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Charles Schmuttenmaer Obituary
Charles Albert Schmuttenmaer, Yale University Professor of Chemistry, loving grandfather, friend, and advocate for those in need passed away on Sunday, July 26th in New Haven, CT. A motivation for all those lucky to know him, his passion for education and research will be missed. A founding member of the Yale Green Energy Consortium and pioneer in physical chemistry, he leads the Schmuttenmaer Research Group on novel applications of terahertz spectroscopy. His research includes increasing efficiency of solar energy technology. From Chicago to Berkeley to Rochester to New Haven, his curiosity, optimism, and dedication to his work is known throughout the country. Attending conferences and collaborating with scientists abroad, he is well-known worldwide. Charlie is a member of the Yale Faculty Senate, volunteering for committee work and other chores. He is especially glad of the opportunity for more extensive contact with the Humanities faculty. A loving father and grandfather, he is not one to back down from a water fight, a steep sledding hill, or a walk in a blizzard. Always the traveler and conversationalist, he encourages all to enjoy life and get involved. Sing karaoke. Dance. Most importantly, Go Vote! In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project as well as the American Chemical Society.
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Memories and Condolences
for Charles Schmuttenmaer
Sponsored by NHRegister.com.
Mark Rooney
December 16, 2021
Charlie was one of my best friends since high school. Skateboarding and listening to music in his room was a big part of my formative years. We last saw each other because we lost another dear friend. I love and miss him dearly.
Joe Diaz
April 20, 2021
April 20,2021
I was shocked and super saddened to read the sad news. His dad Hugh and I became fast friends. Last saw Charlie in 2008 but it seems like yesterday. What a wonderful man.
The pride his dad had was amazing
In a short span of time. We lost Hugh in March 2016. Then his other son Marty soon after that. Not to mention another son Michael years ago, and now Charlie. What’s going on????
I honestly don’t understand it.
Only that God has his way of calling forth the best hearted.
Rest In Peace Michael, Hugh, Marty and now Charlie. Dr. Charles
My heart breaks for Mrs. Schmuttenmaer and Clare.
Yet as I was referred to “house mate” by Hugh though I lived on the second floor raising my two sons
I am truly heart broken.
Joe Diaz/ Oak Park
Rod Ruoff
March 18, 2021
I have good memories of Charlie, a bright and curious undergraduate researcher in the HS Gutowsky group at UIUC, while I was a graduate student in that group! He loved doing science at Illinois even while quite busy with classwork as an undergraduate student. It was a pleasure to read of the impact Charlie has had by his research, teaching, leadership at Yale, and joy of life. Our sincere condolences to family and friends. Rod Ruoff
Pat Fitz
August 23, 2020
I am Charlie's cousin and I have known Charlie his whole life. I saw him take his first steps and had no idea of the heights he would achieve. We live in Anaheim and Charlie came to stay back around 1986 or '87. I'm not really sure what year it was. Long time ago. He didn"t have a vehicle so I let him use my truck while Virginia and I had to work. That evening I asked him what he did during the day figuring he maybe cruised by Disneyland or went to L.A., checked out Hollywood, or went to the beach. He said he went to Pasadena to go by Cal Tech and the JPL. Things to come. Charlie was a great friendly guy. We lost one of the good ones here.
Laura Kenyon
August 19, 2020
Love you and miss you, dad.
I think of you all the time- when I see a night sky, black jeans, protests, elections. When I hold my son, listen to music, dance, sing. Sad that you are not here, even though I know you wouldn't want me to be.
You have touched the lives of so many.
Laura Kenyon
August 19, 2020
Missing you, dad. I think of you all the time. You will always be with me when I hold my son, discuss politics, listen to music, and dance. You are in my thoughts when I see black jeans, the night sky, a drone, protests, toys you have given us (one that looks like molecular bonds).
I will always strive to do my best because that is what you have taught me - to care, work hard, learn, and be curious. I try to stay positive.
Love you.
Laura Kenyon
August 19, 2020
Missing you, dad. This is not an easy time to lose someone who means so much to so many. There are so many moments every day that make me think of you- holding my son, the elections, protests as well as little things like building a fire, a walk in the woods, black jeans, the night sky, and music.
I know you would want us to stay positive, get involved, dance, sing, hug, and be there for those who need it. I do my best every day. Love you.
Johnny
August 16, 2020
Dear Family
With deepest sorrow I share your loss. Spending time with Charlie was always a pleasure. Like some others have already said, his love of life was contagious. The people around him were always very important to him. Having the opportunity to spend time with him on holidays or on vacations gave me the chance to hear the way thought of the world, and the people of the world. We are diminished. He loved science and would explain things in a way a person could understand, right up to the time I would try to explain to someone else, it would escape me. I think that Charlie's work could change the world and hope some other great thinkers will bring it to reality. I loved Charlie and will miss him. John
P.S. Charlie with his sister and mom.
Johnny
August 16, 2020
Narasimhan Ganapathi
August 14, 2020
When I was in distress felt ignored, Charlie helped me and worked to fix the problem quickly. I will always remember him singing the Beatles' Imagine at the Holiday lunch.
Paul Van Tassel
August 12, 2020
I am a faculty colleague of Charlie's at Yale, and was so saddened to learn of his passing. I will always remember his contagious enthusiasm, kind ways, gentle heart, and keen intellect. We are so fortunate to have known him -- he will be missed by all.
