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Darleane C. Hoffman

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Darleane C. Hoffman
Born
Darleane Christian

(1926-11-08)November 8, 1926
Terril, Iowa, U.S.
DiedSeptember 4, 2025(2025-09-04) (aged 98)
Menlo Park, California, U.S.
Alma materIowa State University
Spouse
Marvin Hoffman
​
​
(m. 1951; died 2019)​
Children2
Scientific career
FieldsNuclear chemistry
InstitutionsLos Alamos National Laboratory
University of California, Berkeley

Darleane Christian Hoffman (November 8, 1926 – September 4, 2025) was an American nuclear chemist who was among the researchers who confirmed the existence of seaborgium, element 106. She was a faculty senior scientist in the Nuclear Science Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and a professor in the graduate school at UC Berkeley.[1] In acknowledgment of her many achievements, Discover magazine recognized her in 2002 as one of the 50 most important women in science.[2]

Early life and education

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Darleane Christian was born on November 8, 1926, at home in the small town of Terril, Iowa, and was the daughter of Carl B. and Elverna Clute Christian.[3] Her father was a mathematics teacher and superintendent of schools; her mother wrote and directed plays.

When she was a freshman in college at Iowa State College (now Iowa State University), she took a required chemistry course taught by Nellie May Naylor,[4] and decided to pursue further study in that field.[5] She earned a Bachelor of Science in 1948 and a PhD in 1951 in chemistry from Iowa State University.[6]

Career

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Darleane C. Hoffman began her career as a chemist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in 1952, and after an extensive delay where she was denied access to the laboratory because the human resources department refused to believe that a woman could be a chemist,[7] she joined her husband in 1953 as a staff member at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory. She led the Chemistry and Nuclear Chemistry Division[8] before leaving Los Alamos in 1984 to become a professor at UC Berkeley and led the Heavy Element Nuclear & Radiochemistry Group at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In 1991, she co-founded and became the first director of the Seaborg Institute for Transactinium Science at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, retiring in 1996 to become Senior Advisor and Charter Director.[9][10]

Over her career, Hoffman studied the chemical and nuclear properties of transuranium elements and confirmed the existence of seaborgium.[11]

Personal life and death

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Right after finishing her doctoral work, Darleane Christian married Marvin M. Hoffman, a physicist.[5][6] He died in 2019.[12] The Hoffmans had two children,[13] both born at Los Alamos.[14]

Darleane Hoffman died in Menlo Park, California on September 4, 2025, at the age of 98.[12][15]

Awards and memberships

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She was a member of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.[19]

References

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  1. ^ "Darleane Hoffman, Harold Johnston to Receive National Medal of Science". www.lbl.gov. Archived from the original on 2005-11-16. Retrieved 2006-09-24.
  2. ^ Svitil, Kathy (13 November 2002). "The 50 Most Important Women in Science". Discover. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
  3. ^ ""Elverna E. Christian," Plaza of Heroines, Iowa State University". iastate.edu.
  4. ^ "Nellie May Naylor". History of Iowa State: People of Distinction. Iowa State University. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  5. ^ a b "Darleane Hoffman: Adventures in the nature of matter". Catalyst Magazine. 6 (2). College of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley. 1 February 2012. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  6. ^ a b "Darleane C. Hoffman". Science History Institute. 2016-06-01. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  7. ^ The element that never was, by Kit Chapman, in Chemistry World; published June 10, 2019; retrieved November 23, 2022
  8. ^ "Collection: Darleane C. Hoffman papers | Iowa State University - ArchivesSpace". cardinal.lib.iastate.edu. Retrieved 2021-09-01.
  9. ^ "Keynote speaker: D. Hoffman, Ph.D." LLNL 2020: Women Forging the Future of Science and Technology. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Archived from the original on 4 August 2004. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  10. ^ Cottle, Sara (October 9, 2025). "Obituary: Darleane Hoffman". Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  11. ^ Stu Borman (2017-09-11). "Women overlooked for Nobel honors". C&EN Global Enterprise. 95 (36): 22–24. doi:10.1021/cen-09536-scitech2. ISSN 2474-7408.
  12. ^ a b Ricks, Delthia (October 5, 2025). "Darleane Hoffman, Innovator in Nuclear Chemistry, Dies at 98". The New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2025.
  13. ^ "Darleane (Christian) Hoffman – SJY Group". cyclotron.tamu.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-13.
  14. ^ Darleane (Christian) Hoffman bio page Archived 2010-06-12 at the Wayback Machine, Cyclotron Institute, Texas A&M University
  15. ^ "Darleane C. Hoffman". Neptune Society. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  16. ^ "Biden-Harris Administration Announces Recipients of the Enrico Fermi Award | OSTP". The White House. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-28.
  17. ^ Energy, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC, for the U. S. Department of. "A short history of women at Los Alamos". www.lanl.gov. Retrieved 2019-06-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ James, William D.; Chatt, Amares (2012-01-01). "Laudation for Professor Darleane C. HOFFMAN". Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry. 291 (1): 3–4. doi:10.1007/s10967-011-1561-5. ISSN 1588-2780.
  19. ^ "Gruppe 8: Teknologiske fag" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
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