Fourth-year student Logan Hanssler has been selected as a 2026 Marshall Scholar. Hanssler will be provided the opportunity to study in their chosen fields for two years at any university in the United Kingdom.
Founded in 1953, the Marshall Scholarship aims to honor the unique bond forged between the U.K. and the United States through the Marshall Plan. Scholars are chosen based on their leadership, ambassadorial potential and academic achievement with the goal of using the skills they learn while immersing themselves in the United Kingdom to impact others’ lives across the globe.
Few people consider how information from space gets down to Earth, but that isn’t the case with Logan Hanssler. The Buffalo Grove, Ill., native hopes he can help develop the future of space-to-ground data transmission and the Marshall Scholarship will allow him to achieve his goals.
“Today, almost every satellite uses radio frequency transmission to send data to operators on Earth. This forms a really big bottleneck in space operations,” said Hanssler. “Spacecraft are currently discarding data in space because radio frequency technology leaves us unable to transmit everything we collect. I believe laser communication is the most promising method to improve this issue.”
Currently double-majoring in molecular engineering and astrophysics, Hanssler created his own academic path at UChicago to help him focus on this very issue. This included co-founding the CubeSat Laboratory and creating the Polarization-modUlated Laser Satellite Experiment (PULSE-A) program, which was selected to receive funding from NASA. He believes these factors helped him receive the “opportunity of a lifetime” with the Marshall Scholarship.
“I thought that this program was a one in a million dream but now it’s going to help me do the research that I hope to lead throughout my career,” he said.
Hanssler will pursue a master’s degree in optics and photonics at Imperial College London before studying at Durham University, where he intends to obtain a master’s by research in physics.
“This is unique research for me to be doing as a graduate student and the biggest reason for me pursuing this is the opportunity to study in the U.K.,” said Hanssler. “I’ll be able to work on characterizing atmospheric turbulence to make sure that we’re getting signals through as cleanly as possible from space using adaptive optics in telescopes or receivers.”
Hanssler says understanding this turbulence—and developing a signal from space that can cut through bad weather or varying temperature and pressure—is the next step in advancing this technology. However, he is also preparing for the future by inspiring the next generation of scientists who will advance space research and engineering.
During high school, Hanssler participated in the Space Settlement Design Competitions, an early education program hosted by Aerospace Education Competitions that challenges students to envision and design space settlement projects. He has volunteered for the organization ever since. He said that creating new technologies to advance science and space exploration must involve bright minds around the world.
“I truly believe that international partnership is so important to the future of space research,” he said. “So, by working for organizations like this, you can get students connected with people that can help grow the space industry in not only the United States and the U.K., but across the globe throughout their entire careers.”
—Read the full story on the UChicago News website