From Lab to Liftoff: Accelerating Intelligent Systems

Swissnex in Boston and New York and ETH Alumni present an ETH Alumni Boston Spotlight exploring how robotics, space defense, and intelligent systems are moving from cutting-edge research labs into real-world deployment—and what that means for industry and society. Moderated by Patrick Anquetil, Founder and CEO of Portal Instruments, the evening features flash talks and a panel discussion with three ETH alumni: Francesca Scire-Scappuzzo, Corporate Vice President and Global Head of Science & Technology at QinetiQ; Constanze Coelsch-Foisner, SNSF Postdoctoral Researcher at MIT Sloan School of Management; and Lukas Schmid, Research Scientist at the MIT SPARK Lab.

Introductory Remarks

Bio

Philippe Roesle
CEO & Consul
Swissnex in Boston and New York
Philippe Roesle is the CEO of Swissnex in Boston and New York, and Consul of Switzerland in Boston since August 2025. He previously served as CEO of Swissnex in China and as Head of the Science, Technology and Education Office at the Swiss Embassy in Beijing. Philippe joined the Swissnex network in in London supporting startup internationalization, and has served in several roles since, including as Head of Swissnex at Expo 2017 Astana, and Acting Head of Bilateral Relations at the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation SERI. Philippe holds a Bachelors from University of Basel and a Masters and PhD from King’s College London.
Bio

Sven Corus
Head of Alumni Engagement
ETH Zurich
Sven Corus is Head of Alumni Engagement in the Office of the President at ETH Zurich, where he shapes the university’s global alumni strategy and leads programs that connect ETH graduates with the institution and with one another. Building on many years of experience in alumni relations and community building, including at HSG Alumni | University of St.Gallen (HSG), he acts as a bridge between ETH leadership, the ETH Alumni Association, and international chapters. Together with a dedicated team and volunteers around the world, he develops impactful events, networks and initiatives that strengthen lifelong ties to ETH and support the university’s mission in research, education, and innovation.

Panelists

Bio

Francesca Scire-Scappuzzo
Corporate Vice President and Global Head of Science & Technology at QinetiQ
Francesca Scire-Scappuzzo, PhD is Corporate Vice President and Global Head of Science & Technology at QinetiQ, where she drives long-term technology strategy across aerospace, defense, and security domains. She has more than two decades of experience in aerospace, defense, electronics, and academia, including leading innovation strategy and advanced research at BAE Systems and serving as founder, President, and CEO of the next-generation electronics startup Ondetech. Beyond her corporate roles, she has been a senior advisor, board member, and consultant to startups, small businesses, and non-profits, and has held leadership positions as Chair of the IEEE Aerospace & Electronic Systems Society (AESS) and the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society (GRSS). Her scientific work spans electromagnetics, satellite navigation, and radar technology, and she is the inventor on eight patents. Francesca holds a PhD in Geomatics and Geospatial Engineering from ETH Zurich, an MS in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences from MIT, and BS and MEE degrees in Electrical Engineering from Università di Catania, where she graduated summa cum laude.
Bio

Constanze Coelsch-Foisner
Researcher
MIT Sloan School of Management
Constanze Coelsch-Foisner, PhD is an SNSF postdoctoral researcher at MIT Sloan School of Management, where she studies how venture studios and other entrepreneurial support organizations can systematically create start-ups and reduce reliance on chance in the founding process. Her research focuses on venture building, the design of entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the role of new institutional actors – such as venture studios – in orchestrating resources, talent, and technology to bring more science- and technology-based ventures to life. This work builds on her PhD at ETH Zurich’s Chair of Entrepreneurship, where she examined venture studios as an emerging player in innovation systems and collaborated closely with practitioners in Europe and beyond. In addition to her academic publications, she actively engages with ecosystem builders, investors, and policy-makers to translate research into practice. Constanze’s contributions have been recognized with awards such as the ASciNA Award for young scientists.
Bio

Lukas Schmid
Research Scientist
MIT SPARK Lab
Lukas Schmid, PhD is a research scientist at the MIT SPARK Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he works on autonomy for intelligent mobile systems with a focus on 3D perception and understanding of complex, dynamic environments for robotics and augmented reality. He previously was a postdoctoral fellow at MIT SPARK and a postdoctoral researcher at the Autonomous Systems Lab at ETH Zürich, where he also obtained his MSc and PhD in Robotics, Systems, and Control. His work, which combines rigorous theory with real-world demonstrations on autonomous robots and drones, has been recognized with distinctions including the Outstanding Systems Paper Award at Robotics: Science and Systems (RSS), ETH Medals for both his master’s and doctoral theses, the Willi Studer Prize, first place in the 2024 Hilti SLAM challenge, and a Swiss National Science Foundation postdoc-mobility fellowship.

Moderator

Bio

Patrick Anquetil
CEO
Portal Instruments
Patrick Anquetil, PhD, MBA is Founder and CEO of Portal Instruments, where he leads the development of innovative drug delivery solutions and brings more than 18 years of experience taking high-tech bioengineering innovations from lab to marketplace. Before founding Portal, he co-founded SynapDx, where he helped shape the company’s strategy and secure Series A funding for a pioneering autism diagnostic, and co-founded Aretais to develop non-invasive glucose monitoring backed by Pfizer. He began his career as a science and nanotechnology equity research analyst at Susquehanna International Group. Patrick holds a doctorate in BioInstrumentation from MIT, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a master’s degree from ETH Zurich and the University of Tokyo, and serves as President of the ETH Alumni New England Chapter and as a member of the ETH Circle.