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Katherine Hofmann first became interested in polymers in the seventh grade after medaling in a state-level Science Olympiad event. Over the next several years, she would wonder why a given material was chosen for a given application.
Hofmann pursued a bachelor's degree in polymer science and engineering from Case Western Reserve University "because everything is made of plastic, and knowledge of these materials would always be needed," she said.
She interned at the NASA Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and researched the changes and degradation that occurred in a piece of insulation from the Hubble Space Telescope.
"NASA Glenn would hire high school graduates as part of their internship program, and I included in my application my interest in polymers, which caught the eye of my mentor because it wasn't common for her to see someone out of high school talking about polymers. I was very lucky to have that internship and work with Kim de Groh. I learned a lot from her, and it helped me begin to understand what parts of polymer science I enjoyed," said Hofmann, who also earned a doctoral degree in macromolecular science and engineering from Virginia Tech.
In 2012, Hofmann joined Eastman Chemical Co. in Kingsport, Tenn., as an advanced applications scientist. She has since progressed throughout the chemical company, becoming a senior applications scientist in 2014, principal materials specialist in 2017, specialty plastics sustainability liaison in 2019 and principal applications development scientist in 2020.
She became the sustainability strategic initiatives manager in 2022, leading sustainability efforts for Eastman's plastics business unit. She assesses the sustainability of innovation and commercial portfolios and develops recommended strategies to enhance sustainability for the business.
Hofmann has developed a decarbonization pathway for the plastics business, successfully created top-down requirements to complete innovation and commercial portfolio assessments and inclusion of sustainability in the midyear strategic business review for the full Eastman enterprise, and spoken at conferences in front of crowds of 1,500-plus attendees.
"In my technical role, prior to moving to corporate sustainability, I focused on working with customers to co-create sustainable solutions. Due to the materials that Eastman makes and our molecular recycling technologies, this often focused on developing new monomaterial solutions with improved end-of-use options as well as improved durability to ensure a part lasts as long as possible before reaching an end of use," she said.
"I also developed a holistic sustainability communication tool to provide brands a systems view comparing and contrasting sustainability of materials across beginning of life, end of life, health and safety aspects, environmental footprint and social impact rather than solely relying on cradle-to-gate [life cycle assessment] material comparisons," she added.
Hofmann's work has been recognized with several awards, including Eastman's internal Technology Innovation Summit Award in 2021 for supporting the successful launch of Tritan Renew.