Thomas R. Beattie dies at 81

Thomas R. Beattie, founding chair of the American Chemical Society Committee on Senior Chemists, has died at age 81. He is remembered for his legacy of service to ACS and as a dedicated friend, leader, and mentor to members of the ACS San Diego Section.

Beattie earned a BS in chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania, later completing a PhD at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in physical organic chemistry. After a stint as a postdoctoral fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he began a 27-year career at Merck Research Laboratories in Rahway, New Jersey, working in early-stage drug discovery.

In 1993, Beattie retired early from Merck and moved to San Diego, where he worked as a biopharmaceutical consultant.

Beattie was a councilor for the ACS San Diego Section for more than 20 years. He served as the section’s chair in 1999; that year, the section took home a ChemLuminary Award for Outstanding Performance by a Local Section. He was recognized with the section’s Outstanding Service Award and its Volunteerism Award.

Beattie led the Senior Silver Circle Working Group from 2005–09. This work led to the creation of the Committee on Senior Chemists, which he then chaired for 6 years.

At the 2011 Southwest Regional Meeting, Beattie received the E. Ann Nalley Western Regional Award for Volunteer Service to ACS. That year, he was also named an American Chemical Society fellow. In 2020, the ACS Silicon Valley Section awarded Beattie its Shirley B. Radding Award.

Friends and colleagues recall Beattie’s contributions to the society and its members. “We all need someone to guide or encourage us into that first big leadership role. I can honestly say that was Beattie for me,” says Jacqueline A. Trischman, dean of California State University San Marcos’s College of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. “He holds a special place in my heart both personally and professionally.”

Beattie is survived by his wife, Mary Ann; his daughters, Kathy Porter and Pat; his son, Tom; and six grandchildren.