John Robert Beyster

John Robert Beyster (July 26, 1924 – December 22, 2014), often styled J. Robert Beyster, was an American scientist and entrepreneur, and the founder of Science Applications International Corporation. He was Chairman of the Board until his retirement in July 2004, and served as chief executive officer (CEO) until November 2003. Beyster's primary areas of interest were national security and nuclear reactor physics. Beyster also founded two nonprofit organizations to assist organizations considering employee ownership: the Beyster Institute and the Foundation for Enterprise Development.

Biography Early life and work

Beyster was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1924, and grew up in Grosse Ile, Michigan. He attended school at Slocum Truax High School in Trenton, Michigan, and was salutatorian of his graduating class. As he was preparing to graduate from high school, the United States entered World War II, and he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was sent to college at the University of Michigan, where he was enrolled in the V12 Officer Training Program. He was commissioned as an ensign, and eventually served on a destroyer based in Norfolk, Virginia before leaving the service six months later. Educated at the University of Michigan (COE: BSE, MS, PhD), Beyster worked as a scientist for Westinghouse Atomic Power Division on the company's nuclear submarine program in the 1950s. He soon followed many of his college associates to New Mexico to work as a research physicist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. In 1957 he became the chairman of the Accelerator Physics Department of General Atomics where he remained until it was bought by Gulf Oil in 1968.

Career at SAIC

In 1969, Beyster raised money to start Science Applications, Inc. (SAI) by investing the proceeds from selling stock he had received from General Atomic, combined with funds raised from early employees of the company. and Names, Numbers, and Network Solutions: The Monetization of the Internet, cowritten with Michael A. Daniels and published in 2013. A fellow of the American Nuclear Society, Beyster served as Chairman of its Reactor Physics Division and Shielding Division. He was a fellow of the American Physical Society, a member of the Scientific Advisory Group to the Director, Strategic Target Planning Staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He also served as chairman emeritus of the board of directors of the University of California, San Diego Foundation. and had three children.

Awards and distinctions

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency designated Beyster an Honorary Program Manager "for his distinguished contributions to the agency over his career." He also received the Engineering Manager of the Year Award in 2000 from the American Society of Engineering Management, the 2001 Spirit of San Diego Award from the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Lifetime Achievement Award from Ernst & Young in 2003, and the "Supporter of Entrepreneurialism" award from Arthur Young and Venture magazine.

On Wednesday, April 11, 2012, the computer science and engineering building at the University of Michigan was rededicated in his and his wife's name as the Bob and Betty Beyster Building (BBB).

In 2019, RV Bob and Betty Beyster, a 42-foot research vessel that bears their names, joined the fleet at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

The Bob and Betty Beyster garden sits at the entrance to the Sulpizio Center at UCSD Thorton Medical Center on campus across the street from former SAIC headquarters.