2008

President appoints Purdue's Córdova to National Science Board

France A. Córdova
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Members of the board, who serve six-year terms, also act as independent policy advisers to the president and Congress.

"The National Science Board helps set the nation's agenda on science and engineering research and education," Córdova said. "The board oversees of the National Science Foundation and advises U.S. leaders. I am honored to serve the nation in this way."

The board meets about five times a year to review and approve major National Science Foundation awards and new programs. It also initiates and conducts studies and reports on a broad range of policy topics, both on its own initiative and at the request of the president or Congress. The board also publishes policy papers on issues of importance to U.S. science and engineering.

Members are drawn from industry and universities and represent a variety of science and engineering disciplines and geographic areas. They are selected for their preeminence in research, education or public service.

Córdova became Purdue's 11th president in July 2007. Prior to joining Purdue, she served as chancellor at the University of California Riverside from 2002-07, where she also was a distinguished professor of physics and astronomy. An internationally recognized astrophysicist, Córdova also served as professor of physics and vice chancellor for research at UC Santa Barbara. Before joining UC Santa Barbara in 1996, she was chief scientist at NASA from 1993-96, serving as the primary scientific adviser to the NASA administrator and the principal interface between NASA headquarters and the broader scientific community.

She also served in leadership roles while working in astronomy and astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University and the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

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 Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Association for Women in Science.

Córdova received her bachelor's degree from Stanford University before earning her doctorate in physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1979. In 1997 she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles.

She joins two other National Science Board members with ties to Purdue.

Dr. Steven C. Beering, president emeritus of Purdue, currently serves as chairman of the National Science Board, while Arden L. Bement is director of the National Science Foundation and an ex-officio member of the board. Bement previously was head of the School of Nuclear Engineering at Purdue and was the David A. Ross Distinguished Professor of Nuclear Engineering.

Writer: Tanya Brown, (765) 494-2079, tanyabrown@purdue.edu

Source: France A. Córdova, (765) 494-9708

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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