Robert A Charpie

Dr. Robert A. Charpie of Weston, Mass., the former chairman and CEO of Boston-based Cabot Corporation and a life-long advocate of using technology and innovation to benefit society, died peacefully under the care and comfort of his family at his home on Oct. 13, 2011. He was 86. Dr. Charpie's death was confirmed by his four children. It occurred only 25 days after the loss of his of his beloved wife of 64 years, Elizabeth. His death was caused by complications due to long-standing congestive heart failure. Dr. Charpie was born in Cleveland, the son of Leonard Asbury Charpie and Dorothy (McLean) Charpie. During World War II, Dr. Charpie served in the 10th Mountain Division of the United States Army, where he received two Bronze Stars for meritorious service. Following his service, he was honored as a Westinghouse Scholar, graduating from Carnegie Institute of Technology with a B.S. with honors in 1948, his M.S. in 1949, and his D.Sc. in Theoretical Physics in 1950. After graduation, Dr. Charpie joined Union Carbide Corporation as a physicist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). During his 11-year tenure, he was a pioneer in the civilian development of nuclear energy and was an international leader in the peaceful uses of atomic energy. He served as deputy U.S. delegate to the United Nations Advisory Committee on Atomic Energy in 1954; in 1955 he was scientific secretary for the first International Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy, held in Geneva, Switzerland; and he served as secretary to the General Advisory Committee for the Atomic Energy Commission from 1959 to 1963. Dr. Charpie's contributions in the field of public policy and technology extended well beyond the field of energy. From 1965 to 1967, he chaired an important panel on technological innovation for the U.S. Department of Commerce, which produced what became known as "the Charpie Report." The panel, which focused on the importance of technological change for economic growth in the United States, was a harbinger of today's debate surrounding productivity in the American economy and the country's competitive position abroad. Dr. Charpie also participated in national discussions in other critical areas as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Advisory Commission for Oceans and Atmospheres in the 1970s. Continuing a lifelong theme of serving his country, Dr. Charpie was one of the three people named to study of the high costs and technical difficulties of the then troubled space shuttle program in 1979. This study, which was presented to President Carter, resulted in administrative changes in the space program and its subsequent improvement in meeting scheduled target dates. Concurrent with his public service, Dr. Charpie compiled a very successful record as an industrial leader. In 1961, he moved to Union Carbide's New York offices as manager of advanced developments. In March of 1968, he became president of Bell & Howell and served in this capacity until joining Cabot Corporation as president and CEO in May 1969. In 1986, Dr. Charpie was elected chairman, becoming the first person outside of the Cabot family to hold that position. In a career devoted to innovation and the development of new ideas, Dr. Charpie was deeply committed to the importance of education in our society. In 1969, he was nominated by President Nixon to the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation on which he served until 1976. The Board's purpose is to strengthen research and education in the sciences throughout the United States. Dr. Charpie retired as chairman of Cabot in 1988 and, pursuing his interests in innovation, joined Ampersand Ventures as its chairman. During this phase of his life, he devoted much of his time to his favorite hobby - great food and wine. He was past-president of the International Wine and Food Society and as such introduced people around the world to the pleasures of fine wines. During his career he also served on many prestigious boards of directors including Champion International Corporation, Federated Department Stores, Inc., First National Bank of Boston, Honeywell, Inc., Northwest Airlines, Inc., the MITRE Corporation, the United Way and the Massachusetts General Hospital. In 1975, Dr. Charpie was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the highest honor that can be bestowed upon an American engineer. In addition to being a Trustee for the Carnegie Institute of Technology since 1962, he was vice chairman of the Oak Ridge Board of Education in Tennessee from 1957 to 1961, helping it become one of the first racially integrated school systems in the South. Dr. Charpie is survived by his four loving children: Richard Charpie and his wife Sally (Ward), Carol McMullen and her husband Sean Rush, David Charpie and his wife Joanne (Condakes), and John Charpie and his wife Kathy (Pate). He is also survived by his sister Edith Fickenscher, and his 12 grandchildren and eight nieces and nephews. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/wickedlocal-wayland/obituary.aspx?n=robert-a-charpie&pid=154200621#sthash.OKxb9CLw.dpuf