Dr. Edward J. Hoffman, co-inventor of the widely used positron emission tomography (PET) scanner, died July 1 at age 62.

Hoffman, a professor in the departments of molecular and medical pharmacology and radiological sciences in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, was also known for his strong leadership as program director of the Biomedical Physics Interdepartmental Graduate Program. Additionally, he was president of the IEEE Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society, chief editor of the IEEE-NMIS Journal, and a member of the UCLA Graduate Council.

"Ed was a wonderful scientist with a great mind and a good heart," said Dr. Michael Phelps, chairman of the department of molecular and medical pharmacology. "He was devoted to the many students that learned to do science in his lab and have themselves gone out in the world to create their own successes, never forgetting the precious present given them by Ed."

Hoffman was born in 1942 in St. Louis. He attended Bishop DuBourg High School. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from St. Louis University in 1963, and his Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis in 1970. He completed his postgraduate work in nuclear chemistry at the Benjamin Franklin Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1972 he joined the faculty of Washington University's School of Medicine, where he and Phelps began developing what later became known as the PET scanner. Subsequently, Phelps and Hoffman moved to the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1976 they came to the UCLA School of Medicine with a close-knit group of researchers. They joined the department of radiological sciences and the laboratory of nuclear medicine and radiation biology.

In his years at UCLA, Hoffman achieved international recognition in the science field of medical imaging. He received many awards over the years, most recently the 2002 IEEE Medical Imaging Scientist Award. He was a member of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, a charter member of the IEEE/Medical Imaging Society, and a member of the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board of Gamma-Medica Inc.

Hoffman leaves behind Carolyn, his wife of 33 years; his mother, Marcella Hoffman; sisters Judy Archer, Linda Briesacher and Patti Hoffman; brother Jim Hoffman; and aunt Mary LaFata, all of St. Louis; sister Kay Trost of Plano, Texas, brother John Hoffman of Windsor, Mo.; and many extended family members. Hoffman's father, Fred Hoffman, died in 1980.

Two memorial services are scheduled: the first will be at 1 p.m. on July 10 at the UCLA Faculty Center, 480 Charles Young Dr. on the UCLA campus. Parking is available in Lot 2. The second service will be at 11 a.m., July 24, at Graham Chapel on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Edward J. Hoffman Graduate Fellowship Fund, UCLA Biomedical Physics Interdepartmental Graduate Program, 1V‑365 CHS, 10833 Le Conte Ave., Box 951721, Los Angeles, CA  90095-1721. Make checks payable to the UCLA Foundation. For more information, contact Terry Moore at (310) 825‑7811.

-UCLA-

ER338