Remembering Peter Curtin, an accomplished chemist and caring friend

Our classmate Peter Norman Curtin passed away on October 10^th while running the Baltimore marathon. He was a Chemistry PhD candidate at MIT, where he was awarded the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship. In a collaborative effort with Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, he was researching the use of chemical sensors to assess how well chemotherapy drugs treat tumors. Peter’s professors remember him as one the smartest, most thoughtful and humble students they ever taught. Among his awards, Peter received the Robert T. McCay Prize, Malcolm H. Chisholm Inorganic Prize, and the GPEC Solar Energy Innovation Award and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. While at Princeton, Peter co-authored a paper published in Chemistry-A European Journal. He also was the first undergraduate Chemistry student to be the lead author of a paper based on his thesis that is soon to be published in Inorganic Chemistry.

Peter’s friends remember him as the always loyal, upbeat and caring ‘Dapper’. He played goalie for the men's club lacrosse team and was a member of the Tiger Inn. Colin Emerson remembers Peter as “the first to sit and listen when one of his friends had a problem. His ability to take joy in the simplest of things never failed to serve as a model for those of us worrying about trivial matters in our own lives.” Peter’s friends knew him not just as an exceptional student, but more so for his goofy smile and friendly demeanor. Nick Adam, Peter’s roommate of four years, said that “for many of us, Dapper was our best friend, partly because we found ourselves turning to him first. It didn’t matter if we were having a rough day or a great one. When nothing was supposed to make me feel better, Dapper did. If life was good, you certainly wanted Dapper around.”

Peter is survived by his parents Michael and Anne, his brother Matthew and his sister Alison. Beyond his many outstanding achievements, what they will remember most of all is what a wonderful, funny, thoughtful and caring person Peter was every day of his life; something they will all treasure forever—a person who touched and benefited everyone who knew him.

Peter’s family has established a memorial fund in his name to support other students in the Chemistry department. Donations can be made out to “Princeton University” with the note “Peter N. Curtin, Class of 2008, Memorial Fund” and mailed to Helen Hardy, Princeton University, Alumni and Donor Relations, PO Box 5357, Princeton, NJ 08543.