WIA : Leadership : Board and Officers

Maria Cristina Falvella

Director, Mentoring Programme

Maria Cristina is an astrophysicist. She has a 20 years experience in space science both as researcher and manager of industrial contracts devoted to space programmes.

Since 1991 she has worked for the Italian Space Agency and she coordinated ASI programmes on stratospheric balloons, small space platforms, habitable modules for the International Space Station (Node 2) and scientific missions (Herschel-Planck, Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer Experiment, Rosetta).

These experiences represented the opportunity to deal with both the issues related to activities in space including scientific, engineering and economic aspects and the international relations between Italian Space Agency and other institution like ESA, NASA, Roscosmos and JAXA.

In 2008 she became responsible for the Italian small satellites national programme and in 2009-2012 attended as Italian delegate the International Space Exploration Coordination Group.

Since 2000 she has been the Scientific Secretary of the International School of Astrophysics "Daniel Chalonge" devoted to a periodic critic comparison between recent observational data and theoretical progress in astrofundamental physics. Maria Cristina collaborates as teacher with University of Rome Sapienza lecturing on space science and since 2007 she works at Paris Astronomical Observatory as visiting professor .

She is married and has a daughter.

As researcher and teacher she strongly trusts in mentoring activities to support women careers in aerospace in order both to offer advising and guidance lines and scientific tutoring.

Current position: Head of the Coordination Office of the Public Italian Research Institutions of the Italian Minister of Education, University and Research (MIUR)

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