Bob
August 7, 2020
Bob King
August 6, 2020
Charlie was a good friend to me in grade school, and I watched him whiz by me academically about the 8th grade. I have fond memories of playing with Charlie and was not surprised to find him on the Yale website when searching for him a few years ago. This photo shows Charlie in a shirt he had marked up. He must have been about 7 at the time.
Sympathy to all who knew him and will miss him.
Heinich
August 6, 2020
Charlie was a Person who changed my life. I will never forget talking to him the first time in Nebraska where he offered me to join his group and to work with him.
He was always such a lovely and empathic man taking care of everyone with so much love.
All the best for the familie and please stay safe and sound. Will never forget you Charlie!
Eric Bittner
August 5, 2020
Charlie! Fair winds and a following sea.
Joseph Reilly
August 5, 2020
Charlie, I’ve known you since we were kids. You have always been my “+6 std deviation” friend with the ability to relate with those of us near the mean. Your kindness and warm sincerity will truly be missed.
My those you have loved and lost welcome you home, keep the light lit, for we will all see you in time.
Love Joe
Peter Siegel
August 3, 2020
We all mourn the loss of a dear friend and colleague, and wish the Schmuttenmaer family our sincerest condolences. A donation to the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project has been made in Charlie's name by the International Society of Infreared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves.
From:
Enrique Castro-Camus, Center for Research in Optics, Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico
Gian Piero Gallerano, ENEA-Frascati, Rome, Italy (Former Chair)
Martina Havenith, Ruhr Universität Bochum, Germany
Frank Hegmann, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Qing Hu, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States
John Jelonnek, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany
Peter Uhd Jepsen, Technical University of Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark (Vice-Chair)
Martin Koch, Philipps-Universitat Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Jean-Francois Lampin, IEMN, Univ. of Lille, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France
Roger Lewis, University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Nuria Llombart-Juan, Technical University of Delft, Delft, Netherlands
Wei Lu, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Shanghai, China
Emma MacPherson, Warwick University, Coventry, United Kingdom
Andrea Markelz, SUNY Buffalo, Buffalo, United States
Daniel Mittleman, Brown University, Providence, United States (Chair)
George Neil, Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Newport News, United States
Taichi Otsuji, Tohoku University, Japan
Gun-Sik Park, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea (Former Chair)
Alexander Shkurinov, Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Peter Siegel, California Institute of Tech., Pasadena, United States (General Secretary, Treasurer, Former Chair)
Jan Stake, Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden
Masahiko Tani, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
Richard J. Temkin, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, United States (Former Chair)
Jerome Tignon, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
Masayoshi Tonouchi, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
Miriam Vitiello, SNS and CNR Nano, Pisa, Italy
Axel Zeitler, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
Xi-Cheng Zhang, University of Rochester, Rochester, United States
Rene Beigang, University of Kaiserslautern, Kaiserslautern, Germany
Trevor Bird, CSIRO, Sydney, Australia
Martyn Chamberlain, Durham University, Durham, United Kingdom
Jean-Louis Coutaz, University of Savoie, Paris, France
Bruce Danly, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington D.C., United States
Toshitaka Idehara, Fukui University, Fukui, Japan
Kodo Kawase, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
Fritz Keilmann, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Munich, Germany
Jean Leotin, Laboratoire National des Champs Magnétiques Intenses, CNRS, Toulouse, France
Alexander Litvak, Inst. of Applied Physics Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia
Shenggang Liu, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
Neville Luhmann, University of California Davis, Davis, United States
Bob Miles, Leeds Univ., Leeds, United Kingdom
Koji Mizuno, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan (Former Chair)
Mitsuhiro Motokawa, Tohoku Univ., Sendai, Japan
Gregory Nusinovich, Univ. of Maryland, College Park, United States
Michael von Ortenberg, Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany
Terence Parker, University of Essex, Essex, United Kingdom (Former Chair)
Kiyomi Sakai, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
Xue-Chu Shen, Shanghai Institute of Technical Physics, Shanghai, China
Manfred Thumm, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
Minh Quang Tran, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Ken Wood, QMC Instruments Ltd., Cardiff University, Cardiff, United Kingdom
Peiheng Wu, RISE, Nanjing Univ., Nanjing, China
Yirong Wu, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Chao Zhang, Univ. of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
Gwyn Williams
August 2, 2020
Charlie was one of the nicest and brightest scientists in the field. I have known him for almost 20 years and have attended many meetings with him, including traveling together from Japan. He will be sorely missed but remembered for all the warmth that he brought to everyone with whom he interacted.
Jan Novak Dressel
August 2, 2020
I was Charlie’s teacher when he was in 4th and 5th grade. Never forgot his eagerness to learn and his quick wit.
He was a very special; sending my sympathy to his family.
Larry Carr
August 1, 2020
My deepest sympathies to all of his family. Charlie will be fondly remembered by all of us in the terahertz sciences community. His enthusiasm and energy were always an inspiration. Charlie also had the unique talent to fit 2 or 3 seminars into a single 40 minute presentation! Though just across Long Island Sound, we usually met at conferences and workshops in other countries. His impact will continue to be felt, and I anticipate his scientific legacy will continue through the students and postdocs that had the privilege to work with him.
G.L. Carr, Brookhaven Nat'l Laboratory
Abdul Elezzabi
August 1, 2020
RIP Charlie. You will be missed.
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