A team at the University of Glasgow is building a new field of science called "inorganic intelligence"—using robots and real-time data to control and understand complex chemical systems that are too intricate for humans to manage alone. This matters because chemistry today largely relies on human intuition and trial-and-error, which limits how fast we can discover new molecules, reactions, or materials. The researchers aim to create a unified platform that combines robotics, machine learning, and chemical synthesis, allowing them to explore chemical systems that behave in unpredictable, emergent ways—much like biological systems do, but using non-living materials. If successful, this could transform how we discover and manufacture chemicals. Instead of a chemist running one reaction at a time, robotic systems could autonomously explore thousands of possibilities, optimising reactions for pharmaceuticals, advanced materials, or energy storage. The work is primarily fundamental science—it seeks to define the principles of how to program and control chemical complexity. But past fundamental work in chemical robotics has already led to breakthroughs in automated synthesis and discovery. This platform aims to accelerate that process, potentially reshaping how we design everything from nano-molecules to industrial chemical processes.
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Our vision is to establish the new field of inorganic intelligence by defining the key fundamental science problems, and by developing researchers equipped with the right skills to explore this emerging area of science. The Cronin Group has made world-leading contributions to foundational aspects of this research and now we need to explore, unify, and develop some of the central science problems. These include how to explore and control, and understand complex chemical systems using robotics and real-time data. We anticipate that the coordinated development of these four topics will lead into applications as diverse as self-assembly control in nano molecules, chemical synthesis and discovery automation or artificial intelligence (AI) optimisation of reactions and exploration and discovery of new underpinning principles. The new grant will continue to unify and develop synergies already established during the previous Platform, but most importantly will ensure continuity and stability. This will enable the team to evolve from focusing on inorganic systems to the digital control and exploration of complex chemical systems. The new Platform will not only contribute to unify the many strands already existing in the team, but will also allow an extension to new disciplines including robotics, machine learning, and development of synergies across those areas - a combination of topics very rarely merged and hence extremely hard to raise funding using other mechanisms. Thus, the new Platform is essential for continuation and the evolution of the research activity, giving added value in integrating the group, allowing us to be strategic and develop the team into the chosen new areas defining the area of 'inorganic intelligence'. The previous grant was instrumental in letting us extend our critical mass, enhance key existing international collaborations, and support inter-group collaborations in Glasgow, which allowed us to speculate and develop our exploratory work in chemical robotics. In addition, we had the flexibility to support and further consolidate some of the existing team, and to hire in new expertise, as well as restructure the team with help from the EPSRC mentor scheme. We need the new platform to continue our team development and provide stability and flexibility especially important during the next few years. As before, we will aim for our best results to be published in Science and Nature, protect innovations by patent applications, and engage a user group and industrialists as well as other world-leading academics to maximise both the academic and technological impact. This will be achieved by making full use of funding from various sources, aiming at areas that need to be developed using the Platform as a consolidating component. We will also seed 'pump-prime' projects within the Platform, provide bridging funding, and be ready to exploit unexpected and high impact results. The Platform will ensure the group remains at critical mass at a critical time, and at the cutting edge of science in a range of new areas.
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