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Douglas Hofmann

Senior Research Scientist and Principal

About

Bio

Senior Research Scientist (SRS) and Principal with focus on Materials Science and Manufacturing Technology. Technologist and Founding Member of the Materials Development and Manufacturing Technology Group (357H) at NASA JPL, Founder of JPL Metallurgy Facility, Section Technologist for Mechanical Fabrication and Test Section, Visiting Associate and Lecturer in Materials Science and Applied Physics at Caltech (2010-present).

Education

California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA

  • Ph.D. Materials Science, July 2008
  • M.S. Materials Science, June 2006

University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA

  • M.S. Mechanical Engineering, September 2004
  • B.S. Mechanical Engineering, September 2003

Research Interests

  • Bulk metallic glasses
  • Amorphous metals
  • Metal matrix composites
  • Metal additive manufacturing
  • Functionally graded alloys
  • Spacecraft applications for additive manufacturing
  • New metal additive manufacturing technologies
  • Materials for extreme environments
  • Materials for robotics
  • Gears and gearboxes for space environments

Experience

Professional Experience

NASA JPL, PI Materials Science, Metallurgy And Manufacturing, 2010-present:

  • Section Technologist for Mechanical Fabrication and Test, 357 (2010-present).
  • Founding member of the JPL Materials Development and Manufacturing Technology Group (357H) (2014-present).
  • Founder of the JPL Metallurgy Facility, B288-101 (2012).
  • Core Member of JPL A-Team (Technology Infusion) (2011-present).
  • PI of a NASA Flight Program on the International Space Station called FAMIS (2010-present).
  • 2012 Recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award (PECASE). Awarded by President Obama, April 2014, for pioneering work in “metal matrix composites for spacecraft.”

Scientific Editor and Reviewer Activities (while at NASA JPL):

  • Founding Associate Editor of the journal Microgravity, published by Nature Publishing Group (2014).
  • Founding Editorial Board Member of the journal Additive Manufacturing, published by Elsevier (2014).
  • Editor for the journal Scientific Reports, published by Nature Publishing Group (2015).
  • Proposal reviewer for National Science Foundation’s Materials Engineering and Processing Program.
  • Proposal reviewer for the Army Research Office.
  • Proposal reviewer for NASA’s Small Business Innovative Research Program.
  • Proposal reviewer for NASA’s Graduate Student Researchers Program.
  • Reviewer for over 100 scientific papers.

Caltech, Lecturer in Materials Science and Applied Physics, 2010-present:

  • MS131 – Instructor for Structure and Bonding in Solids (Winter 2010, Fall 2011, Winter 2013).
  • MS90 – Instructor for Mechanical Behavior of Materials Laboratory (Spring 2014-2018).
  • Developed syllabus, selected textbooks, created homework and exams, graded students.

Caltech, Visiting Associate in Materials Science and Applied Physics,  2008-present

Liquidmetal Technologies, Research and Development Scientist,  2008-2010:

  • Industry position involving alloy development and design of commercial equipment.

Caltech, Graduate Research Fellow, 2004-2008

Research Community Service

Chair, Senior Research Scientist Council (2024-2025)

Achievements

Awards & Recognitions

Publications

(* Indicates role as Principal Investigator)

P. Mukherjee, A. Gabourel, S. Firdosy, D.C. Hofmann, A. Moridi. Additive manufacturing of functionally gradient refractory coatings using substrate dilution and in-situ carbide formation. Mater. Sci. and Eng. A. 891, 145952 (2023)

