BLACKSBURG, Va., Dec. 19, 2003 – James B. Eades, Jr., retired aerospace research scientist from Bluefield, W. Wa., and former professor and department head of aerospace and ocean engineering at Virginia Tech, died Dec. 14 at Veteran's Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was 80.
Eades received his bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering and mathematics from Virginia Tech in 1944. He later received a master's degree and Ph.D. in engineering mechanics, mathematics, and fluid dynamics from Virginia Tech.
Eades was professor of aerospace engineering at Virginia Tech from 1947 to 1957 and later served as department head. He completed his postdoctoral research in 1968.
His professional honors included a National Research Scientist Fellowship; Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and American Association for the Advancement of Science; member of the Virginia Academy of Science, registered professional engineer; member of Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, and Sigma Gamma Tau; vice president of the Celestial Mechanics Journal; and he served as the director of a major conference on lunar exploration.
Eades served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. He continued to serve in the naval reserves until his retirement.
Eades is survived by his wife of 53 years, Sara P. Eades, and his children: Sara Leslie Eades, Beverly Anne Clemmer, and James Christian Eades, Jr. and daughter-in-law Marian Eades. He is also survived by three grandchildren. His sister-in-law, Peggy Porterfield, resides in Blacksburg, and is retired from Virginia Tech's College of Engineering where she served as a secretary to three engineering deans.
Contributions in memory of Eades can be made to the James B. Eades, Jr., Memorial Scholarship Fund, Virginia Tech Foundation, c/o Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, 215 Randolph Hall (0203), Blacksburg, VA, 24061.