MEDIA

Naval Academy Mishipman Awarded Marshall Scholarship

U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman 1st Class (senior) Christian Hoffman, 22, of Sandy Hook, Conn., was recently awarded a Marshall Scholarship. This highly-competitive academic scholarship provides up to two years of postgraduate study at a United Kingdom university. This year, over 1,000 candidates competed for one of the 46 scholarships awarded.

Hoffman is a Stamps Scholar, a Trident Scholar and a chemistry major at the Naval Academy where he is conducting an in-depth independent research project on enhancing the mechanical and chemical properties of biomaterials, particularly cotton, using a process called Natural Fiber Welding. His Trident Scholar research project is titled “Advancing the Synthesis of Polyionic Biocomposities Via the Natural Fiber Welding Method,” and he will present the results of his research in April prior to graduating.           
         
Hoffman is an avid offshore sailor and serves as team captain of the Navy Varsity Offshore Sailing Team. The team has won several races and regattas, including the 2019 Annapolis to Newport Race, Marion to Bermuda Race (Celestial Navigation Division), and the U.S. Sailing National Offshore Championship (Lloyd Phoenix Trophy). In his final semester as a midshipman, Hoffman will be the Brigade Training Officer and is tasked with creating the policies that outline training requirements for the Plebe (freshman) class.

Hoffman intends to pursue a master’s in research in physical and theoretical chemistry at the University of York, and is interested in developing more sophisticated toxic industrial chemical sensors with higher detection limits and greater standoff ranges, which can be used to indicate the presence of chemical weapons in a war zone. Following his time in the Marshall Scholarship program, Hoffman will report to Joint Diving Officer (JDO) course in Panama City, Fla. Following completion of JDO, Hoffman will report to Eglin AFB for Explosive Ordnance Disposal School.

The Marshall Scholarship Program was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1953 to commemorate the humane ideals of the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan). Goals of the program include enabling future leaders of America the opportunity to study in the UK, to help scholars gain an understanding and appreciation of contemporary Britain, to contribute to the advancement of knowledge at Britain’s centers of academic excellence, and to motivate scholars to act as ambassadors throughout their lives, thus strengthening British-American relations. The program has awarded over 2,000 scholarships to date.

For more information on the Marshall Scholarship please visit http://www.marshallscholarship.org/.           

For more information about the Naval Academy please visit www.usna.edu or our Facebook page.  

Source: USNA Public Affairs Office 9 December 2019