France Córdova

France Anne Córdova is an experienced leader in science, engineering, and education with more than three decades of experience at universities and national labs. She has served in five presidential administrations, both Democratic and Republican. She is an internationally recognized astrophysicist for her contributions to space research and instrumentation. She has served on both corporate and nonprofit boards, often assuming a leadership position.

Córdova was the 14th Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). During her tenure, the agency grew by over one billion dollars, strengthened existing partnerships while forging new ones, and launched a strategic framework defined by 10 Big Ideas—promising areas of research for targeted investment. She initiated NSF’s Convergence Accelerator to leverage external partnerships to accelerate research in areas of national importance, and her initiative “NSF INCLUDES” significantly broadened STEM participation from traditionally underrepresented groups.

Her leadership in academia includes serving as president of Purdue University, the first woman to do so; and as chancellor emerita of the University of California, Riverside, where she was a distinguished professor of physics and astronomy. At the University of California, Santa Barbara, she served as vice chancellor for research and professor of physics.

Previously, Córdova served as NASA’s chief scientist, representing NASA to the larger scientific community. She was the youngest person and first woman to serve as NASA’s chief scientist and was awarded the agency’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal.

Córdova’s awards include the Kennedy-Lemass Medal from Ireland and the Order of Bernardo O’Higgins from Chile. She is a Kilby Laureate for “significant contributions to society through science, technology, innovation, invention, and education.” She has been inducted into the California Hall of Fame and the Stanford University Multicultural Hall of Fame. A nunatak in Antarctica, a Recreational Sports Center at Purdue, and a cocktail in Las Vegas have been named for her. Córdova received her B.A. from Stanford University and her Ph.D. in physics from the California Institute of Technology.