Space Dynamics Lab President Jed Hancock Awarded Governor's Medal for Science & Technology

NORTH LOGAN — Jed Hancock, president of Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory, has been awarded the Utah Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology in the Government category. Hancock received the award during a ceremony honoring four recipients on April 30.

The Governor’s Medal for Science and Technology, established in 1987, is the state’s highest civilian honor that recognizes individuals whose work has contributed to scientific advancement, economic development, and quality of life in Utah.

Hancock leads SDL, which is wholly owned by USU and is one of 15 University Affiliated Research Centers in the United States. In his role as SDL president, Hancock oversees research and development efforts that prioritize collaboration with the government, academia, industry and commercial partners. This work includes advanced sensing and systems; autonomous systems and intelligent control; space mission design and operations; integrated command and control; and modeling, simulation and phenomenology.

Since becoming president in 2021, Hancock has led a period of expansion at SDL, including growth in its workforce and technical capabilities and an increase in the scale and complexity of its programs.

Hancock’s leadership and electro-optical system technical contributions include work on several NASA missions, including:

• OSIRIS-Rex, the Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification and Security — Regolith Explorer.
• ICON, the Ionospheric Connection Explorer.
• NEO Surveyor, the Near-Earth Object Surveyor planetary defense mission.

The OSIRIS-REx Camera Suite, or OCAMS, with its electronics developed by an SDL-led team, supported the successful return of asteroid samples to Utah in 2023 and received a NASA Silver Achievement Medal.

“I’m honored to receive this recognition,” Hancock said. “The work at SDL is carried out by a highly capable team, and this award reflects their expertise and commitment. Our employees are engaged in developing and delivering technologies that support some of the nation’s most important missions, from space science to national security. It is a privilege to work alongside people who contribute to efforts of that scale and importance.”

The Governor’s Medal is awarded annually in four categories: K-12 education, research and academia, industry, and government. The government category recognizes contributions that support public sector missions, including defense, intelligence and other national priorities.

In addition to his leadership at SDL, Hancock serves as adjunct faculty at USU, where he teaches optical sciences courses and participates in graduate education and community STEM outreach.

Headquartered at USU’s Innovation Campus in North Logan, SDL is an independent nonprofit corporation owned by USU that solves technical challenges faced by the military, science community, and industry and supports NASA’s vision to explore the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. SDL has field offices in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Chantilly, Virginia; Huntsville, Alabama; Ogden, Utah; and Stafford, Virginia.