Tribute to Dr. Eric L. Hoffman - President and Founder of Actlabs
It is with
great sadness that we inform you that Dr. Eric Laurence Hoffman, Ph.D, P.Geo,
President and founder of Activation Laboratories Ltd. (Actlabs) passed away on
July 10, 2015.
He was born in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada to parents Jenny and Kelly and had 3 siblings,
Barbara, Gordon, and Stanley. In
1974, he received his Bachelor of Science (Hons.) in Geology and his Masters of
Science in Geology in 1975, both from McGill University. In 1974, Eric was
awarded the Logan Gold Medal for Highest Standing and graduated with First
Class Honours with Great Distinction. He received his Ph.D. in Geology from the
University of Toronto in 1978 and became a registered Professional Geoscientist
(P.Geo) in Ontario in 2002.
Eric Hoffman was an economic
geologist with over 30 years of experience in minerals exploration, analysis,
and management. In 1978, at the young age of 35, he established Nuclear
Activation Services Ltd. where he established the first commercial neutron
activation laboratory as a partnership with McMaster University and a
commercial laboratory.
In 1987, Dr. Hoffman established
Activation Laboratories Ltd. (Actlabs) Group of Companies with a focus on
commercializing innovative technologies with the highest quality standards to
the Minerals, Metallurgy, Petroleum, Life Sciences, Environmental, Forensics,
Materials Testing, and Agriculture Industries. He achieved global success by
building and running a company with 27 laboratories in 12 countries. He brought
an extraordinary leadership to Actlabs, his peers, and to all of his family.
Eric had a lot of pride in
Actlabs and what the company could achieve for the mining industry and the other
industries the company serviced. No
matter what question or problem a customer had, Eric and Actlabs always tried
to solve it. He had a real passion for advancing the
geochemical field, but especially the Actlabs Group. He was a very humble man,
with incredible drive, intelligence, and strength. He was a true inspiration to many.
Eric was greatly admired and deeply
respected by all who knew him. He was an excellent businessman, a great
innovator, a valuable contributor to the geochemistry community, a champion of
geochemical research, and an icon of the Canadian mineral exploration scene. Eric
published consistently throughout his career, was always in attendance at
scientific meetings to present and promote the latest in techniques and
instrumentation in geochemical exploration. In addition to his close work
with industry, hundreds of research papers in the peer-reviewed literature bear
the mark of Actlabs’ contributions and Eric’s direct input. He was a strong supporter and sponsor of
collaborative industry-university research projects in Canada and abroad. He
will be missed by all who interacted with him for his drive and energy.
In 2009, Eric
was recognized as a Canadian Innovation Leader by the Government of Canada and
was awarded the Association of Applied Geochemists’ Gold Medal for outstanding
scientific achievement in applied geochemistry in 2013. The AAG Gold Medal
was awarded in recognition of Eric’s career as an industry leader in bringing
novel analytical techniques to commercial fruition. He anticipated the evolving
needs of the applied geochemist through technique design and instrument
modification for a wide variety of sample media – key to longer term success as
exploration has moved into progressively more difficult concealed terranes.
In 2014,
Actlabs new 200,000 sq ft. global head quarters was officially opened. This new
facility marked a milestone for Actlabs growth and a symbol of how much he
accomplished. Eric was a very
caring husband and father who loved to laugh and travel. He was a brilliant man who provided
guidance and advice and was always there for his family. He leaves behind his
wife of 38 years, Felyce, and his 3 children, Michael, Robbi, and Ariella.
Eric’s wife and three children all work at Actlabs and will continue to keep
the company strong and thriving along with the rest of the Actlabs team.
Eric’s memory
will never be forgotten and his legacy will live forever. In doing so, plans have been put
in place to ensure Actlabs’ continues to provide industry leading high quality
analyses and innovative technologies with a rapid turnaround time. Please
direct enquiries to Ariella Hoffman.
You will be sadly
missed by all.
If you have any comments about Eric that you’d like to
share, please send them to ahoffman@actlabs.com
In
loving memory of Dr. Eric Hoffman, a Memorial Scholarship at the University of Toronto has been
established. This Earth Sciences graduate
scholarship will be able to help future students advance a field that Eric was
so passionate about. If you’d like to make a contribution, please click on the link: the Eric L. Hoffman Memorial Scholarship
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