Claudia J. Alexander (1959–2015), Ph.D. was a research scientist specializing in geophysics
and planetary science. She has worked for the United States Geological Survey and the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration. As member of the technical staff at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, she was the last project manager of NASA’s Galileo mission to Jupiter
and until the time of her passing had served as project scientist of NASA’s role in the European
led Rosetta mission to study comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. Claudia was the 17th African
American woman to get a PhD in physics or astronomy (http://www.aawip.com/physics-astro-only-list.html)
and the winner was several awards, including the Emerald Honor for Women of Color in
Research & Engineering by Career Communications Group, Inc.at the National Women of Color
Research Sciences and Technology Conference. She was also very active in education and outreach,
and a mentor to several younger scientists. Our condolences go out to her family, co-workers and friends
at this time.