- France A. Córdova
Infobox US Cabinet official
name=France Anne Córdova
order=11th
title=President of thePurdue University
term_start=2007
term_end=present
predecessor=Martin C. Jischke
successor=Incumbent
birth_date=birth date and age|1947|8|5
birth_place=Paris, France
death_date=
death_place=
party=
religion=France Anne Córdova (born
August 5 ,1947 inParis ,France ) is the 11th President ofPurdue University . [http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007b/070709CordovaIcecream.html] . Cordova is the oldest of 12 children born to aMexican father andIrish American mother. [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_4_20/ai_100543573 UC Riverside names system's first Latina chancellor - Noteworthy News - France A. Cordova | Black Issues in Higher Education | Find Articles at BNET.com ] ]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 theUniversity of California, Santa Barbara . Before joining UC Santa Barbara, she served as Chief Scientist atNASA 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 theLos 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 andgamma ray sources , and space-borne instrumentation. She has published more than 150 scientific papers, and has a current experiment flying on theEuropean Space Agency 's X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission. She is the winner of NASA's highest honor, theDistinguished Service Medal , and was recognized as a 2000Kilby Laureate , for "contributions to society through science, technology, innovation, invention, and education." She is a fellow of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and theAssociation 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 graduatedcum 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 inPhysics from theCalifornia Institute of Technology in 1979. In 1997, she was awarded an honorary doctorate byLoyola Marymount University , Los Angeles. In October 2008, Córdova was nominated to the Stanford University Multicultural Alumni Hall of Fame by El Centro Chicano, Stanford's Chicano and Latino organization.Dr. Córdova is married to Christian J. Foster, a science educator, and has two children in college, Anne-Catherine and Stephen.
References
* [http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070507McGinleyCordova.html Purdue's new president 'out of this world']
* [http://www.gale.com/free_resources/chh/bio/cordova_f.htm Gale - Free Resources - Hispanic Heritage - Biographies - France Anne Córdova]
* [http://www.mmr.ucr.edu/resources/cordova/ France A. Córdova from Marketing and Media Relations at UCR]
* [http://www.its.caltech.edu/~alumni/cordova.htm Caltech news]
* [http://www.chancellor.ucr.edu/biography.html UCR Biography of Córdova]
* [http://www.facultydirectory.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/pub/public_individual.pl?faculty=2007 UCR Faculty Directory] She was also named one of the “80 Elite Hispanic Women” By" Hispanic Business Magazine" in April, 2002.External links
* [http://www.purdue.edu/president/about/biography.html]
* [http://www.purdue.edu/president/ Office of the President at Purdue University]
* [http://www.newsroom.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=1581 UC Riverside Chancellor France A. Córdova Named Purdue University President]
* [http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070507McGinleyCordova.html Purdue's new president 'out of this world']
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