Biography

Dr. Adams joined Rice University in January 2002, as the Director of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology, later named the Richard E. Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology at Rice University, the first organized nanotech center in the world, founded in 1993 by its namesake. In January 2012 he became Associate Dean of the George R. Brown School of Engineering. He joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science in July 2013 as a Senior Faculty Fellow.

Dr. Adams retired from the U.S. Air Force senior executive ranks in January 2002, as the Chief Scientist of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Adams was educated at the U.S. Air Force Academy (B.S. Physics 1968), Vanderbilt University (M.S. Health Physics 1970), and the University of Massachusetts (Ph.D. Polymer Science and Engineering 1984). He joined the Air Force Materials Lab in 1970 as a Materials Research Engineer, in the Electromagnetic Materials Branch. From 72-74 he was Assistant Chief, Technical Program Office. From 74-89 he was Materials Research Engineer, Polymer Branch, Nonmetallic Materials Division. In 89-90 he was the Acting Assistant Chief, Integration and Operations Division. And in 90 he returned as a Materials Research Engineer, Hardened Materials Branch, Electromagnetic Materials and Survivability Division. Ultimately he became the Chief Scientist of the Materials and Manufacturing Directorate, AFRL. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Dr. Adams also retired from the Air Force Reserve with the rank of Colonel in 1998.

Obituary

Walter Wade Adams, 78, died on February 12th, 2025, at his home in Nashville, TN, from Parkinson’s Disease. Wade was interred at Arlington National Cemetery, VA, where his brother, Charles Adams, is also buried.

Wade was born on December 12th, 1946, in Wheeler, Texas. His mother, Agnes, was a beloved 5th grade teacher at Canadian Elementary, and his father, Walter, served in the Navy during WWII, was Hemphill County Sheriff, and owned Adams Water Drilling Company, taking his wife and 5 children on adventures across the Plains states for work. Wade and his siblings, Charles, Linda, and twins Diane and Denise, were raised in Canadian, TX, in the house their great-grandfather built. Wade was valedictorian of the Canadian High School class of 1964. He enjoyed school life and served as Band King, Drum Major, and Vice-President of his class; was selected for the All State Band for two years; and won the John Philip Sousa Award as well as the Texas Slide Rule Championship while enjoying lots of extracurricular activities like riding his ‘dune goon’ in the dry riverbed, pulling epic pranks, and cruising the town with his friends in his PinkUp truck (with his sisters riding ONLY in the truck bed). A great highlight was touring seven countries playing tuba with the School Band of America. There he met the love of his life, Mert (Martha) Millham.

After graduation, he was selected to attend the Air Force Academy, majoring in physics. He is an Academy legend, organizing the first Cadet Band and a still-epic pep rally with beer purchased by fictional Cadet Nino Baldacci. His Academy antics resulted in many ‘tours’ walking the terrazzo in full dress and carrying arms. Despite this, he graduated in 1968, remaining in the Air Force, earning an MA in Health Physics from Vanderbilt University and a PhD in Polymer Science at UMass Amherst. He was then sent to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, where Mert and he raised their two daughters, Julie and Keri. Wade retired after 32 years in 2002 as Chief Scientist of the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.

His great personal passion was volleyball. He played multiple times a week on a base team and parlayed that love into a job managing the US Men’s Volleyball Team, playing exhibition games across the country, including in Canadian, and culminating in the World Cup tournament in Japan in 1977. He continued to play throughout his military career.

In 2002, Wade and Mert moved to Houston, Texas, where Wade joined Rice University to work with and then succeed Nobel Laureate Richard Smalley as director of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST). Under Wade’s visionary leadership, the renamed Smalley Institute expanded its faculty, secured major congressional and private research funding, and strengthened partnerships with industry and government, leaving a lasting legacy. As a leader, Wade was energetic and engaged, always generous with his time and mentorship. He was a skilled communicator, approachable and looking for opportunities to make connections and foster relationships professionally and personally. He always celebrated others’ successes more than his own.

What Wade really loved most in life was FUN. Wade and Mert relished hosting parties, and it was always “the more the merrier.” TunaFest, an annual summer gathering that Wade started as a way to share an oversupply of tuna from his deep-sea fishing trips, grew into a major annual event at Rice, attracting thousands of attendees with live music and grilled tuna. Wade and his Smalley colleagues supported Rice Volleyball with offsite team gatherings including coaches, players, and their families. He continued to support Rice Volleyball long past his second-retirement from Rice in 2018.

Wade and Mert moved to Nashville, TN, to be near their daughters after he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. They enjoyed trips to Dollywood and Disney World, visits back home to Texas, concerts and performances, family and friend gatherings, and of course many parties. Wade was happiest when surrounded by his granddaughters. He was always a “people person” and relished the on-going contact with his professional colleagues and friends. His lifelong mantras were “No Regrets” and “Be a Scientist, Save the World,” and he lived a rich and joyful life doing just that.

Wade is survived by his wife, Mert; daughters Julie Adams (Richard Smith) and Keri Adams (Matthew Stitzlein) and beloved granddaughters Millicent, Bessie, and Vivian Stitzlein, all of Nashville; sister L. Denise Adams, of Fort Worth, TX; his nieces and nephews Lisa McEntire (Keith) of Krum, TX, Laura Walser (John) of Canadian, TX, Jered Norris (Lindsay) of Canadian, Carla McKelvey (Mark) of Portland, OR, Jeff Adams (Andrea) of Ashland, OR, Laurie Comstock (Jamie) of Abilene, TX, and Bryan Adams (April) of Nashville, TN.