A Great Loss to the Separation Science Community

It is with much sadness that we write to inform you that Bernie finally lost his battle with a liver condition, with which he had been suffering for the past few years, and died on Saturday evening at around 8:30pm in the UK.  

The effects of the liver disease had become more pronounced in recent months and, despite various medical attempts to try and treat him, the condition worsened and also started to affect his other major organs.  Bernie died peacefully, his wife Jude and son Kevin were with him.
 
Many will remember Bernie from his more than 30 years working in the scientific community.  He spent 22 years of this helping build the Hypersil business, starting out with Shandon in the early 1980’s, working through the transition to Hypersil Ltd and then as part of the integration to Thermo Electron in the mid nineties.  He was one of a handful of people who were integral to the design, development and global commercialisation of the Hypersil HPLC materials and as the VP of Sales and Marketing for the business up until leaving the company in 2003 was very much the leader in “spreading the word” about the company’ s Chromatography Consumables.

He continued to be a key figure in the Chromatography world over the last decade, passing on his experience through consulting roles, supporting the UK Chromsoc events and working for the scientific journal community.  A truly social character in everything he did, he will be sadly missed by everyone who knew him and leaves a great legacy for Thermo Fisher Scientific in what he helped make possible with the Hypersil range.
 
So - wherever you are in the world today, raise a glass (Guinness or Grappa were Bernie’s favourites) and remember Bernie – a true gent and friend to all who knew him.

We will share information on the funeral arrangements, and any charity donations that the family may wish to organise, once they are confirmed.  If you want to send any messages or check details for the funeral arrangements please contact Kevin Doolan, kevin.doolan@thermofisher.com