Chad Hanna's research focuses on studying the universe with gravitational waves using the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Specifically, he and his group work to enable multi-messenger astronomy through gravitational wave observations of merging neutron stars and black holes. Hanna earned his physics PhD at Louisiana State University and was a senior postdoctoral researcher at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Institute before joining the Penn State faculty. He was awarded an NSF CAREER Award in 2015.