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

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the structure, composition, and History of Earth, history of Earth. Geologists incorporate techniques from physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, and geography to perform research in the Field research, ...

and Sturgis Hooper Professor Emeritus of

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

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. He specializes in the

Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, 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 t ...

era and is widely known for his research on

Snowball Earth The Snowball Earth is a historical geology, geohistorical hypothesis that proposes that during one or more of Earth's greenhouse and icehouse Earth, icehouse climates, the planet's planetary surface, surface became nearly entirely freezing, fr ...

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

Life and career

Born 1941 in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, 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, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

in 1964, a M.Sc. from

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

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

in 1970, where his doctoral advisor was Francis J. Pettijohn. Paul Hoffman formerly worked for the

Geological Survey of Canada The Geological Survey of Canada (GSC; , CGC) is a Canadian federal government agency responsible for performing geological surveys of the country developing Canada's natural resources and protecting the environment. A branch of the Earth Science ...

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) is a public research university located in the municipalities of Oak Bay, British Columbia, Oak Bay and Saanich, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 1903 as Victoria College, British Columbia, Victoria Col ...

School of Earth and Ocean Science. He is also the brother of Abby Hoffman, a

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

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'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 Geological Association of Canada's highest honour, the Logan Medal *In 1997 he was awarded the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , 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, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

's Willet G. Miller Medal *In 2009 he received the Wollaston Medal of the Geological Society * In 2010 he received the

American Geophysical Union The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, Atmospheric science, atmospheric, Oceanography, ocean, Hydrology, hydrologic, Astronomy, space, and Planetary science, planetary scientists and enthusiasts that ...

's Walter H. Bucher Medal. *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. Hi ...

's Penrose Medal *In 2012 he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national 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 the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

*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. It has dedicated itself to spreading a broader knowledge and deeper appreciation of Canada, i ...

* In 2024 he received the Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences in the category of "Earth and planetary sciences".

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 20th-century 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 Scientists from Toronto Logan Medal recipients Wollaston Medal winners Officers of the Order of Canada Penrose Medal winners 21st-century Canadian geologists