  1. *D.C. Hofmann, P. Bordeenithikasem, Y. Zhu, Y. Liu, N.J. Conrad, B.A. Davis, E.L. Christiansen, A. Shakouri, S. Mohammadi. Design, fabrication, and hypervelocity impact testing of screen-printed flexible micrometeoroid and orbital debris impact sensors for long-duration spacecraft health monitoring. Aerospace Sci. and Tech. 139, 108372 (2023)
  2. D. Oropeza, C. McMahan, *D.C. Hofmann, Self-deploying amorphous metal origami structures for environmental protection of lunar payloads Int. J. of Space Structures. 38, 3 (2022)
  3. D. Oropeza, S. Firdosy, *D.C. Hofmann, Development of in-plane SS316 to M300 maraging steel gradients via directed energy deposition. Additive Manufacturing Letters. 3, 100078 (2022)
  4. Y. Wang, L. Liuchi, D.C. Hofmann, J.E. Andrade, C. Daraio. Structured fabrics with tunable mechanical properties. Nature. DOI 10.1038/s41586-021-03698-7 (2021)
  5. P. Bordeenithikasem, *D.C. Hofmann, S. Firdosy, N. Ury, E. Vogli, D.R. East. Controlling microstructure of FeCrMoBC amorphous metal matrix composites via laser directed energy deposition. J. of Alloys and Compounds. 857, 157537 (2021)
  6. R.M.O. Mota, E.T. Lund, S. Sohn, D.J. Browne, D.C. Hofmann, S. Curtarolo, A. van de Walle, J. Schroers. Enhancing ductility in bulk metallic glasses by straining during cooling. Comm. Materials. 2, 1, 23 (2021)
  7. P. Celli, A. Lamaro, C. McMahan, P. Bordeenithikasem, D.C. Hofmann, C. Daraio. Compliant morphing structures from twisted bulk metallic glass ribbons. J. of the Mechanics and Physics of Solids. 145, 104129 (2020)
  8. M. Mohr, D.C. Hofmann, H.J. Fecht. Thermophysical Properties of an Fe57.75Ni19.25Mo10C5B8 Glass-Forming Alloy Measured in Microgravity. Advanced Eng. Mater. 23, 3, 2001143 (2020)
  9. J.M. Gentile, D.C. Hofmann, J.R. Trelewicz. Microstructural dependence of the incipient to homogeneous flow transition in metallic glass composites. Scripta Materialia. 188, 32-36 (2020)
  10. D. Oropeza, *D.C. Hofmann, K. Williams, S. Firdosy, P. Bordeenithikasem, M. Sokoluk, M. Liese, J.K. Liu, X.C. Li. Welding and additive manufacturing with nanoparticle-enhanced aluminum 7075 wire. J. of Alloys and Compounds 834, 154987 (2020)
  11. V. Hasannaeimi, S. Muskeri, B. Gwalani, D.C. Hofmann, S. Mukherjee. Deformation behavior of metallic glass composites and plasticity accommodation at microstructural length-scales. Mater. Today Communications. 24, 101237 (2020)
  12. P. Bordeenithikasem, S.N. Roberts, *D.C. Hofmann, J.M. Ratliff. B.R. Greene, J.B. Bacon, S. Sohn, J. Schroers. Measuring Demisability of Bulk Metallic Glasses for Potential Satellite Applications through Ablation Experiments. Advanced Eng. Mater. 22, 12, 2000708 (2020)
  13. S. Taniker, R. Celli, D. Pasini, D.C. Hofmann, C. Daraio. Temperature-induced shape morphing of bi-metallic structures. Inter. J. of Solids and Structures. 190, 22-23, (2020)
  14. J.M.Gentile, D.C. Stauffer, D.C. Hofmann, J.R. Trelewicz. Shear localization and its dependence on microstructural length scales in metallic glass composites. Materialia 9, 100598 (2020)
  15. Y.F. Wang, B. Ramirez, K. Carpenter, C. Naify, D.C. Hofmann, C. Daraio. Architected lattices with adaptive energy absorption. Extreme Mechanics Letters 33, 100557 (2019)
  16. M. Mohr, R.K. Wunderlich, D.C. Hofmann, H.J. Fecht. Thermophysical properties of liquid Zr52.5Cu17.9Ni14.6Al10Ti5-prospects for bulk metallic glass manufacturing in space. Microgravity 5, 24 (2019)
  17. S. Shahrezaei, D.C. Hofmann, S.N. Mathaudhu. Synthesis of amorphous/crystalline laminated materials via accumulated roll bonding JOM 71, 2 (2019)
  18. *D.C. Hofmann, P. Bordeenithikasem, Z. Dawson, L. Hamill, R.P. Dillon, B. McEnerney, S. Nutt, S.C. Bradford. Investigating bulk metallic glasses as ball-and-cone locators for spacecraft deployable structures. Aerospace Science and Technology 82-83, 513-519 (2018)

20. J. Budhu, Y. Rahmat-Samii, R. Hodges, D.C. Hofmann, D.F. Ruffatto, K.C. Carpenter. Three-Dimensionally Printed, Shaped, Engineered Material Inhomogeneous Lens Antennas for Next-Generation Spaceborn Weather Radar Systems. IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters. 17, 11 2080 (2018)

