His father was a French-born metallurgist who served as technical assistant to the president of the United States Steel Corporation.
He then earned his doctorate from Delft University of Technology at age 60 and joined the faculty of the Thayer School of Engineering in 1971.
They later partnered with the German engineering firm Lurgi and co-invented what came to be known as the Queneau-Schuhmann-Lurgi process for efficient lead extraction.
Queneau was elected a fellow and served as a president of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society in 1969.
A geologist, he also helped photograph the Perry River region of the Arctic by a 13-foot canoe with artist and ornithologist Peter Scott and zoologist Harold Hanson.