Space pioneer James Van Allen, now professor emeritus of physics at the University of Iowa, served as president of the American Geophysical Union from 1982 to 1984 and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He received a Gold Medal of the (U.K.) Royal Astronomical Society in 1978, a National Medal of Science from President Ronald Regan in 1987, and a Crafoord Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences from King Carl XVI Gustaf in 1989.