News

University of Florida alumna Alexandra Isern has been chosen by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) to be assistant director of the Directorate for Geosciences beginning later this month.

Isern received her bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Florida. She went on to earn her master’s in oceanography and her doctorate in geochemistry at the University of Rhode Island and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich, respectively. Isern will be the first Hispanic person and second woman to hold the position.

Since her time at UF, Isern has earned several impressive titles. She served as program officer for the Ocean Studies Board and Board of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.

She went on to work at NSF for over 20 years, serving as section head of the directorate’s Antarctic Sciences Section and the deputy assistant director for geosciences before being selected as assistant director. Isern has been acting assistant director since June and is set to officially take on the title beginning July 19, 2021.

The Directorate for Geosciences takes an interdisciplinary approach to supporting basic research to better understand the global environment, including atmospheric, Earth, ocean and polar sciences.

“I’m honored to accept this incredible opportunity to help lead a directorate that provides nearly 64 percent of the federal funding for basic research at academic institutions in the geosciences,” Isern said in a release from NSF. “I’m excited to see what our talented team will do next.”

The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences extends congratulations to Isern for this accomplishment.