Obituary: Tom Eastop, engineering academic

Died: Sept 18, 2018

DR Tom Eastop, who has died aged 87, was an engineering academic particularly known for his strong belief in, and commitment to, giving educational opportunities in engineering to those already working in industry.

A pupil of Allan Glen’s School from 1942 to 1948 and a graduate in mechanical engineering from Glasgow University, he had a brief stint working in industry before entering the instructor branch of the Royal Navy on a three-year short service commission. This is how he discovered his natural ability as an instructor and his interest in engineering education. He then became a lecturer at Bristol University, spending some very happy years in the city where he made several lifelong friends and met his future wife, Dorothy.

After marrying, the couple moved to Coventry where Dr Eastop was part of the faculty at Lanchester Polytechnic (now Coventry University). This was followed by increasingly senior academic positions at Newcastle Polytechnic (now Northumbria University) and the Polytechnic of the South Bank (now London South Bank University).

Along the way, Dr Eastop discovered his passion for thermodynamics and his interest in building services. This led to the publication of two co-authored texts, Applied Thermodynamics for Engineering Technologists and Air Conditioning through Worked Examples. The former in particular became a best-selling text that was translated into many languages and became a standard text used at higher educational institutes throughout the world.

While in London, Dr Eastop completed his own research on heat transfer from rotating spheres and was awarded his PhD. He subsequently moved to Wolverhampton Polytechnic (now the University of Wolverhampton) where he was head of the school of engineering until his retirement in 1987.

Throughout his career Dr Eastop was involved in various educational initiatives and strongly supported the sandwich courses that formed a part of the polytechnics’ engineering programmes. He took early retirement when it became clear to him that the future of this kind of vocational education was on its way out (polytechnics were turned into universities in 1992).

After retirement he co-authored further textbooks on Mechanical Services for Buildings and Energy Efficiency and was an honorary research fellow at the University of Exeter. In the course of his career he had a lasting positive influence on many students and research students.

Tom Eastop was a man of great integrity whose life epitomised the values of decency and honesty. He was thoughtful and introspective, out-spoken and stubborn, with a love of puns and an appreciation of the ridiculous. He was an intellectual, both in his professional life and through his love of literature, classical music and opera, the theatre, his interest in current affairs and his curiosity about the world.

His love of sport, both playing and watching it, formed a major part of his life. He played tennis and badminton at county level, entering many tournaments and winning numerous cups from the 1950s up until he became ill. He continued with competitive tennis until last year, travelling the world to participate in tournaments and representing Great Britain in the Super Seniors World Championships in 2011. While at home there was always some sport to follow on the TV or radio: test matches, football, tennis or athletics.

Tom Eastop is survived by his wife of 59 years, two daughters and four grandchildren.