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Academic & Research Timeline

Sushma Anand Akoju — United States · 2011 – Present

12+Years in USA
671Research Citations
3.86Peak GPA
4Universities
Temporarily Independent Research — 2024 to Present
February 2026 · Presenting June 2026
Accepted — 7th International Conference on Mathematics of Neuroscience and AI
June 2026
Poster presentation for paper accepted at an international conference bridging mathematical neuroscience and artificial intelligence — confirming global recognition of independent research contributions. Version from AAAI 2026 Bridge Program acceptance
ConferenceResearch
December 2025
Paper Accepted — AAAI 2026 Bridge Program: Logical and Symbolic Reasoning in Language Models (LMReasoning)
Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
First-author paper (independent work) accepted at the AAAI 2026 Bridge Program. Version from AAAI 2026 Bridge Program acceptance ˙ Preprint: "Finding Consensus from AI Alignment Studies: A Short Survey". Independent intellectual work on logically inconclusive reasoning conducted outside any institutional affiliation. · Preprint: "A Proof-of-Concept Method for Logical Inconclusiveness-based Abstention" · Example Dataset/KBs · GitHub repository
PublicationResearch
October 2025
MOVE Fellowship — Confirmed/Paused
Independent Research
Fellowship confirmation supporting independent AI and NLP research. External validation of research quality and independent standing.
Fellowship
July 2025 – Present
Representational Alignment Study (Work in Progress)
Temporarily Independent Research
Interdisciplinary study with my handwritten notes as input context spanning cognitive neuroscience, AI, and brain-AI alignment. Foundational work toward a unified representational alignment framework. Visit my work-in-progress wiki: Representational Alignment (RA) Course — from handwritten notes, hosted as a website by software collaborator Claude Code.
Research
Spring 2025
Research Collaboration — Science Communication & Grant Writing
University of New Hampshire
Collaboration with Prof. Jessica Bolker (Scientific Writing and Science Communication) and Prof. Mark Ducey (Grant Writing for Research).
Collaboration
Spring 2025
Teaching Assistant
University of New Hampshire · CS 750/850
Teaching Assistant for graduate-level machine learning coursework.
Academic
August, 2024 – February 6, 2026
PhD Program
University of New Hampshire
Doctoral studies in Computer Science including Teaching Assistant role and faculty collaboration on science communication and grant writing. Projects, guest lecture and details from PhD Program, University of New Hampshire
Education
Doctoral Research & Publications — 2022 to 2024
2023
First Author Paper Accepted — NLRSE Workshop, ACL 2023
University of Arizona · Clulab
First first-author paper accepted at the NLP for Research in Science and Engineering Workshop, co-located with ACL 2023. Independent intellectual contribution demonstrating research autonomy. ACL 2023, NLRSE workshop paper
PublicationResearch
2022 – 2024
Research Assistant — DARPA Project · Teaching Assistant CSC 473
University of Arizona
Research Assistant on a DARPA-funded project. Simultaneously served as Teaching Assistant for Automata, Grammar and Languages (CSC 473).
ResearchAcademic
2022 – 2024
PhD Program (transferred)
University of Arizona
Doctoral research in AI and NLP with focus on Neurosymbolic Methods. Conducted in conjunction with DARPA-funded project research and teaching responsibilities. Projects and details from PhD Program, University of Arizona
GPA 3.5 / 4.0
Education
Carnegie Mellon & Graduate Research — 2016 to 2022
2021 – 2022
Teaching Assistant · Student Proctor · Student Data Analyst
University of Colorado Boulder — Online Courses
Supported multiple online courses simultaneously as Teaching Assistant, Student Proctor, and Student Data Analyst — demonstrating breadth across instruction, academic integrity, and quantitative analysis.
Academic
2021 – 2022
Graduate Studies
University of Colorado Boulder
Graduate coursework in computer science with highest academic distinction across all institutions attended. Course projects and details from Masters in Data Science, University of Colorado Boulder
GPA 3.86 / 4.0
Education
2016 – 2021
Research Programmer
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Five-year research programming role at one of the world's leading AI and computer science institutions. Contributed to research projects spanning NLP, AI, and related fields — forming the foundation of 671 peer-acknowledged research citations. Projects, publications and mentored works at Carnegie Mellon University
AcademiaResearch
Foundation — 2011 to 2015
2015
Lead Android & Web Developer
University of Pittsburgh
Led development of Android and web applications in a university research and academic context.
Academia
2014 – 2015
Graduate Studies
University of Pittsburgh
Graduate coursework with strong academic performance across computer science and interdisciplinary studies. Course projects and details from Masters in Information Science, University of Pittsburgh
GPA 3.67 / 4.0
Education
2014
Arrived in the United States — Research Career Begins
Beginning of 12+ year academic record
Commenced graduate studies and independent research, building a sustained record of 671 peer-acknowledged citations across multiple institutions and disciplines.
Education
2011 – 2012
Master of Science — Forensic Science & Criminal Justice
United States
Graduate degree providing interdisciplinary expertise in forensic analysis, criminal justice systems, and evidence-based reasoning — foundational to subsequent AI and research work.
Education