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Cinzia Zuffada

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Cinzia Zuffada
Official photograph of Zuffada at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, circa 2019
Born1956 (age 67–68)
Broni
Alma materUniversity of Pavia
Scientific career
InstitutionsCalifornia Institute of Technology
Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Cinzia Zuffada (born 1956) is an Italian-American engineer who is the Associate Chief Scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Her role considers the strategic planning of scientific programs for JPL and the development of reflectometry technologies for Global navigation satellite systems. She is the chair of the Board of the Italian Scientists & Scholars in North America Foundation.

Early life and education

Zuffada was born in Broni.[1][2] She studied electronic engineering at the University of Pavia.[3] She remained at Pavia for her doctoral research.[3] After graduating, she worked on Electromagnetic Fields Theory as postdoctoral research fellow.[3] In 1985, she moved to the United States, where she worked as an Associate Senior Engineer at the Kaman Sciences Corporation. She joined the California Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral researcher.[citation needed]

Research and career

Zuffada joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 1992.[4] Her early research considered the development of numerical methods to solve electromagnetic scattering problems, making use of supercomputers.[5][6] She was made Associate Chief Scientist in 2007.[7]

At JPL, Zuffada was made responsible for the development of reflectometry technologies for Global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). She has shown that GNSS is relevant for environmental monitoring, including ocean altimetry[8] and hydrology (HydroGNSS). She performed the first high-precision altimetric measurements using Global Positioning System, showing that it was possible to measure surface height of the Crater Lake to 2 cm accuracy.[9] In particular, she is responsible for the cyclone GNSS (CYGNSS) mission, which looks to improve hurricane forecasting. It works by collecting reflected GNSS data and mapping peak reflected power. This reflected power is impacted by the presence of water and vegetation. The maps can provide dynamic information about moving weather systems.[4] CYGNSS is currently involved with missions measuring tropical cyclones.[10] She was promoted to Acting Chief Scientist in 2016.[11] In this capacity she oversees strategic planning for science and manages investment in research and development.

Zuffada is interested in increasing research collaborations between the United States and Rome.[7] She was made chair of the Board of the Italian Scientists & Scholars in North America Foundation in 2017.[4]

Awards and honors

Selected publications

  • Lowe, Stephen T.; LaBrecque, John L.; Zuffada, Cinzia; Romans, Larry J.; Young, Larry E.; Hajj, George A. (January 2002). "First spaceborne observation of an Earth-reflected GPS signal". Radio Science. 37 (1): 7–1–7–28. doi:10.1029/2000rs002539. ISSN 0048-6604.
  • Lowe, Stephen T.; Zuffada, Cinzia; Chao, Yi; Kroger, Peter; Young, Larry E.; LaBrecque, John L. (2002). "5-cm-Precision aircraft ocean altimetry using GPS reflections". Geophysical Research Letters. 29 (10): 13–1–13–4. doi:10.1029/2002GL014759. ISSN 1944-8007.
  • Hajj, George A.; Zuffada, Cinzia (2003). "Theoretical description of a bistatic system for ocean altimetry using the GPS signal". Radio Science. 38 (5). doi:10.1029/2002RS002787. ISSN 1944-799X.

References

  1. ^ a b "Premio Ghislieri 2019" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-12-29.
  2. ^ "Cinzia Zuffada: Reflections on the Earth Viewed from Space". iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  3. ^ a b c "Cinzia Zuffada". Progetto Manager (in Italian). 2021-11-19. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  4. ^ a b c "LEADERSHIP". ISSNAF. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  5. ^ "Da Pavia alla NASA. Un'esperienza personale e professionale". Eventi del Politecnico di Milano (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  6. ^ Redazione (2019-11-20). "Cinzia Zuffada, woman engineer for 28 years at NASA". Morning Future. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  7. ^ a b "Dynamic Mapping of Tropical Wetlands and Inundations with CYGNSS | Global Council for Science and the Environment (GCSE)". www.gcseglobal.org. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  8. ^ "Science & Technology Office of the Chief Scientist and Chief Technologist". Archived from the original on 2016-06-18.
  9. ^ Treuhaft, Robert N.; Lowe, Stephen T.; Zuffada, Cinzia; Chao, Yi (2001). "2-cm GPS altimetry over Crater Lake". Geophysical Research Letters. 28 (23): 4343–4346. doi:10.1029/2001GL013815. ISSN 1944-8007.
  10. ^ a b "Cinzia Zuffada". Associazione Laureati UniPV (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  11. ^ "Cinzia Zuffada named Acting Chief Scientist". Archived from the original on 2020-08-14.
  12. ^ "Da Pavia al NASA JPL: una ex studentessa pavese racconta". Aerospace Lombardia (in Italian). 2019-03-08. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  13. ^ "2015 NASA Agency Honor Awards Complete Listing of Recipients" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2015-09-05.
  14. ^ "news.unipv – Cinzia Zuffada insignita dell'onorificenza di Cavaliere al Merito della Repubblica". news.unipv (in Italian). Retrieved 2021-12-29.
  15. ^ "Cinzia Zuffada | Science Mission Directorate". science.nasa.gov. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
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