Neelam Akula

PhD Candidate — University of Texas at Dallas

neelam[dot]akula[at]utdallas[dot]edu
Office: BE 3.302B  ·  Dallas, TX

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I am a PhD candidate in mathematics at UTD, advised by Baris Coskunuzer. My research centers on Graph Representation Learning and Topological Machine Learning — specifically on task transferability and interpretable/explainable ML for graph foundation models. I am also actively working on trade network analysis.

Previously, I was an undergraduate at UMD (2019-2023) where I worked with Amin Gholampour on the moduli space of quiver representations. My undergraduate thesis: Quiver Representations and Auslander-Reiten Theory.

Published

• Same Graph Cross-Task Transfer in GNNs: Protocols and Predictors

  with Surbhi Kumar, Murat Kantarcioglu, and Baris Coskunuzer

  ICML 2026 — International Conference on Machine Learning, July 2026

  paper code
  
• Node2Graph: Diagnosing Task Unification in Graph Learning

  with Varun Shiralkar and Baris Coskunuzer

  PAKDD 2026 — Pacific-Asia Conference on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining, June 2026

  paper code

In Preparation & Submitted

• Input-Output Network Topology Reveals Persistent Structural Regimes in the Global Economy

  with Rayaan Ansari, Muhammed Ali Yildirim, and Baris Coskunuzer

  In preparation, 2026
• Graph Label Alignment: A Diagnostic Atlas for Graph Classification

  with Varun Shiralkar and Baris Coskunuzer

  Submitted, 2026

• Quiver Representation Theory
• The knitting algorithm for AD type quivers
• A proof of Gabriel's theorem
• On decimal expansions of rational numbers

• TA MATH 2418 — Linear Algebra, UTD (F23, F24, S25, S26)
• MATH 2414 — Integral Calc, UTD (S24)
• MATH 2413 — Differential Calc, UTD (F25)
• Instructor MATH 299Q — Quiver Representations, UMD (S23)

Outside of research, I spend a lot of time on electronic music production, digital signal processing, modular synthesis, VST/plug-in development, and analog emulation. I also read a lot, mostly literary fiction and philosophy, and recently have started tracking it on Goodreads (for now — I've been meaning to migrate to StoryGraph).

• Free mathematics textbooks from Georgia Tech
• Keith Conrad's expository papers
• A map of the (model-theoretic) universe