| James B. Owens | |
| Birth Date: | 23 July 1920 |
| Birth Place: | Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Lincolnshire, Illinois, U.S. |
| Alma Mater: | Rice University |
| Awards: | IEEE Founders Medal (1987) |
| Spouse: | Bette Craig |
| Children: | Craig Owens (critic), Eric Owens [1] |
James Beverly[2] Owens (July 23, 1920 – November 2, 2009) was an American engineer and company executive.
Owens was born in Houston, Texas in July 1920.[3] [4] He attended Rice University and also studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Westinghouse Advanced Electrical Design School. During World War II, 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.[5] He received the IEEE Founders Medal in 1987 "for exemplary and inspirational leadership, distinguished service, and administrative excellence in electric power engineering and the electrical engineering profession".[6] Owens died in Lincolnshire, Illinois in November 2009 at the age of 89.[7]