James Alfred Van Allen Bio/Wiki, Net Worth, Married 2018
James Alfred Van Allen (September 7, 1914 – August 9, 2006) was an American space scientist at the University of Iowa. He was instrumental in establishing the field of magnetospheric research in space.The Van Allen radiation belts were named after him, following their discovery by his Geiger–Müller tube instruments on the 1958 satellites: (Explorer 1, Explorer 3, and Pioneer 3) during the International Geophysical Year. Van Allen led the scientific community for the inclusion of scientific research instruments on space satellites.
Scientist and professor at the University of Iowa.
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Awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1978.
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Awarded the (US) National Medal of Science in 1987.
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Awarded the National Air and Space Museum Trophy in 2006.
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While a student at Iowa's Wesleyan College, he helped prepare research instruments for the Byrd Antarctic Expedition. He got his master's and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa.
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Was named to the National Academy of Sciences in 1959. He also was a consultant to the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, NASA and the Space Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Taught at the University of Iowa, where the physics and astronomy building now bears his name.
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Leader in space exploration who discovered the radiation belts surrounding the Earth that now bear his name, known as the Van Allen Belts. The bands spawned a whole new field of research known as magnetospheric physics.
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In 1987, President Reagan presented Van Allen with the National Medal of Science, the nation's highest honor for scientific achievement. In 1989, he received the Crafoord Prize, awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm each year for scientific research in areas not recognized by the Nobel Prizes.
$16 Million
