Dr. Jim Wood

Our friend and colleague, Dr Jim Wood, passed away peacefully on Monday, 22^nd September 2025.

Jim was with NAFEMS from the start. He was ‘in the room’ for the original meetings that led to our formation and was with us every step of the way in the 40 years since.

If NAFEMS has a beating heart, Jim would have embodied it. His passion for engineering, his love of shipbuilding, Glasgow, and Scotland shone through everything he did. Those who knew Jim well, and knew which side of Glasgow he sat on, may even have described him as “Simply the Best”. It was his impressive knowledge and love of Motown, shared over a pint of orange diluting juice (“DI-LUTE-ING-JUICE”) in the small hours after a project meeting in a far-flung location, that would often surprise and delight members of the community.

He was proud to serve on the NAFEMS Council, often commenting that he was making sure we stuck to our Scottish roots as we grew internationally. He is responsible for the development of our PSE Certification and Competencies, led a raft of European projects for, and with, NAFEMS, wrote numerous articles and papers for us, and was a consistent presence at the World Congress, which he played a key part in founding.

Jim is survived by his wife Colleen, son David, and an engineering community where his name will live on

This time, for once, Jim doesn’t get the last word. We’ll leave that to his beloved Rabbie Burns. We’re sure he’d approve.

An honest man here lies at rest,
As e’er God with His image blest:
The friend of man, the friend of truth;
The friend of age, and guide of youth:
Few hearts like his, with virtue warm’d,
Few heads with knowledge so inform’d:
If there’s another world, he lives in bliss;
If there is none, he made the best of this.