France A. Córdova

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France Anne Córdova (born August 5, 1947 in Paris, France) is the 11th President of Purdue University.[1]. Cordova is the oldest of 12 children born to a Mexican father and Irish American mother.^[1]

Prior to joining Purdue, Córdova served as Chancellor at the University of California, Riverside from 2002-2007. She was also a Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy at UC Riverside. An internationally recognized astrophysicist, Córdova has also served as professor of Physics and Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Before joining UC Santa Barbara, she served as Chief Scientist at NASA from 1993 to 1996, serving as the primary scientific advisor to the NASA administrator and the principal interface between NASA headquarters and the broader scientific community. Córdova was the youngest person and first woman to hold the position.

Córdova headed the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University from 1989 to 1993. She was a member of the staff of the Space Astronomy and Astrophysics Group at the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1979 to 1989, where she also served as Deputy Group Leader.

Córdova's scientific career contributions have been in the areas of observational and experimental astrophysics, multi-spectral research on x-ray and gamma ray sources, and space-borne instrumentation. She has published more than 150 scientific papers, and has a current experiment flying on the European Space Agency's X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission. She is the winner of NASA's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal, and was recognized as a 2000 Kilby Laureate, for "contributions to society through science, technology, innovation, invention, and education." She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Association for Women In Science (AWIS). In September 2007, she was appointed to the board of directors of BioCrossroads, Indiana's initiative to grow the life sciences through a public-private collaboration that supports the region's research and corporate strengths while encouraging new business development.

The oldest of twelve children, Córdova attended high school in La Puente, California, east of Los Angeles. She then entered Stanford University, where she graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and, among other activities, conducted anthropological field work in a Zapotec Indian pueblo in Oaxaca, Mexico. She earned a PhD in Physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1979. In 1997, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.

Dr. Córdova is married to Christian J. Foster, a science educator, and has two children in college, Anne-Catherine and Stephen.

[edit] References

1. ^ UC Riverside names system's first Latina chancellor - Noteworthy News - France A. Cordova | Black Issues in Higher Education | Find Articles at BNET.com

• Purdue's new president 'out of this world'
• Gale - Free Resources - Hispanic Heritage - Biographies - France Anne Córdova
• France A. Córdova from Marketing and Media Relations at UCR
• Caltech news
• UCR Biography of Córdova
• UCR Faculty Directory

She was also named one of the “80 Elite Hispanic Women” By Hispanic Business Magazine in April, 2002.

[edit] External links

• [2]
• Office of the President at Purdue University
• UC Riverside Chancellor France A. Córdova Named Purdue University President
• Purdue's new president 'out of this world'

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