April 29, 2020

Lee Hoffman, PhD, is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Chemistry at Drexel University. He is heavily involved with the general chemistry course sequence for both chemistry and non-chemistry science majors, including students from the Honors College, as well as with coordination and instruction of CHEM 425 (inorganic chem lab for graduating chemistry majors).

In addition to his involvement with education, Hoffman advocates for diversity and inclusion. To that end, he serves on a committee promoting inclusion of Chemists with Disabilities (CWD), which reports to the Board of Directors of the American Chemical Society (ACS). As part of this committee, he acts as a liaison between CWD and the ACS Committee on Ethics and the Committee on Meetings and Expositions. 

Hoffman also served as chair of the CWD subcommittee for the Division of Professional Relations, during which time he chaired the symposia “Building Opportunities in the Chemical Profession: Exploiting the Power of Diversity and Inclusion” at the ACS national meeting in Philadelphia. He also organized and chaired symposia at national meetings in New Orleans and Boston. Currently, Hoffman is currently working with James Schiller, chair of CWD, on a presidential symposium that is scheduled to be presented at the fall 2020 ACS meeting in San Francisco.

On his advocacy for the CWD, Hoffman says, “All scientists today have been trained to rely on accommodation. Folks with unique abilities have already learned how to accommodate throughout daily life and are a step ahead of the process.

For the local Philadelphia ACS Section, Hoffman serves on the Board of Directors and as an Alternate Councilor and has assisted with the Education and Outreach Committee focusing on Project SEED. In March, he was appointed chair of the Communications Committee for the Philadelphia Local Section. Most recently, Hoffman joined a committee tasked with reinvigorating the Local Section Committee on Minority Affairs.

He says, “This is important because leadership (of the ACS) has historically been kindred, yet our constituency is much more varied. We need to show and value our diversity, both in the community and professionally.”

Hoffman holds a BS in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse, an MS in chemistry from Michigan State University, and a PhD from Flinders University, South Australia, where his research focused on development of dendrimer-encapsulated gold nanoparticle nanocomposites for medical applications such as cancer treatment.