Katherine "Kitty" Marie Blood Hoffman (August 1, 1914 – July 18, 2020) was an American chemist and academic administrator.

Education and career

Hoffman was born on August 1, 1914, in

Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making i ...

. She attended the

Florida State College for Women Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

(which later became

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

) for her undergraduate. She began her degree in 1932, and finished with a degree in

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

in 1936. She went on to

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

for a master's degree in chemistry, which she completed in 1938. Hoffman returned to Florida State College for Women in 1940, where she remained through its name-change to Florida State University and for the rest of her career. She began as a chemistry instructor, and was promoted, reaching full professor in 1959. She served as dean of women from 1967 to 1970, in which role she eased restrictions placed upon female students. She retired from the university in 1984, but remained active in university service during retirement.

Awards and honors

Upon the occasion of her retirement, the chemistry department of Florida State University named a laboratory building in her honor; it was rededicated to her in 2018. Hoffman was awarded an honorary doctorate by Florida State University in 2007.

Death

Amid the

COVID-19 pandemic in Florida On March 1, 2020, the U.S. state of Florida officially reported its first two COVID-19 cases, in Manatee County, Florida, Manatee and Hillsborough County, Florida, Hillsborough counties. On April 1 Governor of Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis de ...

, Hoffman died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

on July 18, 2020, at the age of 105, fourteen days short from her 106th birthday.

References

External links

Katherine B. Hoffman
at her desk (image) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffman, Katherine 20th-century American chemists Deans of women American women chemists 1914 births 2020 deaths People from Winter Haven, Florida American centenarians Florida State University faculty Florida State University alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Women centenarians Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century American academics 20th-century American women academics