Arnav Dhiman

Activities

Awards, research experience, programmes, and extracurricular leadership.

Awards & Achievements

InternationalApril 2026

Bronze Medal & 2nd Place Poster - ICYS 2026

International Conference of Young Scientists

Represented Team India at the International Conference of Young Scientists (ICYS 2026). Awarded Bronze in the Research Showcase and 2nd Place in the Poster Presentation category.

National2025 & 2026

INSEF India Gold - National Finals

Indian National Science & Engineering Fair

Awarded Gold at the Indian National Science & Engineering Fair (INSEF) nationals for research on Saddle Escape Efficiency in non-convex optimization. Won at both the 2025 and 2026 nationals.

International2026

Accepted - ICCAI 2026

International Conference on Computing and Artificial Intelligence

Research paper on Saddle Escape Efficiency accepted to ICCAI 2026, presenting a novel metric for benchmarking learning rate schedules in non-convex optimization.

International2025

Emergent Ventures Grantee

Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Awarded an Emergent Ventures grant by the Mercatus Center for independent research and high-impact work at the frontier of science and technology.

Experience

ResearchApril 2026 – Present

Research Intern

MIT CSAIL - Kellis Lab

Conducting research under Prof. Manolis Kellis at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Work focuses on computational biology and foundation models for single-cell genomics.

ProgramDecember 2025 – Present

Research Scholar

BeyondQuantum

Selected as one of 60 scholars from 434 applicants for a 12-week international quantum computing research programme. Studying entanglement entropy scaling and classical simulability of quantum algorithms.

ProgramSummer 2026

PACT Scholar

Rutgers University

Selected for the PACT summer programme in theoretical computer science at Rutgers University, working with Dr. Rajiv Gandhi.

ProgramSummer 2026

Participant

Apex Maths 2026 - Chișinău, Moldova

Attending Apex Maths 2026 in Chișinău, Moldova - a selective international programme for mathematically advanced students from around the world.

Grant2025

Grantee

Emergent Ventures, Mercatus Center

Independent research grantee supported by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University for self-directed work in machine learning and mathematics.

Leadership & Extracurriculars

CommunityAugust 2025 – Present

Co-Founder - AETHRA

Co-founded AETHRA, a community for ambitious student builders, researchers, and founders across India. Organise hackathons, mentorship programmes, and collaborative projects to make academic opportunities accessible to students from rural and underserved communities.

Volunteering2025 – Present

Peer Mentor - INSEF India

Mentor younger students participating in the Indian National Science & Engineering Fair, helping them refine research methodology and presentation skills.