In Remembrance:
Charles "Chuck" Beard
It is with regret that we announce the death of Charles D. Beard, who passed away on April 6, 2012. Charles 'Chuck' Beard was a visionary and pioneer in creating CB Research and Development, Inc. (CBRD, 1991), which provided contract chemistry services for biomaterials and pharmaceutical research and development. This was a decade before the age of strategic research outsourcing was in vogue. In 2005, CBRD was transformed into Adesis, which offered expanded research services to various private and governmental research organizations in the life sciences.
Dr. Beard received his BS and Ph.D. from the University of Richmond and University of Pennsylvania, respectively, and held postdoctoral fellowships at Ohio State University and the University of California Medical Center at San Francisco. He subsequently held positions of increasing responsibility at Fluorochem, Inc., Union Carbide, Hughes Aircraft, and J&J, prior to the creation of CB Research and Development and later Adesis, Inc.
Dr. Beard pioneered the translation of academic chemical research into high-value commercialization, especially in the realm of materials and biomaterials research for medical applications and the defense industry. Some of his early advances, for space applications, included new energetic materials for propellants, inorganic polymers for high-temperature aviation applications, and monomers for electronic applications.
At Johnson & Johnson, he worked on specialized monomers for ophthalmology applications of UV-protective intraocular lenses (IOLs) and absorbable sutures. These items are used by millions of patients, with significant improvements in their quality of life.
His entrepreneurial spirit went beyond traditional chemistry pursuits, as demonstrated by the creation of the Catalog of Advanced Heterocyclic Intermediates in 1999. This initiative arose from his recognition that there were unmet needs in orthogonally-functionalized azoles for research.
The Adesis community and clients will miss Chuck's laser-like attention to technical details and experimentation. His strong moral principles, entrepreneurship, and work ethic will continue into the future as hallmarks of Adesis.
