Prof. Hamden is a telescope builder, with a focus on UV astronomy and developing new detector technology. She will describe why the UV is so interesting scientifically and why is it criminally understudied. She will also discuss her own work on several different UV missions in development, including FIREBall-2 and Aspera.
Dr. Erika Hamden is a professor of astrophysics at the University of Arizona. She specializes in building telescopes that go into space and the stratosphere, and developing technology to make telescopes better. Erika is a leader in the field of space astrophysics, and has developed programs to teach early career scientists how to develop their own space missions. She is the deputy principal investigator of Aspera, a NASA orbiting telescope in development. She is a former chef, a TED Fellow, a AAAS If/then Ambassador, an aspiring astronaut, and is working on her pilots license.