Professor Dr. Michael Hoffmann

Biography

Michael R. Hoffmann is the John S. Sherry Chen Professor Emeritus of Environmental Science at the California Institute of Technology. He completed his B.A. at Northwestern University in 1968 and obtained his Ph.D. from Brown University in 1974. Hoffmann began his career at Caltech as a Research Fellow from 1973 to 1976, subsequently being appointed as Associate Professor from 1980 to 1985. He was promoted to Professor of Environmental Engineering Science in 1986, then became Professor of Environmental Chemistry in 1990, and held the position of James Irvine Professor of Environmental Science from 1996 to 2016. After serving as Wu Professor from 2016 to 2018 and Chen Professor until 2024, he transitioned to Chen Professor Emeritus. Hoffmann's academic leadership roles included serving as Executive Officer of Environmental Engineering Science from 1996 to 2002 and Dean of Graduate Studies from 2002 to 2009. His research interests encompass various aspects of environmental science, particularly focusing on environmental chemistry, cloud aerosol chemistry, and chemical kinetics, among other specialized topics.

Research Interests

Experience