Dr. Hoffert's impact on environmental, climate and space science has been through his written works as well, having contributed more than 95 articles and chapters to esteemed publications.
OCALA, FL, July 17, 2018 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Martin I. Hoffert, Ph.D., with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Hoffert celebrates many years' experience in his professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
With nearly 60 years of experience in varied scientific disciplines, Martin I. Hoffert, Ph.D., affectionately known as "Marty," holds the distinct honor of being Professor Emeritus of Physics at New York University, a well-deserved merit bestowed upon him in 2005. At the age of 12, Professor Hoffert was gifted a chemistry set by his uncle Julius; he proceeded to do exactly what any child with a brand new toy would do: explore. Professor Hoffert put a blade of grass under the microscope, and that started his love of science. Later on, he'd walk over to the Brooklyn Public Library and do plenty of reading on science and science-fiction materials.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1938, Professor Hoffert was enamored with space and aeronautics. As a young stargazer, he would stand on the roof of his building, glancing in awe as airplanes soared and zipped through clouds. He even developed the ability to identify different aircraft models. Professor Hoffert grew up during turbulent and nerve-wracking times: World War II. He became very captured by the reports he heard on the radio. It is merely a coincidence that at the onset of his career, after completing baccalaureate studies, Professor Hoffert worked as a research scientist for Curtiss-Wright Corporation and General Applied Science Laboratories, where he conducted research on ballistic missile defense systems in the 1960s.
Before embarking on his professional journey, Professor Hoffert pursued an education at the University of Michigan, earning a Bachelor of Science in aeronautical engineering in 1960. With so many people concerned about the threat of nuclear war, Professor Hoffert opposed the ongoing war in Vietnam. He did not fight in the conflict because he had a critical skills deferment. He continued his academic efforts with a Master of Science in astronautics in 1964 from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and a Doctor of Philosophy in 1967 from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, now NYU Tandon School of Engineering, as well as a master's degree in sociology and economics at the New School for Social Research. As a testament to his mental fortitude and discipline, Professor Hoffert completed his master's and doctorate studies while working as a research scientist and providing for his family.
Professor Hoffert was among the early scientific leaders who wrote significant research papers discussing climate change. His interest in the field was sparked while serving on the research staff at the Riverside Research Institute between 1969 and 1972. Subsequently, Professor Hoffert switched his field of study from military research and development to climate change and alternative energy, joining NASA as a senior postdoctoral fellow. "I was very inspired by the climate change of our planetary neighbors, Venus and Mars. I worked on models in trying to understand the atmosphere and the transformations that happened on both Mars and Venus, and that turned out to be very applicable to Earth, because by burning fossil fuels, we are putting enormous amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere and transforming the planet," Professor Hoffert says. "Remember, that these papers were written very early in the 1970s, and at that point, the Earth was still very slightly cooling but we predicted that it would begin to warm near the end of the 1980s, early '90s. And this is something that I got the idea to work on at NASA but continued at NYU to do that research, and that turned out to be my major research areas: alternative energy and climate change."
His work carried over to NYU when he joined the institution as a senior research scientist in 1974. "We built windmills on the roof our building in lower Manhattan. We had a wind tunnel and we had solar panels on the roof of the building," he recalls. "That's when Jimmy Carter was president, right after the first energy crisis of the '70s. Unfortunately, in 1980 — and I say unfortunately for me — Ronald Reagan became president. He cut most of the research in alternative energy, but I continued to work in both of those fields." In the ensuing years, Professor Hoffert served NYU as professor and chairman of the Applied Science Department and professor of physics until his retirement.
Beyond his responsibilities in academia, Professor Hoffert participated in numerous fascinating endeavors. He contributed to NASA's Management Operations Working Group in Planetary Atmosphere from 1986 to 1990, as well as a delegate for an American-Soviet bilateral conference on the global environment from 1986 to 1992. It was during this trip to the then-Soviet Union that he "began to feel how powerful scientific results can be in terms of influencing the international community."
Having established such a venerated career, Professor Hoffert drew inspiration from several members in his fields of study, including Antonio Ferri (aerospace), Carl Sagan (astrophysics/cosmology) and Noam Chomsky (sociology). He has always been influenced to adapt his studies to what is going on in the world. Today, Professor Hoffert believes that the greatest challenges humanity faces is the possibility of nuclear warfare and climate change. "You can't watch the news any day without seeing any more intense hurricanes, wildfires, or flooding … those are things we were predicting back in 1975 at the Goddard Institute of Space Studies. There were only a few of us; there were only eight or nine of us. And nobody paid any attention to it. It was just a bunch of geeks who were running these computer models. Climate change has developed into a world issue," he shares.
In light of his exceptional undertakings, Professor Hoffert has accrued several accolades throughout his impressive career. He has been recognized as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Likewise, Professor Hoffert was selected for inclusion in multiple editions of Marquis' Who's Who in America, Who's Who in Science and Engineering, Who's Who in the East, and Who's Who in the World. He remains affiliated with the Aspen Global Change Institute as chairman of the advisory board, and was previously a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Meteorological Society.
Professor Hoffert's impact on environmental, climate and space science is prevalent through his written works as well, having contributed more than 95 articles and chapters to such esteemed publications as Nature, Science, Environmental Research Letters, Global and Planetary Change, Energy Conversion and Management, the Journal of Propulsion and Power, and the Journal of Energy, among others. His research papers can be accessed on https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Martin_Hoffert. Additionally, he is proud of the impact he had on his former students. "Usually if you're a college professor, you're considered successful if you can reproduce yourself — if you can get one of your students to become a professor," he says. Professor Hoffert's former students include a professor at Rutgers University who works on robotics and artificial intelligence, one who studies climate change at Stanford University's Carnegie Institution for Science, and another who is biology professor. Professor Hoffert is happy to have influenced his offspring to do productive things. His son, Eric, is a successful technologist, and his granddaughter, Maya, is a graduate student at Columbia University who is interested in artificial intelligence and how it might apply to psychotherapy. "My Will does say that my intention is to be cremated when I die — have one portion of my ashes shot into space, and another portion of my ashes made into an artificial diamond which my granddaughter promises she will wear in a ring on her hand," he says.
Now retired and living in a retirement community (On Top of the World Communities) in Ocala, Florida, Professor Hoffert and his wife of 50-plus years, Iris, are having pleasant retirement lives. "I hope I live long enough to get a Tesla," Professor Hoffert quips. He maintains the zest to acquire and divulge information by teaching courses in the community's adult education program, including courses on solar energy, evolution of the earth, and science fiction film. He has even influenced some of his neighbors to transition to solar energy.
As someone who has always been interested in the future of humanity, Professor Hoffert states: "I believe that the path to the future is through science and technology as a way to understand the universe. For that reason, I worked in various fields that have tried to expand that knowledge and open up the human potential. I very much hope and believe that when the first starship embarks on its trip to the first planetary system that's habitable beyond our own, that it will carry in its databank a copy of the [Marquis] Who's Who tribute to me. I hope that I helped to inspire my peers to continue the quest to find renewable sources of energy and to continue to explore the solar system and the cosmos."
In recognition of outstanding contributions to his profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Dr. Hoffert has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
# # #