KUSHAL R. BHANDARI

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Computer Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. My research develops computational and analytical methods for understanding and improving complex machine learning systems through the lens of network science. I study how machine learning systems reason over networks, organize information internally, spread through model ecosystems, and generate agentic workflow graphs.

I have been mentored by Dr. Jianxi Gao, whose guidance has shaped my work across complex networks and machine learning. My research has also benefited from close collaboration and guidance from Dr. Pin-Yu Chen on projects involving language models, reinforcement learning, model ecosystems, and the structural organization of machine learning systems. My work advances a broader research agenda on the bidirectional relationship between machine learning and complex networks, aiming to build more interpretable, robust, and effective AI systems.