Prof Killeen is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a member and past president of the American Geophysical Union, as well as a fellow of the American Meteorological Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Before joining the University of Illinois System, Prof Killeen was Vice Chancellor for Research and President of the Research Foundation at the State University of New York. He was previously Assistant Director for the Geosciences at the U.S. National Science Foundation, Professor and Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Michigan, and Director and Senior Scientist for the U.S. National Centre for Atmospheric Research. A leading researcher in geophysics and space sciences, Prof Killeen received his bachelor’s degree and PhD in atomic and molecular physics at University College London.