Erika Hamden is an American astrophysicist and an Associate Professor at the University of Arizona and Steward Observatory, where she also directs the UA Space Institute. Her research primarily involves developing ultraviolet (UV) detector technology, UV/VIS instrumentation and spectroscopy, and studying galaxy evolution. She focuses on observing hydrogen in its faintest and most diffuse forms throughout the galaxy and the universe, primarily in the ultraviolet spectrum.