed decision making for the pharmaceutical industry. My research has been funded by UK Research Councils, the EU, and private investors, and has involved close collaboration with multinational technology companies such as QinetiQ. Over the years, I have collaborated closely with clinicians, biologists, statisticians, mathematicians, sociologists, psychologists, educationalists, and designers, thereby developing a robust understanding of interdisciplinary collaboration dynamics and a deep appreciation of knowledge exchange and research exploitation pathways.

I have published research in computer science, human-computer interaction, design, bioinformatics, and physics, and my academic articles have received more than 6,000 citations (ResearchGate, 2020). I am sole inventor on a US patent on distributed storage and visualisation of large relational datasets. I have delivered presentations at international conferences across academic fields, chaired conference sessions, and peer-reviewed scholarly publications in medicine, human-computer interaction, and physics.

Research Expertise and Interests: Artificial intelligence, machine learning, embedded electronics, Internet of Things, immersive technologies, human-computer interaction, user-centred design, data mining, information visualisation.

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Federico_Colecchia

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wZlM_6YAAAAJ&hl=en

OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7447-7117

LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/federico-colecchia-8898141a8

Teaching: Embedded Systems for Design - FHEQ L6; Design MSc Dissertation Project (Integrated Product Design) - FHEQ L7; Electronics, Programming & Interfacing - FHEQ L5; Systems Design - FHEQ L5

Qualifications

PhD in Physics, University of Padova, 2001

Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy, University College London, 2018

Responsibility

Co-Head of External Engagement and Partnerships, Brunel Centre for AI

Year 3 Tutor, Brunel Design School

Postgraduate Academic Induction Champion, Brunel Design School