After receiving is Ph.D from Harvard in chemical physics, Hoffmann moved to Cornell University, where he is currently the Frank H. T. Rhodes professor of humane letters, emeritus.

His research in applied theoretical chemistry continues to hold a place within the history books as both major philosophical advances and important scaffolds for future discoveries. The foundations of his work emphasize a scholastic perspective that he said he hopes to relay to young minds today.

“I think my greatest accomplishment is teaching the community of chemists how to use molecular orbitals,” Hoffmann said. “We have adapted it for chemistry and taught them how to learn with orbitals for the shapes of molecules.”

Even with his advanced chemical knowledge, Hoffmann remains a humble man with a passion for spreading understanding. In “The World of Chemistry,” a series of 26 half-hour films that focus on teaching elementary aspects of chemistry to high school and college students, Hoffman made real this vision of sharing chemistry with the wider world.

“I look 25 years younger, but I think it is one of my contributions to chemical teaching,” Hoffmann joked about the videos, which first aired on PBS in 1990. “And I am very glad I made them.”

—Staff writer Fatima N. Mirza can be reached at fmirza@college.harvard.edu.