Paul Felix Hoffman, FRSC, OC (born March 21, 1941) is a Canadian

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, alth ...

and Sturgis Hooper Professor Emeritus of

Geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other astronomical objects, the features or rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Ear ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. He specializes in the

Precambrian The Precambrian (or Pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pꞒ, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of the P ...

era and is widely known for his research on

Snowball Earth The Snowball Earth hypothesis proposes that, during one or more of Earth's icehouse climates, the planet's surface became entirely or nearly entirely frozen. It is believed that this occurred sometime before 650 M.Y.A. (million years ago) d ...

glaciation in the Neoproterozoic era particularly through his research on sedimentary rocks of Namibia. Born in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, he received a B.Sc. from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

in 1964, a M.Sc. from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...

in 1965, and was awarded a Ph.D. by

in 1970, where his doctoral advisor was

Francis J. Pettijohn Francis John Pettijohn (June 20, 1904 – April 23, 1999) was an American geologist who served for many years on the faculty of Johns Hopkins University.Paul E. Potter, tp://rock.geosociety.org/pub/Memorials/v31/pettijohn.pdf Memorial to Francis J. ...

. Paul Hoffman formerly worked for the

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; french: Commission géologique du Canada (CGC)) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country, developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the en ...

and was subsequently the Sturgis Hooper Professor of Geology at Harvard University. He currently resides in Victoria, British Columbia where he has an appointment within the

University of Victoria The University of Victoria (UVic or Victoria) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. The university traces its roots to Victoria College, the first post-secondary insti ...

School of Earth and Ocean Science. He is also the brother of

Abby Hoffman Abigail Golda Hoffman, (born February 11, 1947) is a Canadian former track and field athlete. Hockey Hoffman is Jewish, and was born in Toronto. She learned to skate when she was three. In the mid-1950s when she was nine, she wanted to play h ...

, a

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

gold medalist and Olympian in track and field. Both have received the Order of Canada for accomplishments in different fields.

Honours

*In 1974, he was awarded the

Geological Association of Canada The Geological Association of Canada (GAC) is a learned society that promotes and develops the geological sciences in Canada. The organization holds conferences, meetings and exhibitions for the discussion of geological problems and the exchange ...

's Past-Presidents' Medal *In 1991 he was awarded the Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists's R. J. W. Douglas Medal *In 1992 he was awarded the

's highest honour, the

Logan Medal :::''There is also a Logan Medal of the arts, awarded by the Chicago Arts Institute.'' The Logan Medal is the highest award of the Geological Association of Canada. Named after Sir William Edmond Logan, noted 19th-century Canadian geologist. It ...

*In 1997 he was awarded the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...

's Willet G. Miller Medal *In 2009 he received the

Wollaston Medal The Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London. The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831. It was originally made of gold (1831–1845), t ...

of the

Geological Society The Geological Society of London, known commonly as the Geological Society, is a learned society based in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest national geological society in the world and the largest in Europe with more than 12,000 Fellows. Fe ...

*In 2011 he was awarded the

Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitchc ...

Penrose Medal The Penrose Medal was created in 1925 by R.A.F. Penrose, Jr., as the top prize awarded by the Geological Society of America. Originally created as the Geological Society of America Medal it was soon renamed the Penrose Medal by popular assent of t ...

*In 2012 he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with ...

*In 2016 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the

Royal Canadian Geographical Society The Royal Canadian Geographical Society (RCGS; French: ''Société géographique royale du Canada'') is a Canadian nonprofit educational organization dedicated to imparting a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada—its people ...

Works

*Hoffman, Paul F. (1968) ''Stratigraphy of the Lower Proterozoic (Aphebian), Great Slave Supergroup, east arm of Great Slave Lake, District of Makenzie'' Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada OCoLC 111430495 *P F Hoffman; D Kurfurst (1988) ''Geology and tectonics, East Arm of Great Slave Lake, District of Mackenzie, Northwest Territories'' Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada OCLC 22412425 *P F Hoffman; L Hall (1993) ''Geology, Slave craton and environs, District of Mackenzie, Northwest Territories'' Ottawa: Geological Survey of Canada OCLC 290944947 *Hoffman, P.F., Kaufman, A.J., Halverson, G.P. & Schrag, D.P. (1998) “A Neoproterozoic snowball Earth” ''Science'' 281, 1342-46 *Hoffman, P.F. & Schrag, D.P. (2000) “Snowball Earth” ''Scientific American'' 282, 68-75 *Hoffman, P.F. & Schrag, D.P. (2002) “The snowball Earth hypothesis: testing the limits of global change” ''Terra Nova'' 14, 129-155 *''Snowball Earth'' (2005) Rita Chang & Alan Fine OCLC 165116212

References

External links

Short Hoffman bioSnowball Earth web site

Miller Medal
Royal Society of Canada {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Paul F. 1941 births Living people Canadian geologists Geological Survey of Canada personnel Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada Harvard University faculty Johns Hopkins University alumni Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences McMaster University alumni People from Toronto Logan Medal recipients Wollaston Medal winners Officers of the Order of Canada Penrose Medal winners