David Garzón Ramos

My CV is available for download. 

I received a degree in Electronics Engineering from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia, in 2014, a MSc degree on Automation and Robotics from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain, in 2016, and a MEng degree on Industrial Automation from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia, in 2022. From 2017 to 2024, I conducted a PhD on Engineering and Technology at Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium.

I started my research activities in 2011 at Laboratorio de Propiedades Ópticas de los Materiales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia, under the supervision of Prof. Carlos Vargas Hernández. During this period, I worked on applied physics and I focused my research on the development of UV sensors.

In 2014, I joined the Robotics & Cybernetics group under the supervision of Prof. Antonio Barrientos Cruz, at the Centre for Automation and Robotics, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain. The same year, I also started as an intern in the Aerospace Systems and Control Section at SENER Engineering Group, Spain.  My career as roboticist began during this period. At that time, I focused my research on the guidance, navigation and control of small unmanned ground vehicles, and on the development of strategies to coordinate groups of them.

In 2017, I joined the team of Prof. Mauro Birattari at IRIDIA, the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the Université libre de Bruxelles, Belgium, to investigate the design of collective behaviors for robot swarms via optimization.

Since 2020, I am an invited lecturer for robotics in the programme Maestría en Ingeniería Electrónica at Universidad de Nariño, Colombia.

In 2024, I joined the team of Prof. Sabine Hauert at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory, University of Bristol, United Kingdom, to investigate the mechanisms for emergent awareness in robot collectives.

Later in 2025, I started my position of Ad Astra Fellow / Assistant Professor of AI for Advanced Manufacturing at the UCD School of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, University College Dublin, Ireland. I focus my research on the advancement of collective robotics and AI to support sustainable industrial automation and economic growth.

Co-investigator. PlayData: multi-sensory digital play for all ages. Funded by the GW4 Allianz. United Kingdom.  2025–2026

Research co‑lead. AI‑driven automatic design of robot swarms. High Performance Computing resources granted by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). United Kingdom.  2025–2026

Co-investigator. SOLE‑R: del aprendizaje social en insectos al aprendizaje social en enjambres de robots. Funded by Corporación Ecuatoriana para el Desarrollo de la Investigación y Academia (CEDIA). Ecuador. 2025-2026.

Co-principal investigator. QUPAS: robots modulares y económicos para la investigación en robótica colectiva. Funded by Escuela Superior Politécnica
del Litoral (ESPOL). Ecuador. 2024–2026.

Co-investigator. Desarrollo de un laboratorio remoto y abierto en la línea de robótica de enjambres para la Universidad de Nariño. Funded by
Universidad de Nariño. Colombia. 2023–2025.

I am a Member of the IEEE, the IEEE Computational Intelligence Society and the IEEE Robotics & Automation Society.

Since 2021, I am a member of the Sociedad de Doctores e Investigadores de Colombia (SoPhIC). 

Editor’s choice award, paper in the 2024 Editor’s Choice collection of the journal Communications Engineering (Nature portfolio), UK, 2025.

Selected for Leadership Programme, fellow of the 2025 GW4 Crucible Programme for future research leaders in the UK, awarded by the GW4 Alliance, Bristol, UK, 2025.

Science Communication Award, granted by the Publicity Comitee of the 2022 IEEE International Conference on Automation and Robotics, ICRA 2022, Philadelphia, PA, USA, 2022.

Best Oral Presentation at 1er Congreso Internacional de la Sociedad de Doctores e Investigadores de Colombia (SoPhIC), Colombia, 2021.

First place in the DOTS swarm robotics competition, awarded by Bristol Robotics Laboratory, Toshiba Bristol Research and Innovation Laboratory, and the South Gloucestershire Council’s UMBRELLA project, United Kingdom, 2021. 

Scholarship for PhD studies granted by the Colombian Administrative Department of Science, Technology and Innovation-Colciencias, Colombia, 2018. (program: Doctorados en el Exterior 2017)

Scholarship for master’s degree studies granted by SENER Foundation, Spain, 2014.

Best Thesis on Electronics Engineering awarded by Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia, 2014.

Best Theoretical Work at X National School of Condensed Matter Physics, Colombia, 2012.

Scholarship for Undergraduate Studies granted by Ecopetrol S.A., Colombia, 2009. (program: Mario Galan Gomez - Bachilleres por Colombia) 

Academic Tuition Exemption granted by Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia, 2007.

David Garzón Ramos

david.garzonramos@ucd.ie

University College Dublin
Belfield, Dublin 4
Ireland

Submit to our Collection in Swarm Robotics at npj Robotics! a journal of the Nature Portfolio. 

Along with Dr. Jonas Kuckling and Dr. Bahar Haghighat, we aim to 
showcase the design, operation, and evaluation of physical robot swarms.