James Beverly Owens (July 23, 1920 – November 2, 2009) was an American engineer and company executive. Owens was born in Houston, Texas in July 1920. He attended

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

and also studied at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

and the Westinghouse Advanced Electrical Design School. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he worked for Westinghouse as a designer of military radar technology. He later served as president of Gould-Brown Boveri, an electrical equipment distributor. He was the president of the IEEE in 1983 as well as on its board of directors from 1981 to 1984. He received the

IEEE Founders Medal The IEEE Founders Medal is an award is presented for outstanding contributions in the leadership, planning, and administration of affairs of great value to the electrical and electronics engineering profession. It may be presented to an individual ...

in 1987 "for exemplary and inspirational leadership, distinguished service, and administrative excellence in electric power engineering and the electrical engineering profession". Owens died in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in November 2009 at the age of 89.Ancestry: James B. Owens in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Owens, James B. 1920 births 2009 deaths Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Rice University alumni American engineers