France Anne Córdova Nominated as First Latina to Head National Science Foundation

President Barack Obama announced he is planning to nominate Dr. France Anne Córdova as director of the National Science Foundation on Thursday, the Huffington Post informed. If approved, Cordova will be the first Latina to head the agency.

"As the first Latina nominated to head the NSF, Dr. Cordova brings a distinguished record of accomplishment from her work at Los Alamos National Laboratory to her many positions in academia," New Mexico Democratic Congressman Ben Ray Luján said, according to NBC Latino.

Dr. Córdova is a Stanford University and California Institute of Technology alum. From 2007 to 2012, she was President Emerita of Purdue University. She previously served as a professor of physics at the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of California at Riverside, NBC Latino reported.

Part of Dr. Córdova's job at the National Science Foundation would be to indentify and promote the growth of new fields in science, as the agency's main aim is to keep the country at the leading edge of discovery in a wide range of scientific areas and fund scientific research throughout the U.S., according to NBC Latino.

She has published more than 150 scientific papers, and has a current experiment flying on the European Space Agency's X-Ray Multi-Mirror Mission, according to the National Science Board.

"She's a very accomplished academic researcher," said Umar Mohideen, chairman of the physics and astronomy department at the University of California, Riverside. "She's managed academia, and those are qualities that would make her a good choice.," he added, according to Nature News Blog.

The President will also nominated Sylvia I. García as chief financial officer and assistant secretary for budget and programs at the Department of Transportation, NBC reported.

Garcia is currently acting assistant secretary for budget and programs and served as acting chief financial officer at the Department of Transportation (DOT) from December 2012 through July 2013. She also worked as budget analyst in the Office of Public and Indian Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development and as community outreach coordinator for the Department of Enrollment Management at DePaul University, where she received her masters degree, according to NBC.

"The diversity of our nation is one of our greatest strengths, and the selection of these two qualified individuals contributes to a more diverse federal government that reflects the nation as a whole," said Congressman Luján.

"President Obama has made the right decisions. Both are excellent and qualified choices for these positions. I especially want to commend Dr. Cordova for being the first Latina to be nominated for the National Science Foundation, this is a tremendous achievement," said Texas Democratic Congressman Rubén Hinojosa in a statement.