21. *D.C. Hofmann, P. Bordeenithikasem, A. Pate, S.N. Roberts, E. Vogli. Developing processing parameters and characterizing microstructure and properties of an additively manufactured FeCrMoBC metallic glass forming alloy. Advanced Eng. Mater. 20, 10, 1800433 (2018)

22. P. Bordeenithikasem, M. Stople, A. Elsen, *D.C. Hofmann. Glass forming ability, flexural strength, and wear properties of additively manufactured Zr-based bulk metallic glasses produced through laser powder bed fusion. Additive Manufacturing. 21, 312-317 (2018)

23. P. Bordeenithikasem, Y. Shen, H.-L. Tsai, *D.C. Hofmann. Enhanced mechanical properties of additively manufactured bulk metallic glasses produced through laser foil printing from continuous sheetmetal feedstock. Additive Manufacturing. 19, 95-103 (2018)

24. L. Hamill, *D.C. Hofmann, S. Nutt. Galvanic corrosion and mechanical behavior of fiber metal laminates of metallic glass and carbon fiber composites. Advanced Eng. Mater., 1700711 (2018)

25. L.M Anderson, S. Faulhaber, T. Harrington, D.C. Hofmann, H. Cheng, K.S. Vecchio, An experimental investigation on the notch toughness of Cu-Zr-based bulk metallic glass with in-situ crystallization, J. of Non-Cryst. Solids. 469, 70-78 (2017)

26. *D.C. Hofmann, L.M Andersen, J. Kolodziejska, S.N. Roberts, J.P. Borgonia, W.L. JOhnson, K.S. Vecchio, A. Kennett. Optimizing Bulk Metallic Glasses for Robust, Highly Wear-Resistant Gears, Adv. Eng. Mater., 19, 1 (2017)

27. J.A. Kolodziejska, h. Kozachkov, K. Kranjc, A. Hunter, E. Marquis, W.L. Johnson, K.M. Flores, *D.C. Hofmann. Towards an understanding of tensile deformation in Ti-based bulk metallic glass matrix composites with BCC dendrites, Scientific Reports, 6, 22563 (2016)

28. *D.C. Hofmann, R. Polit-Casillas, S.N. Roberts, J-P Borgonia, R.P. Dillon, E. Hilgemann, J. Jolodziejska, L. Montemayor, J-O Suh. Castable Bulk Metallic Glass Strain Wave Gears: Towards Decreasing the Cost of High-Performance Robotics, Scientific Reports, 6, 37773 (2016)

29. A.H. Hunter, V. Araullo-Peters, M. Gibbons, O.D. Restrepo, S.R. Niezgoda, W. Windl, K.M. Flores, D.C. Hofmann, E.A. Marquis. Three-dimensional imaging of shear bands in bulk metallic glass composites, J. of Microscopy, 264, 3 (2016)

30. L.M. Andersen, D.C. Hofmann, K.S. Vecchio. Effect of zirconium purity on the glass-forming-ability and notch toughness of Cu43Zr43Al7Be7, Mater. Sci. and Eng. A, 674, 397-405 (2016)

31. B.E. Carroll, R.A. Otis, J-P Borgonia, J-O Suh, R.P. Dillon, A.A. Shapiro, D.C. Hofmann, Z-K Liu, A.M. Beese. Functionally graded material of 304L stainless steel and Inconel 625 fabricated by directed energy deposition: Characterization and thermodynamic modeling, Acta Materialia 108, 46 (2016).

32. *D.C. Hofmann, S.N. Roberts. Infrared thermal processing of a Ti based bulk metallic glass matrix composite manufactured via semi-solid forging, Acta Materialia. 95, 192-200 (2015).

33. *D.C. Hofmann, L. Hamill, S. Nutt. Hypervelocity impact testing of a metallic glass-stuffed Whipple shield. Advanced Eng. Mater., 17, 9, 1313-1322 (2015).

