What is Visions for Tomorrow?
Dr. Jeffrey A. Hoffman
Dr. Jeffrey A. Hoffman- Dr. Jeffrey A. Hoffman is professor of the practice of aerospace engineering in the department of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Hoffman received a B.A. from Amherst College, graduating summa cum laude. He later earned a Ph.D. in astrophysics from Harvard University and received his M.Sc. in materials science from Rice University. He spent one year as a post-doctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, after which he worked on the research staff of the physics department at Leicester University in the UK and MIT’s Center for Space Research.
- Dr. Hoffman was a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut from 1978-1997, making five space flights and becoming the first astronaut to log 1000 hours of flight time aboard the space shuttle. He was payload commander on the first flight of the US-Italian Tethered Satellite System. He has also performed four spacewalks, including the first unplanned, contingency spacewalk in NASA’shistory and the initial repair/rescue mission for the Hubble Space Telescope. Dr. Hoffman worked for several years as the astronaut office representative for EVA and helped develop and carry out tests of advanced high-pressure space suit designs, and of new tools and procedures needed for the assembly of the International Space Station. For several years, he was the astronaut office’s representative on the Payload Safety Panel.
- Following his career as an astronaut, Dr. Hoffman spent four years as NASA’s European representative. Based at the U.S. embassy in Paris, he was the liaison between NASA’s U.S. and European space projects, also serving as NASA’s representative in European media.
- In August 2001, Dr. Hoffman joined the faculty of MIT, where he teaches courses on space operations and design and space policy. He is director of the Massachusetts Space Grant Alliance, responsible for statewide space-related educational activities to increase public understanding of space and to attract students into aerospace careers. His principal areas of research are advanced EVA systems, space radiation protection, management of space science projects, and space systems architecture.