Sara Bernardini

Professor Sara Bernardini is a leading academic in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Oxford's Department of Computer Science, where she holds a joint appointment as a Tutorial Fellow at Mansfield College. Her research specializes in decision-making for autonomous systems, automated planning, and robotics, with applications in extreme environments like space missions, nuclear decommissioning, and offshore energy. She bridges theoretical AI with real-world challenges through projects funded by Innovate UK, EPSRC, NERC, and the Alan Turing Institute.

Her research interests span:

• Autonomous Systems: Developing agents that support humans in complex cognitive tasks.
• Automated Planning: Algorithms for goal recognition, pathfinding, and multi-agent coordination.
• Robotics: Solutions for subterranean exploration, offshore wind farms, and UAV operations.
• AI Safety: Risk-aware autonomous systems and interpretable decision-making.

Bernardini's publications emphasize algorithmic robustness in path planning, multi-agent coordination, and real-world AI deployments. Recent work explores goal legibility in uncertain environments, energy-efficient robotics, and AI education tools. Her 65+ papers in top venues (e.g., AIJ, JAIR, ICAPS) show a trend toward safety-critical applications and human-AI collaboration.

Awards & Leadership:

• ICAPS-2020 Best Paper Honorable Mention
• Executive Council Member, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI)
• Program Chair, International Conference on Automated Planning and Scheduling (ICAPS 2024)
• Associate Editor, Artificial Intelligence Journal

She leads interdisciplinary teams for projects like autonomous offshore wind farm maintenance and modular robots for extreme environments. As Principal Scientist at the UK National Oceanography Centre, she advanced marine robotics. She mentors PhD candidates and collaborates globally (e.g., NASA Ames, MIT).