France Anne-Dominic Córdova (born August 5, 1947) is an American astrophysicist. She served as the 11th president of Purdue University from 2007 to 2012 and as the 14th director of the National Science Foundation from 2014 to 2020. She currently serves as the president of the Science Philanthropy Alliance.

Córdova was born in Paris, France, the eldest of twelve children. Her mother was Irish-American and her father was a Mexican-American West Point graduate and businessman. She attended high school at Bishop Amat High School in La Puente, California, east of Los Angeles and went on to Stanford University, where she graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English and conducted anthropological field work in a Zapotec Indian pueblo in Oaxaca, Mexico. She earned a PhD in Physics from the California Institute of Technology in 1979.

Córdova worked at 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. In 1993, NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin appointed Córdova NASA Chief Scientist, the first woman to serve in the role. Within her role as Chief Scientist, Córdova connected the gap between NASA and the goals of the larger scientific community, especially through the International Space Station [1]

Córdova then went to the University of California, Santa Barbara where she was Vice-Chancellor for Research and a Professor of Physics. In 2002 she was appointed Chancellor of the University of California, Riverside by UC President Richard C. Atkinson, where she was also a Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy. Córdova led the initial steps toward establishing the UC Riverside School of Medicine.

Córdova became the eleventh president of Purdue University in 2007 and promoted student success and the commercialization of interdisciplinary research. She is the first and only woman to serve in this role. Her administration oversaw the establishment of Purdue's College of Health and Human Sciences and its Global Policy Research Institute. At the end of her term, Purdue's trustees credited her with leading the school to record levels of research funding, reputational rankings, and student retention rates.

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 numerous science policy papers. 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.

Córdova was appointed by President George W. Bush to the National Science Board in 2008. President Barack Obama appointed Córdova to the Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution in 2009, and she served until 2014. She was chair of the Board of Regents from 2012 to 2014.

In 2014, Córdova was nominated by Obama and confirmed by the United States Senate as the 14th head of the National Science Foundation.