J. Robert Beyster

Dr. J. Robert Beyster founded SAIC in 1969 and served as the company’s chairman and CEO until he retired in 2004. As chairman of the Foundation for Enterprise Development (FED; www.fed.org), a nonprofit organization he founded in 1986, he actively promotes entrepreneurial employee ownership nationally to science and technology communities. In addition to supporting entrepreneurs directly in advancing important, disruptive innovations and growing small businesses through government-funded programs, innovation-based competitions, and publications, the FED actively funds and participates in interdisciplinary research and education at universities.

Dr. Beyster was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1924 and his family moved to Grosse Ile, Michigan, in 1929. After high school, he enlisted in the US Navy and was sent to college at the University of Michigan to attend 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. Dr. Beyster received a BSE in engineering and physics in 1945, an MS in physics in 1947, and a PhD in nuclear physics in 1950—all from the University of Michigan.

He began his career as a senior scientist at Westinghouse, working in the company’s atomic power division on the nuclear submarine program. Within a year, Dr. Beyster left to join Los Alamos National Laboratory, where he worked in the physics department, focused on experimental physics, and coauthored publications with Dr. Hans Bethe. He joined General Atomic in 1957 as chairman of the Accelerator Physics Department, where during his twelve years at the company, Dr. Beyster established the 100-million-volt traveling wave linear accelerator facility and grew it to about 130 staff members.

Beyster founded SAIC—Science Applications International Corporation—on February 3, 1969, in La Jolla, California. SAIC provides a wide range of information technology services, including systems engineering and project management, to federal and state agencies, including all branches of the US military and commercial customers. For years, SAIC was the second-largest employee-owned company in the United States. As of early 2013, the company comprised more than 40,000 employees and has grown to annual revenues of more than $10 billion.

Dr. Beyster has written or co-authored approximately 60 publications, reports, and books including The SAIC Solution: How We Built an $8 Billion Employee-Owned Technology Company, published by John Wiley & Sons in 2007. A new edition of the book will be released in late 2013.

A fellow of the American Nuclear Society, Dr. Beyster has served as Chairman of its Reactor Physics Division and Shielding Division. He is 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 serves as Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of the University of California San Diego Foundation.

DARPA designated Dr. Beyster an Honorary Program Manager for his distinguished contributions to the agency over his career. He 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.

In 2006, the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation (EDC) recognized Dr. Beyster with the Herb Klein Civic Leadership Award, and he is the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the University of California, San Diego’s CONNECT program for providing 25 years of outstanding service to the community. The Horatio Alger Association for Distinguished Americans selected Dr. Beyster to be a 2008 Horatio Alger Award recipient. This honor is bestowed upon those individuals who have overcome adversity to achieve great successes through the American free enterprise system.

Dr. Beyster lives in La Jolla, California, with his wife, Betty and enjoys weekly outings on his boat, Solutions