Dr. Tony J. Beugelsdijk
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In Memoriam A Gentleman and a Scholar: Remembering the Remarkable Tony Beugelsdijk On August 23, 2009, the laboratory automation Tony worked as a senior analytical chemist with community lost one of its best friends when ALA Shell Development Company in Houston, Texas from Co-Founder Tony Beugelsdijk passed away from 1975 to 1984 where he was responsible for method ‘‘If the measure of complications related to a stroke. His early depar- development and automation activities. During this a person is in the ture from this life left those who knew him stunned period, he applied robotic sample preparation technol- positive impact and heartbroken. ogy, thermoanalytical techniques, mass spectrometry, they made in Tony was a prolific inventor, author, and speaker gas chromatography, microcombustion techniques, others’ lives, then who received many awards in honor of his scientific neutron activation, X-ray fluorescence, atomic ab- Tony stood ten achievements. Most recently, Tony received interna- sorption, and inductively coupled plasma techniques e feet tall.’’ Andy tional attention for co-developing the High- to a host of elemental and molecular analytes in hydro- Zaayenga Throughput Laboratory Network (HTLN) to carbon matrices, catalysts, and polymers. provide a worldwide rapid response capability and In 1984, he joined Los Alamos National Labora- surveillance system for infectious disease. About the tory (LANL) where he built the laboratory’s robot- HTLN, former U.S. President Bill Clinton paused ics and automation program leading a team of more during a recent speech at Lincoln Center, raised his than 30 scientists and engineers. He managed the de- hand and remarked ‘‘this is really important’’ in re- velopment of more than 20 robotics systems includ- gard to his foundation’s world health initiatives.Tony ing the only four systems in the nation qualified to also was an exceptional human being. Kindness and handle plutonium samples. He actively promoted courtesy were hallmarks of his nature. His inherent the extensive use of robotics technologies in the na- curiosity and leadership led those who knew him to tion’s nuclear defense and energy programs. From greatly respect, admire, and appreciate him. His hon- 1998 to 99, Tony held a Los Alamos sponsored In- orable legacy will forever guide and inspire all of us. dustrial Fellow position with Parke-Davis Pharma- ceutical Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan. On his TONY’S PROFESSIONAL LEGACY return to Los Alamos, Tony assumed the Research Park Project Leader Position identifying potential Tony J. Beugelsdijk graduated summa cum laude tenant LANL programs for the new Los Alamos from Wichita State University. He received an Research Park. He developed partnerships with the M.S. degree in analytical chemistry from the Uni- life science industry and worked with the chemical/ versity of Illinois in 1972, and a Ph.D. degree in biological threat reduction program and as a Divi- bioinorganic chemistry in 1975. In 1992, he com- sion Liaison Officer (DLO) to the LANL Center pleted a Masters in Business Administration degree for Homeland Security. with an emphasis in General Management from the Tony led the development of robotic systems to University of New Mexico. support the Human Genome Program, which were used in the mapping of human chromosomes. He was active in extending the use of robotics and auto- Correspondence: Nan Hallock, Journal of the Association for mation technologies for DNA-based procedures in Laboratory Automation, 819 Shorewood Boulevard, Manitowoc, WI 54220, USA; Phone: þ1.920.652.0427; clinical practice and was a champion of robotics E-mail: [email protected] technologies in molecular biology, biotechnology, JALA 2010;15(1):74e82. and drug discovery. 1535-5535/$36.00 In 1989, he originated the Standard Laboratory Copyright c 2010 by The Association for Laboratory Automation Module (SLM) concept and formalism on which the doi:10.1016/j.jala.2009.10.003 Department of Energy’s multilaboratory Contaminant 74 JALA February 2010 In Memoriam Analysis Automation program and an American Society for Robotics in Laboratory Medicine in Montreux, Switzerland. Testing and Materials (ASTM) International standard was At the close of this meeting, Robin Felder, Alain Donzel, and based. This program grew to include six national laboratories, David Herold met and the idea of presenting the next conference three federal agencies, and two industrial partners and is devel- in North America crystallized. In 1994, the third incarnation of oping modular technologies for automation of the laboratory of this conference was presented in San Diego and renamed Inter- the future. Tony J. Beugelsdijk was awarded a 1986 Pioneer in national Conference on Automation and Robotics (ICAR). At Laboratory Robotics Award by the International Symposium this meeting, Tony was honored with the Hewlett-Packard on Laboratory Robotics (ISLR). He had four patents issued Award for outstanding strategic research in automated sample and one pending. In 