Abdulkadir Canatar

Flatiron Institute | Center for Computational Neuroscience | New York, NY

Education

Harvard University | Cambridge, MA
Ph.D. in Physics | 2016–2022
- Thesis: Statistical mechanics of generalization in kernel regression and wide neural networks

Sabancı University | Istanbul, Turkey
M.Sc. in Physics | 2015–2016
- Thesis: Fabrication and characterization of suspended graphene devices

Sabancı University | Istanbul, Turkey
B.Sc. in Electronics Engineering | 2010–2015

Research & Professional Experience

Flatiron Institute – Simons Foundation | New York, NY
Flatiron Research Fellow | 2022 – Present
- Supervisor: Prof. SueYeon Chung

Harvard University | Cambridge, MA
Teaching & Research Assistant | 2017 – 2022
- Supervisor: Prof. Cengiz Pehlevan

Sabancı University | Istanbul, Turkey
Undergraduate & Masters Researcher | 2012 – 2016
- Supervisor: Prof. İsmet İnönü Kaya

Publications

Equal Contribution indicated by asterisk (*)

  1. Sample-Size-Invariant Measure of Dimensionality
    Chanwoo Chun*, Abdulkadir Canatar*, SueYeon Chung and Daniel D. Lee — 2025 (In Submission)

  2. Spectral Analysis of Representational Similarity with Limited Neurons
    Hyunmo Kang*, Abdulkadir Canatar* and SueYeon Chung — NeurIPS, 2025

  3. Estimating Neural Representation Alignment from Limited Inputs and Features
    Chanwoo Chun*, Abdulkadir Canatar*, SueYeon Chung and Daniel D. Lee — CCN, 2025

  4. Statistical Mechanics of Support Vector Regression
    Abdulkadir Canatar and SueYeon Chung — Physical Review E, 2025

  5. A Spectral Theory of Neural Prediction and Alignment
    Abdulkadir Canatar, Jenelle Feather, Albert Wakhloo, and SueYeon Chung — NeurIPS, 2023 (Spotlight)

  6. Bandwidth Enables Generalization in Quantum Kernel Models
    Abdulkadir Canatar, Evan Peters, Cengiz Pehlevan, Stefan M. Wild and Ruslan Shaydulin — TMLR, 2023

  7. A Kernel Analysis of Feature Learning in Deep Neural Networks
    Abdulkadir Canatar and Cengiz Pehlevan — 58th Annual Allerton Conference, 2022

  8. Asymptotics of representation learning in finite Bayesian neural networks
    Jacob Zavatone-Veth, Abdulkadir Canatar, Benjamin S. Ruben and Cengiz Pehlevan — NeurIPS, 2021

  9. Out-of-Distribution Generalization in Kernel Regression
    Abdulkadir Canatar, Blake Bordelon and Cengiz Pehlevan — NeurIPS, 2021

  10. Spectral Bias and Task-Model Alignment Explain Generalization in Kernel Regression and Infinitely Wide Neural Networks
    Abdulkadir Canatar, Blake Bordelon and Cengiz Pehlevan — Nature Communications, 2021

  11. Strong localization in suspended monolayer graphene by intervalley scattering
    Cenk Yanik, Vahid Sazgari, Abdulkadir Canatar and İsmet İ. Kaya — Physical Review B, 2021

  12. Spectrum Dependent Learning Curves in Kernel Regression and Wide Neural Networks
    Blake Bordelon, Abdulkadir Canatar and Cengiz Pehlevan — ICML, 2020

Conference Talks/Posters

  • Spectral Analysis of Representational Similarity with Limited Neurons
    COSYNE 2025 (Poster)

  • A Spectral Theory of Neural Prediction and Alignment
    COSYNE 2024 (Poster)

  • Out-of-Distribution Generalization in Kernel Regression
    INFORMS 2023 (Invited Talk)

  • Statistical Mechanics of Generalization in Kernel Regression and Wide Neural Networks
    APS March Meeting 2022 (Talk)

  • Statistical Mechanics of Generalization in Kernel Regression
    DeepMath 2020 (Talk)

  • A theory of generalization in kernel regression and wide neural networks
    Neuromatch 2020 (Talk)

Teaching

Harvard University | Teaching Assistant

  • APMATH 50 - Introduction to Applied Mathematics
    (Spring 2020–2021, Spring 2021–2022)

  • APMATH 226 - Neural Computation
    (Fall 2020–2021, Fall 2021–2022)

  • PS 2 - Mechanics, Elasticity, Fluids, and Diffusion
    (Fall 2019–2020)

  • PS 12a - Mechanics from an Analytic and Numerical Perspective
    (Spring 2018–2020)

  • PHYS 232 - Advanced Electromagnetism
    (Fall 2017–2018)

Technical Skills

  • Programming: Python (PyTorch, JAX, NumPy, SciPy, Pandas), Mathematica, SLURM
  • Research: Statistical physics, computational neuroscience, machine learning theory

Awards & Scholarships

  • Derek Bok Center (Harvard) – Certificate of Distinction in Teaching Awards (Multiple Terms)

  • Harvard University – Purcell Fellowship (2016–2017)

  • Sabancı University – Dean’s High Honor List & Honors Scholarship (2010–2016)

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