34. L-Y Chen, D.C. Hofmann, J-Z Jiang, D.J. Jarvis, H.J. Fecht. Low-density hig-strength bulk metallic glasses and their composites: A review, Advanced Eng. Mater., DOI: 10.1002/adem.201400252 (2014)

35. D.C. Hofmann, S. Roberts, J. Kolodziejska, R. Otis, R.P. Dillon, J-O Suh, P, Z-K Liu, J-P Borgonia Compositionally graded metals: A new frontier of additive manufacturing. J. of Mater. Research, 29 (2014)

36. E. Homer, M. Harris, S. Zirbel, J. Kolodziejska, H. Kozachkov, B. Trease, J-P Borgonia, G. Agnes, L. Howell, *D.C. Hofmann New Methods for Developing and Manufacturing Compliant Mechanisms Utilizing Bulk Metallic Glass. Advanced Eng. Mater. 10.1002/adem201300566 (2014)

37. H-S Arora, S. Mridha, H-S. Grewal, H. Singh, D.C. Hofmann, S. Mukherjee Controlling the Length-Scale and Distribution of Ductile Phase in Metallic Glass Composites through Friction Stir Processing. Sci. and Tech. of Advanced Mater. 15, 035011 (2014)

38. *D.C. Hofmann, S. Roberts. Microgravity Metals Processing: From Undercooled Liquids to Bulk Metallic Glasses. Microgravity, Inaugural Issue (2014)

39. D.C. Hofmann, S. Roberts, R. Otis, J. Kolodziejska, R.P. Dillon, J-O Suh, A. Shapiro, Z-K Liu, J-P Borgonia Developing Gradient Metal Alloys through Radial Deposition Additive Manufacturing, Scientific Reports, 4, 5357 (2014)

40. L. Hamill, S. Roberts, M. Davidson, W.L. Johnson, S. Nutt, *D.C. Hofmann Hypervelocity Impact Phenomenon in Bulk Metallic Glasses and Composites, Advanced Eng. Mater. 16, 1, 85-93 (2013)

41. M. Davidson, S. Roberts, G. Castro, R.P. Dillon, A. Kunz, H. Kozachkov, M.D. Demetriou, W.L. Johnson, S. Nutt, *D.C. Hofmann Investigating Amorphous Metal Composite Architectures as Spacecraft Shielding. Advanced Eng. Mater., 15: 1-2 (2013)

42. *D.C. Hofmann Bulk Metallic Glasses and Their Composites: A Brief History of Diverging Fields. J. of Materials, 517904 (2013)

43. H. Kozachkov, J. Kolodziejska, W.L. Johnson, *D.C. Hofmann Effect of Cooling Rate on the Volume Fraction of B2 Phases in a CuZrAlCo Metallic Glass Matrix Composite. Intermetallics (2013)

44. H. Kozachkov, S. Roberts, J. Li, M.D. Demetriou, W.L. Johnson, *D.C. Hofmann Study of Mushy-Zone Development in Dendritic Microstructures with Glass-Forming Eutectic Matrices. J. of Composites (2013)

45. S. Roberts, C. Zachrisson, H. Kozachkov, A. Ullah, A.A. Shapiro, W.L. Johnson, *D.C. Hofmann Cryogenic Charpy Impact Testing of Metallic Glass Matrix Composites. Scripta Materialia 66, 284 (2012)

46. R.L. Narayan, P.S. Singh, D.C. Hofmann, N. Hutchinson, K.M. Flores, U. Ramamurty On the Microstructure-Tensile Property Correlations in Bulk Metallic Glass Matrix Composites. Acta Mater. 60: 13 (2012)

47. P.S. Singh, R.L. Narayan, I. Sen, D.C. Hofmann, U. Ramamurty Effect of Strain Rate and Temperature on the Plastic Deformation Behaviour of a Bulk Metallic Glass Matrix Composite. Mater. Sci. & Eng. A. 534:476 (2012)

48. C. Zachrisson, H. Kozachkov, S. Roberts, G. Kaltenboeck, R.D. Conner, M.D. Demetriou, W.L. Johnson, *D.C. Hofmann Effect of Processing on Charpy Impact Toughness of Metallic Glass Matrix Composites. J. Mater. Res. 26, 1260 (2011)

49. M.D. Demetriou, M.E. Launey, G. Garrett, J.P. Schramm, D.C. Hofmann, W.L. Johnson, R.O. Ritchie A Damage-Tolerant Glass. Nature Materials, 10: 123 (2011)

