Paolo Desiati is a research professor at the Wisconsin IceCube Particle Astrophysics Center (WIPAC) at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He investigates cosmic rays—high-energy particles from space—using the IceCube Neutrino Observatory, the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Observatory, and the Southern Wide-field Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO). His work spans experimental analyses, large-scale simulations, and multi-experiment data combinations that sharpen our understanding of cosmic-ray origins and transport. He also performs numerical calculations of particle trajectories in astrophysical magnetic-field models, building theoretical frameworks that can be tested directly against observations. By bridging instruments and methods, Desiati aims to disentangle the complex processes that shape the cosmic-ray sky.

News

• November 2025: New Results - New results on the measurememnt of the cosmic-ray anisotropy due to the Compton-Getting effect from Earth's orbital motion and evidence that the observed cosmic-ray anisotropy measured by the IceCube Observatory scales in rigidity were presented at the upcoming TeV Particle Astrophysics Conference (TeVPA 2025) to be held in Valencia, Spain in November 2025. These results were presented by members of the team at Loyola University Chicago, Mercer University, and the University of Wisconsin - Madison - (NSF Award #2209483).
• July 2025: New Results - New preliminary investigations and results on cosmic-ray anisotropy observations with IceCube, IceCube/HAWC (with evidence that cosmic-ray anisotropy scales in rigidity and not total energy), and IceTop, were presented at the International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC 2025) held in Geneva, Switzerland, in July, 2025. These results were presented by members of the team at Loyola University Chicago, Mercer University, and the University of Wisconsin - Madison - (NSF Awards #2209483 and #2310092).
• June-July 2025: Cosmic-Ray Summer Program - WIPAC hosts the Cosmic-Ray Summer Program, an initiative designed to train the next generation of STEM professionals. Building on the success of the NSF-funded IceCube EPSCoR Initiative (IEI), this summer program provides undergraduate and early graduate students with hands-on research experience in cosmic-ray science. Organized across several institutions within the IceCube Collaboration, the program has become a model for student engagement in cutting-edge astrophysics research. This year, we are excited to welcome 15 students from the University of Delaware, South Dakota School of Mines, University of Alaska, Loyola University Chicago, Mercer University, Marquette University, University of Alabama, and the University of Wisconsin–Madison - (NSF Award #2209483). We also have a visiting student from Stevens Institute of Technology (REU student), one from Harvard University, and a student from Chiang Mai University (Thailand).
• April 2025: Research Paper - The paper on Chaotic Behavior of Trapped Cosmic Rays, based on the research performed in collaboration with colleague Dr. Vanessa López Barquero, was published on The Astrophysics Journal (V. López-Barquero and P. Desiati 2025 ApJ 983 106).
• March 2025: Conference - Attended the 2nd LHAASO Symposium held in Hong Kong SAR, China. I presented the current status of cosmic-ray anisotropy measurements and advocated for a coordinated, multi-experiment initiative to integrate global datasets and produce comprehensive, multi-energy arrival-direction maps, like the HAWC-IceCube combined sky map.
• Past News