1994, his work was recognized with the preparation. He then joined the event development team of Hewlett-Packard Award for Advances in Automated Sample Felder, Donzel, and Herold. Two years later, in 1996, Tony, Preparation. In 1996, Tony was awarded the Los Alamos Dis- Felder, and Herold incorporated the Association for Labora- tinguished Performance Award for his contributions to the Hu- tory Automation (ALA) as a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. man Genome project at Los Alamos.Tony served as the North The first issue of Laboratory Automation News (LAN, the pre- American Editor of the Journal of Laboratory Robotics and cursor to JALA) followed later that year, and the first LabAu- Automation published by J. Wiley and serves on the advisory tomation conference was presented the following year. In board of the Wiley-Interscience book series in laboratory auto- 1998, Tony taught himself HTML programming and not only mation. He authored more than 50 papers and book chapters in created the first ALA Web site, but also integrated an online laboratory automation and gave more than 50 presentations in database to enable credit card transactions when online the field of laboratory robotics, sample preparation, and chem- commerce was in its infancy. ical automation at national and international conferences. Tony By 2000, Tony and the team had grown ALA and its cor- edited two books, the first was titled Automation Technologies nerstone LabAutomation conference to 2300 active partici- for Genome Characterization (ISBN 0-471-12806-6) and pub- pants. As a result, they began to outsource special services lished in 1997, the second was titled Firepower in the Lab: Auto- and expanded the board of directors. In 2003, they hired mation in the Fight Against infectious Diseases and Bioterrorism Greg Dummer as the association’s first executive director and published in 2001 (ISBN 0-309-06849-5). and empowered him to spearhead the development of a vir- tual organization staffed by professional service providers. This enabled the ALA Board of Directors to focus on orga- TONY’S ALA LEGACY nizational strategy and planning.In 2004, Tony retired from In 1993, Tony was one of 200 scientific professionals who partic- the ALA Board of Directors, but his interest and participa- ipated in the second International Symposium on Automation, tion in the organization did not wane. He continued to pro- Robotics, and Artificial Intelligence Applied to Analytical vide counsel and advice to Dummer and other members of Chemistry and the second International Conference on the board, and to serve as a member of the JALA Editorial Winners of the Pioneers in Laboratory Robotics Award at the International Symposium on Laboratory Automation and Robotics (ISLAR) (circa 1986). Tony Beugelsdijk is in the top/back row, fifth from the left. JALA February 2010 75 In Memoriam Tony Beugelsdijk with a portion of the High-Throughput Laboratory Network (HTLN) at Los Alamos National Laboratory, a development regarded by former U.S. President Bill Clinton as ‘‘really important.’’ Board. Tony was a familiar face at LabAutomation confer- mastered the art of carpentry, building beautiful, elaborate, ences. Members, attendees, and staff alike looked forward and intricate clocks and other projects. He preferred hard- to his active participation in meetings, educational sessions, woods, especially cherry because it machined and carved special events, and the ALA Member Center. wonderfully and finished beautifully, but he also worked with walnut, mahogany, oak, and maple. Tony once said ‘‘the wood really tells you what to do. Cutting it in the right places TONY’S PERSONAL LEGACY brings out its natural beauty and inner strength.’’ Born in Lisse, Holland, Tony emigrated with his parents to the United States and grew up in Kansas. In the summer of 1988, Tony’s sister-in-law made arrangements for Mary Bergkamp to accompany Tony when he returned to Wichita for his 20th high school reunion. Mary reluctantly agreed to this blind date. She was less than enamored with the idea, but because the destination was within walking distance of her home, she knew she could easily excuse herself if she tired of her companion. Happily, she did not walk home alone and 18 months later, on January 13, 1990, Mary Bergkamp became Mary Beugelsdijk. Tony and Mary shared a love of travel and began their marriage with the first of many memorable journeysd a two-week exploration of Australia. They made their home in New Mexico and eventually adopted a shelter dog named Reina. Mary loves to garden and cook, and Tony loved to eat. They especially enjoyed margaritas on the rocks with freshly made guacamole on the patio at Gabriel’s Restaurant outside of Santa Fe. In January 2010, Mary and Tony would have celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. Tony came from several generations of woodworkers. His grandfather built windmills, homes, and the elegant St. Aga- tha’s Church in Lisse. Each of his six sons, including Tony’s David Herold and Tony Beugelsdijk worked tirelessly to build the father, grew up as carpenters.