BRUNSWICK — On May 20, after a nine-month battle with leukemia, Brunswick resident Normand Maurice Laurendeau, 67, passed away in his home, surrounded by family.

He was born Aug. 16, 1944, to Maurice and Lydia Laurendeau of Lewiston. He graduated from Lewiston High School in 1962, from Notre Dame University in 1966, from Princeton University in 1968, and he received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley in 1972.

In 1972, he married Marlene Carlos of California. About three months later, with his wife’s support, he moved to Lafayette, Ind., to pursue his dream of becoming a professor and joined the faculty of Purdue University, Indiana, rising through the ranks to professor of mechanical engineering in 1982, and retiring in 2007. He achieved the Ralph and Bettye Bailey Professor Emeritus of Combustion. He wrote a textbook, “Statistical Thermodynamics: Fundamentals and Applications,” published in 2005, in addition to his other numerous publications.

His academic interests were in energy and environment, with a focus on laser-based diagnostics, pollutant formation and the energy-religion dialogue. He was co-chair for a conference, “The Energy Transition: Religious and Cultural Perspectives,” held in 2010, under the auspices of the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science (IRAS). He was a continuing visiting scholar at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS), at Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, Calif. He was also a research associate at Bowdoin College in Brunswick.

Norm was a Fellow of the Optical Society of America and of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. He was also a member of the Combustion Institute and of the American Chemical Society.

He was an avid reader, he enjoyed swimming at the Laurendeau family “camp” in Buttermilk Cove, watching his favorite sports teams and being with family in Maine and California. He was a life-professed Lay Dominican and also served as a sacristan at All Saints Parish in Brunswick. He is most remembered by his family for his hearty laugh and being a great teacher/mentor.

Surviving is his wife of 40 years, Marlene Carlos Laurendeau of Brunswick; his son, Jules Laurendeau of Topsham; his brother, Phil Laurendeau and wife, Carol, of Brunswick; sister, Lorraine Laurendeau Pandolfe and husband, Tom, of West Hartford, Conn.; sister-in-law, Lidia Carlos Reynes of Castro Valley, Calif., and her husband, Charles Reynes; mother-in-law, Odette Carlos of Oakland, Calif.; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

He was predeceased by his mother, Lydia; his son, Andre; his father, Maurice; his father-in-law, Luiz Carlos; and his stepmother, Sheila Laurendeau.

Memorial condolences may be expressed at stetsonsfuneralhome.com.