Robert E. Carnahan

Robert E. Carnahan, 86, a retired pharmaceutical industry chemist, died on Feb. 3.

Carnahan earned a B.S. at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and an M.S. in organic chemistry at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he also earned a Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1950.

He began his career as a chemist with Charles Pfizer in Groton, Conn., before moving to the company’s patent department in Brooklyn in 1955. In 1960, he joined Mead Johnson in Evansville, Ind., working as a patent liaison representative; in 1963, he became the company’s director of patents. Beginning in 1981, Carnahan became director of patents at Bristol-Myers Squibb, working in Syracuse; Wallingford, Conn.; and Evansville, before retiring earlier this year.

He was an emeritus member of ACS, joining in 1948. He was an active member of the Evansville Historical Society and a supporter of the Evansville Philharmonic and the University of Evansville music program. He enjoyed traveling, playing golf, and listening to opera.

He is survived by his wife, Ann; daughters, Barbara West and Ellen Carnahan; granddaughters, Emily Henry and Sarah West; and one great-grandson.