Emeritus Professor Fred Eastham, who died on 18 October 2025, was a pioneer in electrical machine design who also made significant contributions in fields as diverse as medical imaging, power electronics and the applications of superconductivity and carbon nanotubes.

Fred was born in Preston in 1933. He had to leave school at 15 and took an apprenticeship as a power electrician. The teachers at his technical college advised that he take exams and apply for a scholarship to university.

Professor Eastham attended the University of Manchester where he received BSc, MSc, PhD, and DSc degrees. As a student at Manchester, he worked with Sir Fred Williams on variable speed induction machines. In 1964 he moved to Imperial College London with Eric Laithwaite. He moved to Aberdeen University as a Professor and then to the University of Bath in 1977 and stayed there as Head of Department, Dean and Pro Vice Chancellor.

As well as pure academic research, Fred did extensive work with industry. He was the main Board Director of the Mycalex Group Company and was a Consultant for many other companies including EMI Ltd, GEC plc, Goodrich Aerospace, Force Engineering Ltd, Vestas Wind Systems Ltd, and General Electric Global Research.

His public committee work included Chairmanship of the UK Science and Engineering Research Council Electrical Engineering Committee, and membership of the Council for National Academic Awards, and Member of the UK Technology Strategy Board.

Fred's work has been recognised at national and international levels. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Royal Academy of Engineering, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology in the UK. Awards include the Institution of Electrical Engineers Achievement Medal in the Science, Education and Technology Division, the Powergen Partnership Award and the Lifetime Contribution to Magnetics Award from the UK Magnetics Society.

Internationally, he was awarded the Doctorate Honoris Causa degree from Bucharest University, Romania and was appointed as an Honorary Professor by Harbin University and CUMT University in China.

Professor Eastham was the author or co-author of more than 45 patents and 200 technical papers.

He was generally considered by many to be a leader in the design of linear motors, starting in the 1960's consulting for Tracked HoverCraft Ltd. Much of that work was later used by others in the design of large scale MAGLEV systems such as those in Japan and China. He was personally involved in the 250m long track mounted camera made for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City in 2002.

Climate change has resulted in renewed interest in many of the machines Fred invented or worked on many years ago. His early work on axial flux motors, which have generally a flat pancake shape, are ideally suited to fit into an electric car, either inside or as part of the wheels. Recently he collaborated on axial flux generator designs for wind turbines. His recent developments involve reducing the losses in machines which use concentrated windings, a technique which reduces manufacturing cost but can also reduce efficiency if Fred's mitigation is not used.

In his more than 70 year career, Professor Eastham worked on a very wide range of electrical engineering projects, including: linear motors for fairgrounds (Force Engineering Ltd), launching planes off ships (GEC), MRI field homogeneity (EMI), MRI shielding at Hammersmith Hospital (GEC), degaussing submarines (ARE), arch machines for medical scanners (Force Engineering Ltd), shaded pole induction machines (Mycalex), dual winding machines (BMT Ltd), superconducting machines (GE), carbon nanotube machines and wireless charging (with University of Kentucky, Prof D Ionel).

In Fred's group of close local friends growing up together from kindergarten onwards, was Brenda Bethune. They married in 1958 and were still together after 67 happy years. The couple had two children, Kathryn and Elizabeth, two grandchildren, Sandy and Simon Carmichael and one great grand daughter, Sophie.

Fred took an enormous pride in the achievements of all his family and put great store in their happiness. Fred was active, involved and busy until the very end of his long life. In recent weeks he holidayed in Norfolk and Malta with family and had travelled to Sheffield to examine a PhD. His legacy lies not just in his own work but in the many students, colleagues and fellow engineers to whom he offered support and provided inspiration without hesitation. He delighted in their successes and achievements as much as his own. He will be greatly missed by them all.

Dr Benjamin Metcalfe, Head of the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, said:

Fred was a stalwart member of the University community for many years and his contributions to teaching, research, and leadership are fondly remembered. Having served as Head of Department, Dean, and then Pro-Vice-Chancellor at Bath he had rightly earned retirement - but for Fred this meant more time to continue his research and to mentor colleagues. He was frequently on-campus and continued doing what he loved for as long as he was able. We will miss him tremendously.

Prof Xiaoze Pei, Professor of Transport Electrification in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, said:

We were deeply shocked by Fred’s passing. I feel truly fortunate to have worked with Fred. He enjoyed his work until the very last day of his life. His legendary passion for research has inspired generations of scholars, including myself, who are now spread across the world. He will be deeply missed by all of us.

Professor Dan M Ionel, PhD, FIEEE, ECE Professor and L. Stanley Pigman Chair in Power, University of Kentucky and Leverhulme Visiting Professor (2024), University of Bath, said:

We are forever grateful to have had Prof, as we affectionately called Professor JF Eastham, as an advisor, mentor, and supporter over the years! During Prof's long and illustrious career there were many of us, PhD students, coming from the UK and from all over the world. Just a few years ago, I asked Prof how was it possible that we all turned out so well and very successful with our careers. The question made him smile. He too knew the answer, after all, we only had Prof in common to start with, and his teachings and support made it all possible for us. One of Prof's favourite sayings was that "there is light at the end of the tunnel". Yes, this may have meant that he came over with the symbolic lantern to bring more work to be done. And yet we could have not been any happier, because it meant that Prof's guidance and teachings were on their way too. I was most fortunate to have been at University of Bath as a student and, after more than thirty years, as a Leverhulme Visiting Professor on sabbatical, and to have collaborated until the very end with Prof and with my own students. The group of academic generations, working on joint research and papers, made Prof and all of us very happy. We are forever grateful to Prof, learned so much from him about engineering, profession, and life. We can only hope to be able to pass on the teachings and the good will as he would have liked us to do. To make sure that there will always be "light at the end of the tunnel".

Dave Rodger, Director at Bathwick Electrical Design Ltd and Former Professor of Electrical Engineering, said:

Fred was an exceptional teacher and had an ability to explain complex concepts to interested people unencumbered by previous knowledge, such as the average undergraduate or PhD student. Working in his research group was a joy, his infectious curiosity, enthusiasm and continuous humour made it seem like not work at all, but more like taking part in some very time consuming hobby. At a recent 90th birthday event at the University of Bath, Fred said that he would not retire. As usual, he was right.

If you would like to contribute to the online book of condolences please visit this website to share memories of Fred.

Fred’s funeral will be held on Monday 10 November 2025 at 2.30pm at Claverton Church, Bath, then the funeral wake will be at Bathampton Mill afterwards. All very welcome. There will just be family flowers.

Donations, if desired, for:
Dorothy House & Butterfly Fund, RUH
may be sent C/O
G Mannings Funeral Directors
106 North Road, Combe Down, Bath, BA2 5DJ