Working manuscript · v0.7

Ananya Iyengar

  • ¹ Department of Computer Science, IIT Madras
  • ² Visiting Research Scholar, Mila Quebec, Summer 2025
  • ³ Corresponding author: ananya@iitm.ac.in
Abstract

I'm a final-year CS undergrad working on the failure modes of long-context retrieval systems. This page is a working index of my publications, posters, and ongoing thesis. Last updated 2 March 2026.

Keywords: retrieval-augmented generation · long-context evaluation · agentic memory · RAG benchmarks
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1.Introduction

I work at the intersection of long-context retrieval and small-data benchmarks. My undergraduate thesis investigates how retrieval-augmented generation degrades on inputs longer than 128K tokens, and proposes a small set of evaluation tasks that surface degradation earlier than the loss curve does.

Before this, I worked on classical RAG benchmarks at IIT Madras' SocAI lab. The work in this manuscript was supported in part by a summer fellowship at Mila Quebec under Yoshua Bengio's group, where I worked on the agentic memory thread.

I am applying for PhD programs in machine learning starting Fall 2026.

2.Publications

Selected, in reverse chronological order.

  1. [1]
    Iyengar, A. & K. Banerjee. Long-Context Failure Modes in Retrieval-Augmented Generation. Proceedings of EMNLP (under review), 2026.
    Introduces a 12-task benchmark for inputs over 128K tokens. Code released.
    [pdf][arxiv][code]
  2. [2]
    Iyengar, A. On the Slow Decline of RAG Recall with Context Length. ACL Student Research Workshop, 2025.
    Awarded best-poster.
    [pdf][arxiv]
  3. [3]
    Iyengar, A., Banerjee, K., Bose, S. AgenticMem: A Memory Module for Long-Horizon Agents. NeurIPS Workshop on Agentic AI, 2024.
    Workshop paper, introduces a 12K-step benchmark for agent memory.
    [pdf][arxiv]
  4. [4]
    Bose, S., Iyengar, A. When Cosine Similarity Lies: Vector Stores in Indian-Language Retrieval. WiML Workshop @ NeurIPS, 2024.
    Co-first author.
    [pdf]

3.Methods & Tools

Programming
Python · PyTorch · JAX · C++
Methods
Variational inference · RLHF · Information retrieval · Statistical learning
Tooling
LaTeX · Tikz · Jupyter · Slurm clusters
Languages
English · Tamil · Hindi · Reading German

4.Research positions

  • Summer 2025
    Visiting Research Scholar. Mila Quebec. Advised by Yoshua Bengio (group).

    Worked on the agentic memory thread under Sasha Rush. Outcome: a workshop paper at NeurIPS 2024.

  • 2024 — present
    Undergraduate Researcher. SocAI Lab, IIT Madras. Advised by Prof. K. Banerjee.

    Working on long-context evaluation. Led a 12-task benchmark currently under review at EMNLP.

  • Summer 2024
    Research Intern. Microsoft Research India. Advised by Dr. S. Bose.

    Worked on Indian-language retrieval. Co-authored a workshop paper at WiML.

5.Correspondence

I am applying to PhD programs in machine learning starting Fall 2026, and am happy to chat with potential advisors, hiring researchers, or anyone working on retrieval / agentic systems. The fastest way to reach me is email; I read everything within a working day.

Email
ananya@iitm.ac.in
Office: BSB-203, IIT Madras, Chennai 600036
Profiles
  • Google Scholar/citations?user=…
  • Semantic Scholar/author/A-Iyengar
  • GitHub@ananyaml
  • OpenReview/profile?id=Ananya-Iyengar
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