Claudia Joan Alexander (1959 - 2015)

Ancestors

Biography

Claudia was a pioneering space plasma physicist at Pasadena's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL) and was the project scientist for NASA's Galileo and Rosetta Missions.

She was the daughter of Harold Alexander and Gaynelle Justena Williams. Her siblings were Suzanne and David.^[1]

As Project Scientist for NASA's Galileo and Rosetta Missions, she Inspired Budding Scientists, Particularly Young African-American Women, to Pursue STEM Careers. Dr. Claudia Joan Alexander waited 15 years for the moment last fall when a spacecraft the size of a washing machine would make a historic landing on a comet and potentially help unlock the origins of the solar system. As the project scientist representing NASA in the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission to Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, it would be one of the highlights of an exciting career at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena. Alexander died on July 11, 2015 from breast cancer.

Alexander was born on May 30, 1959 in Vancouver, British Columbia to Harold and Gaynelle Alexander. She was raised in the heart of what would become the Silicon Valley in Santa Clara, California and graduated from Buchser High school in 1977, where senior year she was elected student body president and most likely to succeed. She then went to the University of California at Berkeley, where she landed an internship at NASA Ames Research Center, which ignited her interest in planetary science. She graduated in 1983 with a degree in Geophysics. After Berkeley she went to UCLA, graduating in 1985 with a degree in Geophysics and Space Physics then she went to the University of Michigan, graduating in 1993 with a PhD in Space Plasma Physics. She immediately joined JPL, where she stayed for the rest of her career.

Alexander became a media darling after she became the project manager on the Galileo mission to Jupiter. She appeared regularly on the Discovery Channel, PBS and NPR. Last year, she was profiled on the front page of the Los Angeles Times. Alexander's work was recognized in other ways as well. Most recently, she was named the 2015 Woman of the Year in the 25th Senate district by State Senator Carol Liu. In 2003, she was awarded the Emerald Honor for Women of Color in Research & Engineering by Career Communications Group, Inc. In 1993, she was named Woman of the Year by the Association for Women Geoscientists.

Determined to inspire young people to pursue science, Alexander wrote a series of fictional children's books. She was a great pie baker, a lover of horseback riding and the outdoors, a dollmaker and a huge fan of professional tennis. She was a member of the American Geophysical Union, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Pasadena Chapter of The Links, Inc., as well as a member of the Christian Science Church. Alexander is survived by her mother, Gaynelle Alexander (San Jose), her brother David Alexander [Shawanda] (San Jose), her sister, Suzanne Alexander (Los Angeles), two nieces, Bria Victoria Alexander and Carol Jasmine Ryan and two nephews, Brandon Jiles Alexander and Robert John Ryan.

A memorial service will be held on August 8th at 11 a.m. at Oak Hill Funeral Home and Memorial Park Chapel of the Roses, 300 Curtner Ave., San Jose.^[2]

After her death in 2015, scientists from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission honored her legacy by naming a feature after her on the mission’s target, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. A gate-like feature on the comet has been named C. Alexander Gate^[3]

Dr. Claudia Alexander died after a ten year attempt to overcome breast cancer.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Alexander#Early_life
2. ↑ Obituary
3. ↑ "The National Society of Black Physicists honors Dr. Claudia Alexander," National Society of Black Physicists, 21 Feb 2017, archived at the Wayback Machine.
4. ↑ https://www.wgcanada.org/post/claudia-joan-alexander-phd

See Also:

• Find a Grave, database and images, memorial page for Dr Claudia Joan Alexander (30 May 1959–11 Jul 2015), Find A Grave: Memorial #149246069, citing Oak Hill Memorial Park, San Jose, Santa Clara County, California, USA ; Maintained by S. Pisciotta (contributor 47453018) .

• Wikipedia: Claudia Alexander

• Wikidata: Item Q2978393, en:Wikipedia

• Interview with Claudia (at bottom of page)

• New York Times Obituary