Curtis Mark Breneman, PhD

BRUNSWICK - Dr. Curt Breneman, died Tuesday, December 3 in Troy, NY after being diagnosed in October with advanced metastatic pancreatic cancer. He was 68. He is survived by his wife Mimsy (Miriam) Pye and her siblings, nieces, nephews, and grand-nieces and -nephews, along with his stepsons, Jason and Matt Rocker. He was predeceased by his son Sean, father H. Mark, mother Arlene Wells, and brother Stephen Breneman. Curt was born and raised in Santa Monica, CA.

Curt studied Chemistry at UCLA and earned a PhD at UC Santa Barbara with an emphasis on Physical Organic and Computational Chemistry. Following a Post doc at Yale, in 1989 he started at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) as Assistant Professor of Chemistry. He later served as Head of RPI’s Department of Chemistry & Chemical Biology and in 2015 was appointed Dean of the School of Science. The Breneman research group focused on understanding and predicting the behavior of chemical molecules. One of his most important contributions to the field was the development of an entirely new way to predict molecular structures called the Transferable Atom Equivalent (TAE) method. This method uses computation to quickly and accurately reconstruct molecules, including new drug candidates and nanocomposite materials with specialized properties. This technology allowed scientists to screen large databases of potential drug-like compounds for effectiveness or undesirable side effects and can also be used to screen new polymer materials for important physical and/or electrical properties. Throughout his career Curt served as a consultant to many companies, including General Electric, Eastman Kodak, Google and multiple pharmaceutical and drug discovery companies. He was named a Fellow of the American Chemical Society in 2011. In all phases of his career, Curt was known for approaching every task with positivity and joy, never showing anger or discouragement in the face of difficulties. As Dean, he always put the well-being of everyone at the center of all his decisions. He often repeated his philosophy that health and family come first, work is second. 

Curt enjoyed flying his own plane for 40 years, tinkering with his short-wave radio, pyrotechnics, sky diving, mowing the lawn, and travelling. He volunteered for 16 years as a counselor at Camp Fowler, many of those years with his son, Sean. He was a loving husband. He loved his work, his colleagues and students, and our family and friends. He encouraged/inspired the development of a cystic fibrosis medicine that helped our grand niece and thousands of CF patients live longer healthier lives.

Relatives and friends may call on Saturday, December 7, 2024 from 1-4PM at Bryce Funeral Home, Inc. 276 Pawling Ave., Troy, NY. A Celebration of Life will be held at EMPAC at RPI On the corner of 8th Street and College Avenue on January 31, 2025 at 3PM. In lieu of flowers, donations to Camp Fowler (CampFowler.org) or your charity of choice would honor Curt’s memory.  PARKING, please park in the College Avenue parking garage adjacent to Cogswell Laboratory.

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