France A. Cordova IYL Presentation: NSF: Investing in Discovery-Based Research
A thematic session from the International Year of Light opening ceremony in Paris.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has a long history of supporting research in optics and photonics as well as projects that use them as research tools. That effort is expanding to move beyond present science and technology and lay the groundwork for major advances in scientific understanding to create high-impact, optical-based technologies for the next decade and beyond.
France A. Córdova is the director of the NSF (USA), and president emerita of Purdue University. She holds a doctorate in physics from the California Institute of Technology (USA).
Córdova's scientific contributions have been in the areas of observational and experimental astrophysics, multi-spectral research on x-ray and gamma-ray sources and spaceborne instrumentation. She is a recipient of NASA's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Medal. She is also a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Association for Women In Science.
