She is the 2002 recipient of the Carl Sagan Medal given to a scientist whose communications have greatly enhanced the general public's understanding of planetary science.

[6] Hammel received her undergraduate degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1982 and her Ph.D. in physics and astronomy from the University of Hawaii in 1988.

After a post-doctoral position at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, Hammel returned to MIT, where she spent nearly nine years as a principal research scientist in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.

[4][5] Hammel says she realized about 15 years into her career that people were needed in the scientific community who plan for and work towards the future of science.

[13] She served on the joint NASA/NSF Exoplanet Taskforce,[14] and on the Science and Technology Definition Team for NASA's Terrestrial planet Finder Coronograph mission.

[15] Hammel's main areas of interest are ground and space-based astronomical observations of outer planets' atmospheres[6] and satellites[2] at visible and near infrared wavelengths[16] utilizing Adaptive optics (AO) technology.

With Hubble's advanced cameras and improvements to the adaptive optics systems of the Keck telescope, astronomers became able to capture "unbelievably crisp images" and view many details that could not be seen before.

[7] In 1994, Hammel led the team that investigated Jupiter's visible wavelength response to the impact of comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 using the Hubble Space Telescope.

[24] Hammel was the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's public face, explaining the science to television audiences worldwide.

With the super-sharp optics system used at the W. M. Keck Observatory, de Pater and Hammel found an 11th ring around Uranus, a narrow sheet of rocky debris.

[39] In June 2010, Hammel participated in the World Science Festival held in New York City, by the James Webb Space Telescope model in Battery Park.

[40] On November 2, 2010, The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy announced the appointment of Hammel to the position of executive vice president.

[4][5] In accepting this appointment, Hammel said: The United States astronomical community stands at an interesting juncture with many possible paths ahead of us.

Our shared goal is a rich future for astronomy and astrophysics, giving the next generation of scientists new opportunities to explore the universe.

(On Jupiter's atmospheric response to the comet collision of 1994)[11]I am fascinated by the delicate balance of external radiation from the Sun and the internal heat from these planets.