50. W.L. Johnson, G. Kaltenboeck, M.D. Demetriou, J.P. Schramm, X. Liu, K. Samwer, C.P. Kim, D.C. Hofmann Beating Crystallization in Glass-Forming Metals by Millisecond Heating and Processing. Science, 332: 828, (2011)

51. *D.C. Hofmann Shape Memory Bulk Metallic Glass Composites. Science 329: 1294-1295 (2010)

52. J.P. Schramm, D.C. Hofmann, M.D. Demetriou, W.L. Johnson Metallic-Glass-Matrix Composite Structures with Benchmark Mechanical Performance. Appl. Phy. Lett. 97: 241910 (2010)

53. R.L. Narayan, K. Boopathy, I. Sen, D.C. Hofmann, U. Ramamurty On the hardness and elastic modulus of bulk metallic glass matrix composites. Scripta Mater. 63: 768-771 (2010)

54. M.D. Demetriou, A. Wiest, D.C. Hofmann, W.L. Johnson, B. Han, N. Wolfson, G. Wang, P. Liaw Amorphous Metals for Hard-Tissue Prosthesis. JOM February (2010)

55. D.C. Hofmann, W.L.Johnson Improving the Ductility of Nanostructured Materials and Bulk Metallic Glasses: Three Laws. Mater. Sci. Forum, 633-634:657-663 (2010)

56. D.C. Hofmann, H. Kozachakov, H.E. Khalifa, J.P. Schramm, M.D. Demetriou, K.S. Vecchio, W.L. Johnson Semi-solid induction forging of metallic glass matrix composites. Featured Article and Cover JOM 61:11-17(2009)

57. K. Boopathy, D.C. Hofmann, W.L. Johnson, U. Ramamurty Near-Threshold Fatigue Crack Growth in Bulk Metallic Glass Composites. J. Mater. Res. 24: 3611-3619 (2009)

58. M.D. Demetriou, G. Kaltenboeck, J-Y Suh, G. Garrett, M. Floyd, C. Crewdson, D.C. Hofmann, H. Kozachkov, A. Wiest, J.P. Schramm, W.L. Johnson Glassy Steel Optimized for Glass-Forming Ability and Toughness Appl. Phy. Lett. 95, 041907 (2009)

59. M.E. Launey, D.C. Hofmann, J-Y SUH, W.L. Johnson, R.O. Ritchie Fracture Toughness and Crack Resistance Behavior in Metallic Glass-Matrix Composites. Appl. Phy. Lett. 94, 241910 (2009)

60. M.E. Launey, D.C. Hofmann, W.L. Johnson, R.O. Ritchie On the Solution to the Problem of the Poor Cyclic Fatigue Resistance of Bulk Metallic Glasses. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 0900740106: 1-6 (2009)

61. D.C. Hofmann, J-Y Suh, A. Wiest, W.L. Johnson New Processing Possibilities for Highly Toughened Metallic Glass Matrix Composites with Tensile Ductility. Scripta Mater. 59: 684-687 (2008)

62. D.C. Hofmann, J-Y Suh, A. Wiest, M-L Lind, M.D. Demetriou, W.L. Johnson Development of Tough, Low-Density Titanium-based Bulk Metallic Glass Matrix Composites with Tensile Ductility. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 105: 20136-20140 (2008)

63. D.C. Hofmann , J-Y Suh, A. Wiest, G. Duan, M-L Lind, M.D. Demetriou, W.L. Johnson Designing Bulk Metallic Glass Matrix Composites with High Toughness and Tensile Ductility. Nature, 451: 1085, (2008)

64. D.C. Hofmann, K.S. VecchioThermal History Analysis of Friction Stir Processed and Submerged Friction Stir Processed Aluminum. Mat. Sci. Eng. A: 465: 265-175 (2007)

65. D.C. Hofmann, G. Duan, W.L. Johnson TEM study of structural evolution in a copper mold cast Cu46Zr54 bulk metallic glass. Scripta Mater. 54: 1117-1122 (2006)

66. D.C. Hofmann, K.S. Vecchio Submerged friction stir processing (SFSP): An improved method for creating ultra-fine-grained bulk materials. Mat. Sci. Eng. A: 402: 234-241 (2005)

67. D.C. Hofmann, V.A. Lubarda. New method for determining hexagonal direction indices and their relationship to crystallographic directions. J. Appl. Crystallogr. 36: 23-28 (2003)