James Van Allen
- Born: September 7, 1914 (Mount Pleasant, Iowa)
- Died: August 9, 2006 (Iowa City, Iowa)
Education
- 1935: BS, Wesleyan College
- 1936: MS, University of Iowa
- 1939: PhD, University of Iowa (Physics)
Major Positions
- 1939–1941: Carnegie Institution of Washington, Carnegie Research Fellow in Nuclear Physics, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
- 1941–1942: Carnegie Institution of Washington, Physicist, Department of Terrestrial Magnetism
- 1942–1942: Johns Hopkins University, Physicist, Applied Physics Laboratory
- 1942–1945: United States Navy, Officer
- 1946–1950: Johns Hopkins University, Physicist, Applied Physics Laboratory
- 1951–1972: University of Iowa, Professor of Physics
- 1972–1985: University of Iowa, Carver Professor of Physics and Astronomy
- 1985–2006: University of Iowa, Regent Distinguished Professor
Other Positions
- 1951–1985: University of Iowa, Head, Department of Physics and Astronomy
- 1953–1954: Princeton University, Research Associate
- 1982–1984: American Geophysical Union, President
Selected Part-Time Positions
- 1947–1948: Chair, V-2 Upper Atmosphere Research Panel
- 1948–1957: Chair, Upper Atmosphere Rocket Research Panel
- 1955–1958: Chair, Technical Panel on Rocketry, International Geophysical Year
- 1955–1958: Member, Technical Panel on the Earth Satelite Program, International Geophysical Year
- 1956–1958: Chair, Working Group on Internal Instrumentation, International Geophysical Year
- 1956–1958: Chair, Technical Panel on Cosmic Rays, International Geophysical Year
- 1957–1958: Chair, Technical Panel on Aurora and Airglow, International Geophysical Year
- 1957–1960: Chair, Rocket and Satellite Research Panel
- 1957–1960: Consultant, President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC)
- 1958–1970: Member, Space Science Board, National Academy of Sciences
- 1959–1972: Member, Panel on Science and Technology, Committee on Science and Astronautics, United States House of Representatives
- 1967–1971: Member, Planetary Missions Board, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- 1980–1983: Member, Space Science Board, National Academy of Sciences
Selected Awards and Honors
Archival Resources
University of Iowa Main Library, University Archives, Iowa City, Iowa
Online Finding Aid
Published Resources
David DeVorkin, Science With a Vengeance: How the Military Created the US Space Sciences after World War II (New York: Springer, 1992)
Abigail Foerstner, James Van Allen: The First Eight Billion Miles (Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2007)
Allan A. Needell, "Preparing for the Space Age: University-Based Research, 1946-1957," Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences 18 (1987): 89-109
James A. Van Allen, "What is a Space Scientist? An Autobiographical Example," Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 18 (1990): 1-26
