Photo Credit: Bret Hartman/TED
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APPOINTMENTS
University of Arizona Space Institute, Director, 2023 - Present
University of Arizona, Associate Professor, 2023 - Present
University of Arizona, Assistant Professor, 2018 - 2023
California Institute of Technology, Postdoctoral Fellow, 2014 - 2018
R.A. & G.B. Millikan Prize Postdoctoral Fellowship in Experimental Physics, 2017-2018
NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2014-2017 Faculty Sponsor: D. Christopher Martin
EDUCATION
Columbia University, New York, NY
Ph.D., Astronomy, July 2014 Thesis: FIREBall, CHαS, and the diffuse universe Advisor: David Schiminovich
M.Phil, Astronomy, 2010
M.A., Astronomy, 2009
Harvard College, Cambridge, MA
A.B., Astronomy & Astrophysics, June 2006 Cum Laude with High Honors Thesis: A Radial Velocity Survey of the Orion Nebula Cluster using Hectochelle Advisor: Andy Szentgyorgyi
CURRENT RESEARCH
Hyperion
Principal Investigator. An Explorer-class space telescope mission concept for a FUV long slit-spectrograph to observe molecular hydrogen at the boundaries of molecular clouds in nearby, galactic star-forming regions. Prof. Hamden is partnered with Ball Aerospace, and in discussions with JPL on mission management. Proposed to SMEX AO in August 2019. In formulation for MIDEXAO 2021, $300 Million cost cap.
Launchpad
Founder and Organizer, an ongoing workshop series to provide potential future PIs with training and networking opportunities to develop their own space mission concepts. Potential PIs come from all branches of the Science Mission Directorate, which includes Astrophysics, Earth Science, Heliophysics, and Planetary Science. The first workshop was held at the University of Arizona in November, 2019 with 40 participants out of 200 who applied. It was conducted by Prof. Hamden, in partnership with NASA Science Mission Directorate, funded by the Heising-Simons foundation. The second virtual workshop was held on June 2021 was a success with 41 participants, over two weeks.
Aspera
Deputy PI, Aspera is a mission concept for a SmallSat focused on imaging emission from OVI coronal gas in nearby edge-on galaxies. The Aspera team has recently submitted its Concept Study Report (Aug 2021) and completed Phase A and SRR/Site Visit (Oct 2021). PI: Dr. Carlos Vargas. Previously proposed to the NASA AS3 AO. Funded by NASA PIONEERS ($20M) 2021.
Hamden UV/VIS Detector Lab, (HUVD)
Funded by a Nancy Grace Roman Technology Fellowship. The lab is working to test UV optimized EMCCDS for use on future space missions. This testing includes characterizing QE, noise, dark current, radiation hardness, as well as optimizing electronics for readout. The lab is also seeking to expand into using Skipper CCDs for astronomical purposes and technology development for UV applications. This lab is a continuation of the work started at Caltech.
Faint Intergalactic Redshifted Emission Balloon (FIREBall-2)
Institutional-PI, Successful launch Sept 2018 from CSBF facility in Fort Sumner, NM. Overseeing optical re-alignment and optimization, system calibration.
Observations of the CGM
A systematic survey of giant Ly blobs in extreme over-dense fields using PCWI and KCWI.