John B. Cheatham, Jr., professor of mechanical engineering for 33 years, dies at 96

Joined the Rice faculty in 1963 and was serving his second tenure as MECH department chair at the time of his retirement in 1996.

John B. Cheatham, Jr.

John B. Cheatham, Jr., for 33 years a professor of mechanical engineering (MECH) at Rice who twice served as department chair, died on June 23 at age 96.

“I was a student during his term as department chair, and I remember his clear guidance of the department, and his close friendship with other greats in engineering at Rice -- Alan Chapman, Franz Brotzen and Paul Paslay,” said Laura Schaefer ’95, the Burton J. and Ann M. McMurtry Chair in Engineering and MECH department chair.

Cheatham was born June 29, 1924, in Houston, and served in the U.S. Army Air Force as a second lieutenant from 1943 to 1945. He earned his B.S. and M.S. in MECH from Southern Methodist University in 1948 and 1953, respectively, and his Ph.D. in MECH from Rice in 1960.

He was head of drilling research at Shell Development Company from 1954 to 1963, the year he joined the Rice faculty, and was serving his second tenure as department chair at the time of his retirement in 1996.

John Cheatham at the Rice Faculty Club with his two sons Preston, left, and Curtis.
John Cheatham at the Rice Faculty Club with his two sons Preston, left, and Curtis.

Later during his career at Rice, Cheatham and his group researched artificial neural networks and fuzzy logic for use in the control of hyper-redundant manipulator arms, and devised genetic algorithms to optimize fuzzy membership functions. Design teams under Cheatham's supervision, in collaboration with electrical engineering faculty, staff and students, built a prototype of a myoelectric prosthetic hand.

Cheatham was a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) and winner of its Ralph James Award in 1981 for his contributions to the ASME Petroleum Division. He was named a Distinguished Author of the Society of Petroleum Engineers in 1984, and was founding editor of the Journal of Energy Resources Technology.

“We should note the significance of his serving as founding editor for that journal,” Schaefer said. “It was a significant addition to ASME’s journal portfolio that evolved from an early focus on fossil fuels to incorporate a range of energy technologies, as well as other important thermodynamic analyses.”

In 1995, he co-authored a textbook, Mechanical Analysis and Design.

Cheatham married Juanita Faye Burns Cheatham in 1947. They were married for more than 52 years, until her death in 1999. Cheatham is survived by his sons, Preston and Curtis, four step-grandchildren and one step-great-granddaughter.

A graveside service was held in Colleyville, Texas.