James Rutherford Fair (October 14, 1920 – October 11, 2010) was an American chemical engineer. His professional career included 33 years working in a variety of industrial positions, primarily for Monsanto Company. In 1979, he shifted to academia, joining the University of Texas at Austin School of Chemical Engineering, where he founded the Separations Research Program, which he headed from 1982 until 1996. Although he officially retired in 1992, he remained active as professor emeritus until his death in 2010.