Dr. Alisa Rupenyan to Head up First Endowed Professorship for Artificial Intelligence at ZHAW

In October 2022, the Rieter Group, in conjunction with the Johann Jacob Rieter Foundation, announced its support for an Endowed Professorship in Industrial Artificial Intelligence at the ZHAW School of Engineering. Dr. Alisa Rupenyan will assume the new Professorship on September 1, 2023. She will advance teaching and research in neurosymbolic approaches for industrial applications of artificial intelligence.

Since 2018, Dr. Alisa Rupenyan has been leading a research group for Advanced Control and Automation at inspire AG. This company is the strategic partner of ETH Zurich for knowledge and technology transfer in the field of production engineering. In this capacity, she manages research projects on process optimization, industrial control, and machine learning for applications closely related to manufacturing. She is also Chief Scientist at the Automatic Control Laboratory of ETH Zurich and an expert at the Swiss innovation agency, Innosuisse. Previously, as Head of Application Development, she designed industrial sorting solutions at QualySense AG, a Swiss startup in the field of robotics and agricultural technology. After completing a Master's degree in Laser Physics at the University of Sofia in Bulgaria, Dr. Alisa Rupenyan received her PhD from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, followed by a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship at ETH Zurich.

The new Endowed Professorship at the Center for Artificial Intelligence at the ZHAW School of Engineering is specifically dedicated to the development and application of principle-based, neurosymbolic-inspired learning in relation to processes in production and service. These processes combine machine learning with knowledge-based systems. Basic and advanced modules will also be offered for the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Data Science as well as for the Master of Science in Engineering. A separate research group is being created for this purpose.

As already announced in October 2022, the Professorship will be financed in equal parts by the Rieter Group and the Johann Jacob Rieter Foundation over a period of six years, with an annual contribution of CHF 300 000. For Rieter, the commitment is related to the implementation of its technology leadership strategy. The contribution of the Johann Jacob Rieter Foundation to sponsoring the Professorship is in the spirit of the Winterthur Cluster Initiative.

For further information please contact:

ZHAW School of Engineering, Eva Tschampa, Head of Marketing & Communication
Phone: +41 58 934 75 82, e-mail: medien.engineering(at)zhaw.ch

Rieter Management AG, Relindis Wieser, Head Group Communication
Phone: +41 52 208 70 45, e-mail: media(at)rieter.com

Johann Jacob Rieter Foundation, Thomas Anwander, Member of the Foundation Board
Phone: +41 79 430 43 66, e-mail: jjr-stiftung(at)rieter.com

About the ZHAW School of Engineering
The School of Engineering is one of the eight departments of the ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences. With 14 institutes and centers, the ZHAW School of Engineering is one of the leading technical education and research institutions in Switzerland. It guarantees superior-quality education and continuing professional training and provides business with innovative solutions with an emphasis on the areas of energy, mobility, information, and health. www.zhaw.ch/engineering

About Rieter
Rieter is the world’s leading supplier of systems for manufacturing yarn from staple fibers in spinning mills. Based in Winterthur (Switzerland), the company develops and manufactures machinery, systems and components used to convert natural and manmade fibers and their blends into yarns in the most cost-efficient manner. Cutting-edge spinning technology from Rieter contributes to sustainability in the textile value chain by minimizing the use of resources. Rieter has been in business for more than 225 years, has 18 production locations in ten countries and employs a global workforce of around 5 630, about 16.4% of whom are based in Switzerland. Rieter is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange under ticker symbol RIEN. www.rieter.com

About the Johann Jacob Rieter Foundation
The Johann Jacob Rieter Foundation, established in 1963, supports charitable, cultural, scientific and artistic organizations, such as schools, scientific undertakings of all kinds as well as students and individuals engaged in scientific activities, preferably in the catchment area of Winterthur.