Albrecht Hofmann Explained

Albrecht Hofmann
Birth Name:Albrecht Werner Hofmann
Birth Place:Germany
Workplaces:Carnegie Institution for Science
Max Planck Institute for Chemistry
Columbia University
Alma Mater:Brown University (PhD)
Thesis Title:Hydrothermal experiments on equilibrium partitioning and diffusion kinetics of Rb, Sr, and Na in biotite - alkali chloride solution systems
Thesis Url:http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23934801
Thesis Year:1969
Doctoral Advisor:Bruno Giletti
Awards:Urey Medal (2015)[1]
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Albrecht (Al) Werner Hofmann, ForMemRS, (born 1939) is emeritus professor at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and an adjunct professor at Columbia University. He is best known for his contributions to the field of geochemistry.[2]

Education

Hofmann studied geology and geochemistry in Freiburg in Germany, and completed his PhD degree at Brown University from 1962 - 1968. His thesis on hydrothermal experiments on partitioning and diffusion of alkali metals in biotite-alkali chloride solutions was awarded in 1969.[3]

Career and research

After working at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C. as a post-doctoral fellow (1971–1972) and then staff scientist (1972–1980), Al was appointed director at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany, in 1980, to lead the new Department of Geochemistry. He has been emeritus in Mainz and visiting senior research scientist at Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University since 2007.

Hofmann uses trace elements and isotopic compositions of basalts to study the composition and evolution of Earth's mantle.[4] He recognized "canonical" trace element ratios as tools to distinguish recycling processes of ancient oceanic and continental crust through the mantle and showed that the chemical heterogeneity of the mantle is dominated by recycled ocean crust.

Awards and honours

Among the awards he received are the Goldschmidt Medal of the Geochemical Society, the Hess Medal of the American Geophysical Union, and the Urey Medal of the European Association of Geochemistry.[4] [1] He has been a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States since 1999.[5] He was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 2018.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Albrecht W. Hofmann « European Association of Geochemistry. www.eag.eu.com. 2018-06-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20190507142123/http://www.eag.eu.com/awards/urey-award/albrecht-hofmann/. 2019-05-07. dead.
  2. Web site: Albrecht HOFMANN | Professor Emeritus | Ph.D. | Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz | mpic | Department of Climate Geochemistry | Research profile. 26 March 2023.
  3. https://library.brown.edu/theses/ Brown University historical database of print Theses and Dissertations
  4. Web site: Professor Albrecht Hofmann ForMemRS. Royal Society. Anon. 2018. London. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from the royalsociety.org website where:
  5. Web site: Albrecht Hofmann. www.nasonline.org.