Abhishek Amit Desai

My current interests are centered on the development of scientific software and its application to advancing astrophysics research. As an CRESST assistant research scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, I work on Fermi LAT science operations, including detector calibration software, while continuing research projects that apply AI methods to astrophysical problems. In parallel, following my work as a NPP postdoc at GSFC, I use multiwavelength and multimessenger observations to understand processes occurring inside AGN, extending this work to joint studies with NICER, Fermi-LAT, and IceCube. I am also interested in interpreting generative AI models and understanding how their outputs can be assessed and explained for responsible use in scientific research. Looking ahead, my goal remains the advancement of science and technology through reliable and scalable software tools that support scientific analysis, particularly those that make effective use of NASA data, while continuing to enjoy the process of doing science.

I received my PhD in 2019 from Clemson University, South Carolina. During my PhD years, I worked on studying the extragalactic background light (EBL) using Fermi LAT observations of active galactic nuclei (AGN) and gamma-ray bursts. I also worked as an instructor of astronomy for a summer school at John Hopkins University, Center for Talented Youth.

I later got the John Bahcall fellowship at University of Wisconsin Madison to study the possibility of AGN being sources of astrophysical neutrinos seen by the IceCubed detector. I worked on studying the radio neutrino correlation from AGN during my fellowship. I also worked on simulating the Galactic neutrino signal using a simulation package we developed named SNuGGY.

Instructor at John Hopkins University CTY (Center for talented youth) summer school for middle/high school students, July 2017

Undergraduate Physics and Astrophysics Labs: Jan 2013- Aug 2016

• PHYS 212,226, ASTR 101 (CSU Fullerton)
• PHYS 124,210 (Clemson University)

Helped mentor graduate students with their research projects at Clemson University, University of Wisconsin-Madison and currently NASA GSFC.

Ph.D., Physics & Astronomy, August 2019

• Clemson University, Clemson, SC
• Thesis Topic: Unveiling the cosmic history of light
• Advisor: Marco Ajello, Ph.D

M.S., Physics, Aug 2014

• CSU Fullerton, Fullerton, CA
• Topic: Reinvestigating the Lambda Boo Stars
• Advisor: Kwang-Ping \Patricia" Cheng, Ph.D

B.E., Electrical, May 2012

• SVIT (Gujarat Technological University),
• Vasad, Gujarat, India

-Organizer of the "Time domain and multi-messenger astrophysics with neutrinos" splinter session at AAS meetings ( HEAD24, Winter25)

-Participated in multiple proposal review panels:

• Mission Concept Review at NASA GSFC 2024
• NSPIRES proposal-2024
• Multiple HE Telescope Proposals

-Reviewer for Astrophysics journals like ApJ, A&A and ASTR.

-Co-organizer of IceCube Masterclass 2021,2022

-Co-organizer of IceCube Bootcamp 2020

-Co-organizer of MASC meeting 2019

Proposal award

• NICER Telescope Guest Observer, Cycle 7 ---- 2025-2026
• NASA Fermi GI Program, Cycle 17,(Co-I) ---- 2025-2026
• NASA Postdoctoral Program ---- (June 2023)
• NICER Telescope Guest Observer, Cycle 5 ---- 2023-2024
• NASA Fermi GI Program, Cycle 9, $60, 000 ---- 2016-2018

Postdoctoral Fellowship

• John Bahcall Fellowship–WIPAC Link ---- 2019-2023

Student Award Clemson University Physics and Astronomy

• Best Research Assistant Award ---- 2019
• SIRPA Conference Best Talk ---- 2019
• Curry Fellowship in Graduate Astrophysics ---- 2014–2015

Student Award — CSU Fullerton, Masters

• Titan Shops Textbook Scholarship ---- 2013

For full CV see: Link

Website: abhishekdesai.net