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Cal Poly Public Affairs
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Work by Cal Poly Physics Professor Published This Week in Nature
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly Physics Professor Kenneth Hoffman, a
pioneer
in the study of reversals of Earth’s magnetic field, has co-authored
an
article in the Sept. 30 issue of Nature.
It is the ninth time his work
has been published in the prestigious weekly science magazine.
Hoffman, who has taught physics at Cal Poly for 30 years, co-wrote the
article, “New evidence on the earliest human presence at high northern
latitudes in northeast Asia,” with Rixiang Zhu of the Institute
of
Geology and Geophysics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing,
Rick Potts from the Smithsonian Institution and scientists from the
Hebei Province Institute of Cultural Relics in Shijiazhuang.
Their research, as reported in Nature, dates the northern migration of
early humans from equatorial Africa to Asia back nearly 1.7 million
years. “This is the earliest find anywhere near this area,”
Hoffman
said. “It helps us understand the migration of people over time.”
Hoffman and the other researchers studied primitive tools made from rock
and bone found in four sediment layers in an uplifted area that was once
a lake near Beijing in northern China. “Using what we know about
the
record over time of reversals in polarity of Earth’s magnetic fields,”
Hoffman said, “we were able to determine the age of the sedimentary
artifacts. With that information, we know when these early humans
migrated to that part of the world.”
In addition to ongoing studies and publications, Hoffman has published
several papers with Chinese paleomagnetists. The Institute of Geophysics
in Beijing has made him an honorary professor.
At Cal Poly, Hoffman works both as a researcher and professor. He has
received research grants from the National Science Foundation since
1979. “I enjoy being on the cutting edge,” he said.
He also takes students along on trips to sample lava flow sequences at
other locations around the world in order to study the process by which
Earth’s magnetic field manages to reverse its polarity. Richard
Frankel,
chair of Cal Poly’s Physics Department, praised Hoffman as a “big
believer” in the role of undergraduate research.
“He has shown all of us that it is possible to be a good teacher
and a
good researcher,” Frankel said. “There’s a big difference
between a lab
course and real-life experience. The possibilities are open-ended.”
Hoffman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in physics in 1966, a Master
of
Arts degree in geophysics in 1969 and a doctorate in geophysics in 1973,
all from UC Berkeley.
Kenneth Hoffman is a resident of San Luis Obispo.
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