A nationally recognized astrophysicist, France Córdova is the seventh chancellor of UC Riverside.The oldest of 12 children, she graduated cum laude from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in English, and while at Stanford she conducted anthropology field work at a Zapotec Indian pueblo in Oaxaca, Mexico. After receiving her doctorate in physics from Caltech, she worked as a staff scientist with the space astronomy and astrophysics group at the Los Alamos National Laboratory from 1979 to 1989, where she also served as deputy group leader. She headed the department of astronomy and astrophysics at Pennsylvania State University from 1989 to 1993, and served as chief scientist at NASA from 1993 to 1996. She was professor of physics and vice chancellor for research at UC Santa Barbara from 1996 until she became chancellor of UC Riverside in 2002. Córdova's research has focused on observational and experimental astrophysics, X-ray and gamma-ray sources, and spaceborne instrumentation. A member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Astronomical Society, the International Astronomical Union, American Women in Science, and Sigma Xi, she is the author of nearly 150 scientific papers and has chaired or served on numerous panels and committees. Her many honors include NASA's Distinguished Service Medal; an honorary doctorate from Loyola Marymount University; and the Kilby Prize, named after Nobel laureate and integrated-circuit inventor Jack St. Clair Kilby and honoring contributions to society through science, technology, innovation, invention, and education.