Today we are mourning loss, but we are also celebrating so much that our University, our community, our state and nation, and our world gained from the life of James Van Allen.

It will be impossible, and perhaps unnecessary, to recount Jim Van Allen's many professional accomplishments. I'm sure you all have read about them over the years and have been reminded of them in the many accounts of his life in the past weeks since his passing. Some of his colleagues today will certainly highlight a number of those achievements. It goes without saying that Jim Van Allen was a pioneer, a brilliant scholar and teacher, and a major figure in the discovery of the universe beyond the ground upon which we stand on Earth.

So, let me start by just saying that Van was my friend and role model. There have been few faculty members here at The University of Iowa, or anywhere, who exemplified what it meant to be part of an academic community more than he. His teaching prowess was legendary, his research was defining, and his collegiality and service were unmatched.

But Jim Van Allen was also simply a kind, generous man, and I am sure he will be remembered most fondly in that way. I will always be grateful for his kindness to my family and to me, and personally, I will miss him greatly.

Jim was also a great Iowan, and I will remember him as that, too. He was a superb model of an Iowa native achieving world-renowned excellence, someone who, from humble beginnings, realized revolutionary accomplishments.

Jim also represented the ideal intellect. His achievements and his greatness came from an innate genius, certainly, but also a remarkably expansive imagination. His was an imagination, though, disciplined and grounded by both intellectual rigor and a dedication to doing the work. Jim's modesty led him to state that his success was due just to his living for so long and plodding away day after day. Those were certainly among his best and most endearing qualities, but they hardly by themselves account for his international influence.

Jim was also fearless, never afraid to rankle his professional world with his own opinions. When the general opinion of both the national space program and the U.S. general public consistently said that manned space exploration was preferable, advisable, or necessary, Jim was always at the forefront with his contrariness. This is the mark of a true scholar: someone who takes to heart and acts upon the idea that civil disagreement is the core of intellectual and scientific pursuit.

Jim Van Allen continuously garnered awards and accolades. This past spring, he was presented with the Trophy for Lifetime Achievement Award by the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. No doubt many more honors awaited him, and no doubt he will in fact receive many more even though he is no longer with us.

Today, though, we honor him by being here and reflecting upon our lives with him, as friends, colleagues, and admirers. I'm sure Jim would feel this is the greatest honor of all.

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