Research Interests
Computational models of self-assembly, genotype-phenotype maps, protein self-assembly, biological evolution, combinatorics, graph theory, and algorithmic information theory.
Research Experience
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University of Oxford PhD Project (Supervisor: Prof Ard Louis) Exploring the algorithmic principles of evolution through a 3D polycube model of protein complex self-assembly |
Oct 2023 | - | Present |
|
Technische Universität Dresden Master’s Thesis (Supervisor: Prof Matthias Vojta) Strain engineering of quantum spin liquids |
Jun 2022 | - | Apr 2023 |
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Magnetism in graphene fractals Semester Project under Dr Sudipta Dutta , IISER Tirupati |
Dec 2021 | - | May 2022 |
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Critical dynamics in chiral disordered systems Semester Project under Dr Sambuddha Sanyal , IISER Tirupati |
Aug 2021 | - | Nov 2021 |
|
Anderson localization and zero modes in graphene Summer Internship under Dr Sambuddha Sanyal , IISER Tirupati |
May 2021 | - | Jul 2021 |
Education
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University of Oxford, UK DPhil Theoretical Physics |
2023 | - | Present |
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Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Tirupati, India BS-MS Dual Degree in Physics | CGPA: 9.7/10 (Class Rank-I, Gold Medal) |
2018 | - | 2023 |
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St. Charles School, India 12th Grade - 98% (Top 1% nationally, Class Rank-I) |
2012 | - | 2018 |
Teaching & Work Experience
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University of Oxford Senior Demonstrator – Computing (Physics lab course) |
Sep 2025 | - | Present |
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University of Oxford Tutor – Non-equilibrium Statistical Physics (master’s course) |
Jan 2025 | - | Mar 2025 |
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University of Oxford Tutor – Non-equilibrium Statistical Physics (master’s course) |
Jan 2024 | - | Mar 2024 |
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University of Oxford Demonstrator – Computing (Physics lab course) |
Oct 2024 | - | Jun 2025 |
Outreach & Engagement
| Workshop Instructor – Biophysics Outreach, Oxford | Jun 2025 |
| Tutor – Physics, UNIQ Oxford Access Programme | Jul 2025 |
| Tutor – Physics research project, Aim-for-Oxford Outreach Programme | Aug 2025 |
| Student ambassador – University College Oxford Open Day | Sep 2025 |
| Demonstrator – Bridging Programme in Physics and Maths, Oxford | Oct 2025 |
| Workshop Facilitator – Consent Training at University College Oxford | Oct 2025 |
| Mentor – Lotus STEMM Programme (mentoring women in STEM) | Oct 2025 |
| Tutor – Physics, Balliol College Outreach, Oxford | May 2026 |
Awards & Scholarships
| Gates Cambridge Scholarship (offered, not taken up) | 2023 |
| Oxford-Radcliffe Graduate Scholarship | 2023 |
| Narotam Sekhsaria Postgraduate Scholarship | 2023 |
| Cambridge Trust & Newnham College Scholarship (offered, not taken up) | 2023 |
| Institute Gold Medal for Academic Excellence, IISER Tirupati | 2023 |
| DAAD-WISE Scholarship, Germany (offered, not taken up) | 2022 |
| C.N.R Rao Education Foundation Prizes, IISER Tirupati | 2020 |
| INSPIRE Scholarship for Higher Education, Government of India | 2018 |
| Academic Excellence Awards, IISER Tirupati (Semesters I-VI and VIII) | 2018–22 |
Publications
|
Agrawal, P.†, Erturk, A. H.†, and Louis, A.,
Successive vertex orderings of connected graphs,
arXiv preprint, 2026. arXiv:2604.07408 |
† equal contribution
Conferences, Workshops & Competitions
Contributed Talks / Poster Presentations
| Conference Talk: DPG Condensed Matter Physics (Germany) | 2026 |
| Outreach Talk: Balliol College Oxford | 2026 |
| Conference Talk: AI and Ethics conference, Oxford | 2026 |
| Flash Talk: Physics of Life summer school at Durham University | 2025 |
| Poster: Barcelona Collaboratorium – Modelling Biology Across Scales (Spain) | 2024 |
Conference / Workshop Participation
| Foundations of nanoscience, Munich (Germany) | 2026 |
| Presentation Skills Coaching Program for Women in Science (London) | 2025 |
| Software Carpentries Workshop – Shell, Git, Python (Oxford) | 2025 |
| German Physical Society (DPG) Conference of Women in Physics (Germany) | 2022 |
| DPG Condensed Matter Physics Conference (Germany) | 2022 |
| SFB Conference on Correlated Magnetism (Germany) | 2022 |
| APS Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics (Online) | 2022 |
Competition Awards
| Winner, Build-a-Detector: Gravitational Wave Workshop (Newton Bhabha & LIGO-India) | 2021 |
| Winner, Decoherence: National Physics Competition (IISc Bangalore, India) | 2021 |
Examinations
| State Topper, National Graduate Physics Examination (Andhra Pradesh, India) | 2020 |
| National Science Talent Search Examination (Unified Council): Physics National Rank 6 | 2018 |
Technical Skills
- Python, Fortran, MATLAB, Java
- Experience with HPC clusters, SLURM job scheduling
- Git, shell scripting, version control workflows
- Machine learning
- Web development (HTML, CSS)
- Scientific communication and visualization tools