 James R. Melcher

James R. Melcher was an electrical engineer whose work helped define continuum electromechanics: the interaction of electromagnetic fields with deformable materials and flowing fluids. His applications included energy conversion, flow measurement and the control of industrial processes.^[ref]

With Hermann Anton Haus, he wrote Electromagnetic Fields and Energy by Hermann A. Haus and James R. Melcher. A central engineering theme is the relation between a full field description and a justified approximation. In a magnetic circuit, for example, geometry and permeability assumptions determine when a small set of circuit-like variables can represent the spatial fields.^[ref]