John Stephen Roberts ’59
John Stephen Roberts ’59 died on October 19, 2016. He entered Dartmouth from Natick (Massachusetts) High School, majored in zoology and was a member of Alpha Theta. He earned a Ph.D. in radiation biology and biophysics from Duke in 1965 and an M.B.A. from Northeastern in 1980. In 2002 he completed a program in patent prosecution and licensing at the Franklin Pierce Law Center and was admitted to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. John had a long and varied career utilizing and eventually combining his expertise in science and business. From 1965 to 1973 he worked as a researcher and scientist, first with Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and then with the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology. Beginning in 1979 he worked mostly in business, as a CEO of two private companies and as a consultant for startup development at Children’s Hospital in Boston. From 1992 through 2004 he was a senior executive for two university licensing offices, first the University of Michigan and then Stony Brook University. In 2004 he joined Medlen & Carroll, a law firm specializing in intellectual property, and served that firm for more than 10 years as a patent agent and licensing specialist. He is survived by daughter Deanna, son Mark, four grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
