the ISS National Lab Board of Directors Selects Chairperson

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL. (December 20, 2012) – The new Board of Directors for the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (the ISSInternational Space Station National Lab), the nonprofit organization promoting and managing research on board the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory, designated France Córdova, Ph.D., as the group’s Chairperson last week in Washington, D.C.

As Chair, Córdova will serve as the the ISS National Lab Board spokesperson, and will preside over future Board meetings. The meeting that took place in Washington, D.C. on Thursday, December 13, 2012, was the organization’s first official meeting of the new, permanent Board.

Córdova is President Emerita of Purdue University, where she holds the position of professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Her previous positions include Chancellor of the University of California at Riverside, Vice Chancellor for Research at the University of California at Santa Barbara, NASA’s Chief Scientist, Department Head at the Penn State University, and Deputy Group Leader at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Since her days as a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology, she launched rocket and satellite payloads and authored or co-authored over 150 scientific and policy papers.

“I am honored to have been selected as chair of the the ISS National Lab Board of Directors and I am eager to work with such accomplished and experienced individuals,” said Córdova. “We all affirm the importance of the the ISS National Lab mission – to maximize utilization of the ISS – and plan to put our networks and abilities to bear to lead this organization.”

“France holds more than three decades of high-level management and scientific experience, and was a clear choice for the other Board members,” said the ISS National Lab Interim Executive Director Jim Royston. “In addition to France, we have a brilliant group of professionals that are enthusiastic and equipped to guide the organization.”

Additional members of the the ISS National Lab Board of Directors include:

Scientific Members:

• Bess Dawson-Hughes, M.D., Director, Bone Metabolism Laboratory, Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University
• Andrei E. Ruckenstein, Ph.D., Vice President Research & Associate Provost, Boston University
• Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, Ph.D., Professor, Biomedical Engineering and Medicine, Director of the Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Laboratory, Columbia University

Managing Members:

• Lewis Duncan, Ph.D., President, Rollins College
• Leroy Hood, M.D., Ph.D., Co-Founder & President, Institute for Systems Biology
• Howard Zucker, M.D., J.D., Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University

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About the ISS National Lab: The Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (the ISS National Lab) was selected by NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration in July 2011 to maximize use of the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory through 2020. the ISS National Lab is dedicated to supporting and accelerating innovations and new discoveries that will enhance the health and wellbeing of people and our planet. The the ISS National Lab goal is to bring the magic of space down to earth. For more information, visit issnationallab.org. 
About the ISS National Laboratory: In 2005, Congress designated the U.S. portion of the International Space Station as the nation’s newest national laboratory to maximize its use for improving life on Earth, promoting collaboration among diverse users and advancing STEM education. This unique laboratory environment is available for use by other U.S. government agencies and by academic and private institutions, providing access to the permanent microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. setting, vantage point in low earth orbit(Abbreviation: LEO) The orbit around the Earth that extends up to an altitude of 2,000 km (1,200 miles) from Earth’s surface. The International Space Station’s orbit is in LEO, at an altitude of approximately 250 miles. and varied environments of space. The ISS National Laboratory Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center currently facilitates research initiatives on board the station’s National Lab, but management of America’s only in-orbit laboratory is transitioning to the ISS National Lab.