John Drake Hoffman *49

John D. Hoffman, a materials engineer, died Feb. 21, 2004, in Washington, D.C., of congestive heart failure. He was 81.

Hoffman earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry at Franklin and Marshall College, and his master's and doctoral degrees in that subject from Princeton. During WWII, he served on the Manhattan Project, responsible for developing the first atomic bomb. In recognition of his brave rescue of three coworkers after an explosion at the Naval Research Lab in Philadelphia, Hoffman received the Soldier's Medal for noncombat heroism.

After the war he joined the National Bureau of Standards and remained there almost 30 years, retiring in 1982 as director of its national measurements laboratory. From the mid-1980s through the 1990s Hoffman taught materials science and engineering at the U. of Maryland and Johns Hopkins U. He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Hoffman enjoyed hunting and photography. Predeceased by his first wife, Barbara, he is survived by his second wife of 23 years, Dolores, three sons, two stepdaughters ,and seven grandchildren.