Michael Hochella

Michael F. Hochella Jr. (born 1953) is an American geochemist, mineralogist, and a notable figure in the establishment of the field of nanogeoscience. He is University Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Virginia Tech, a former research professor at Stanford University, and a former Laboratory Fellow at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). Hochella is recognized for pioneering the application of high-resolution microscopy and spectroscopy to mineral surfaces and nanoparticles, and for showing how nanoscale materials help govern geochemical cycles, pollutant behavior, and environmental and biological processes. He founded and directed the National Science Foundation supported center NanoEarth at Virginia Tech, one of the first national hubs in the world dedicated to environmental nanoscience.^[1]

Hochella has served as president of both the Geochemical Society and the Mineralogical Society of America, and has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the American Geophysical Union (AGU), the Mineralogical Society of America, the Geochemical Society, the European Association of Geochemistry, the Royal Society of Chemistry, Geological Society of America, and the International Association of GeoChemistry.^[2][3]

Michael F. Hochella Jr. was born in 1953 in Yokohama, Japan at the end of the Korean War. His father, a decorated U.S. Army pilot in World War II flying B-25 aircraft,^[4] also flew in Korea. Shortly after Hochella’s birth, his family relocated multiple times due to his father’s military service, including postings in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey; Stuttgart, Germany; Poitiers, France; and Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Following his father’s retirement from active duty, the family settled in Bel Air, Maryland, where Hochella attended middle and high school.^[5]

He earned his B.S. (1975) and M.S. (1977) in Geological Sciences at Virginia Tech. He completed his Ph.D. in Geological and Environmental Sciences at Stanford University in 1981 under the supervision of Gordon E. Brown Jr.^[6][7]

After receiving his doctorate, Hochella joined Corning Inc. as a senior scientist from 1981 to 1983. He returned to Stanford University as Acting Assistant Professor and Senior Research Associate (1983–1989), and later as Associate Professor (Research) from 1989 to 1992.^[8]

Hochella joined the Department of Geosciences at Virginia Tech in 1992 as an associate professor and was promoted to full professor in 1997. His research focused on mineral surface geochemistry and environmental nanoscience, involving laboratory, instrumental, and field-based studies.^[9]

In June 2007, he was named University Distinguished Professor, the university's highest faculty honor.^[10]

He founded and directed NanoEarth, a National Science Foundation node in the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) which had 17 nodes altogether representing nanoscience and technology in all fields of science and engineering.^[11][12]

In 2019, he was named University Distinguished Professor Emeritus.^[13][14]

Hochella began collaborating with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in 1989. From 2016 to 2025, he held the positions of Laboratory Fellow and Senior Advisor at PNNL, supporting research in environmental nanotechnology and the nano–bio–geo interface.^[15]

Hochella is considered one of the founders of nanogeoscience, a field that examines how natural and anthropogenic nanomaterials influence Earth processes. His work demonstrated that nanoscale minerals and materials regulate contaminant mobility, redox chemistry, nutrient availability, and microbial interactions.^[16][17][18]

He was among the earliest scientists to apply high-resolution scanning probe microscopies to mineral surfaces. His atomic-scale investigations established fundamental mechanisms of surface dissolution, growth, and chemical reactivity.^[15]

Hochella's group identified environmentally significant nanoparticles from coal combustion, mine drainage, aqueous systems, and natural weathering. A 2019–2021 series of studies showed that titanium-oxide nanoparticles from coal burning can enter mammalian lungs and bloodstream, raising concerns about human exposure pathways.^[19][20][21] More recently, he has worked on the potential use of benign mineral-like engineered nanoparticles in ocean fertilization for large-scale atmospheric carbon dioxide removal.^[22][23][24]

His work revealed how microbes interact with mineral surfaces and nanoparticles, influencing nutrient cycles, biomineralization, environmental detoxification, and the formation of reactive mineral phases.^[25]

• C.C. Patterson Medal, Geochemical Society^[26]
• Geochemistry Medal (GEOC Medal), American Chemical Society^[27]
• Alexander von Humboldt Research Award^[9]
• Dana Medal, Mineralogical Society of America
• Virginia Outstanding Scientist (2005)^[28]
• Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award (2016)
• Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Fellow, American Geophysical Union^[29]
• Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry
• Fellow, Mineralogical Society of America^[30][31]
• Fellow, Geochemical Society^[32]
• Fellow, European Association of Geochemistry
• Fellow, International Association of GeoChemistry
• Fellow, Geological Society of America^[33]

• Michael F Hochella; Steven K Lower; Patricia A Maurice; R Lee Penn; Nita Sahai; Donald L Sparks; Benjamin S Twining (1 March 2008). "Nanominerals, mineral nanoparticles, and Earth systems". Science. 319 (5870): 1631–1635. doi:10.1126/SCIENCE.1141134. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 18356515. Wikidata Q37115255.
• Bojeong Kim; Chee-Sung Park; Mitsuhiro Murayama; Michael F Hochella (1 October 2010). "Discovery and characterization of silver sulfide nanoparticles in final sewage sludge products". Environmental Science & Technology. 44 (19): 7509–7514. doi:10.1021/ES101565J. ISSN 0013-936X. PMID 20839838. Wikidata Q44959553.
• Steven K. Lower; Michael F. Hochella Jr.; Terry J. Beveridge (1 May 2001). "Bacterial recognition of mineral surfaces: nanoscale interactions between Shewanella and alpha-FeOOH". Science. 292 (5520): 1360–1363. Bibcode:2001Sci...292.1360L. doi:10.1126/SCIENCE.1059567. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 11359008. Wikidata Q43612428.
• Susan L. Stipp; Michael F. Hochella (June 1991). "Structure and bonding environments at the calcite surface as observed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and low energy electron diffraction (LEED)". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 55 (6): 1723–1736. Bibcode:1991GeCoA..55.1723S. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(91)90142-R. ISSN 0016-7037. Wikidata Q105727218.
• Marina E Vance; Todd Kuiken; Eric P Vejerano; Sean P McGinnis; Michael F Hochella; David Rejeski; Matthew S Hull (2015). "Nanotechnology in the real world: Redeveloping the nanomaterial consumer products inventory". Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology. 6: 1769–80. doi:10.3762/BJNANO.6.181. ISSN 2190-4286. PMC 4578396. PMID 26425429. Wikidata Q28389215.
• Hochella, Michael F.; Mogk, David W.; Ranville, James; Allen, Irving C.; Luther, George W.; Marr, Linsey C.; McGrail, B. Peter; Murayama, Mitsu; Qafoku, Nikolla P.; Rosso, Kevin M.; Sahai, Nita; Schroeder, Paul A.; Vikesland, Peter; Westerhoff, Paul; Yang, Yi (2019-03-29). "Natural, incidental, and engineered nanomaterials and their impacts on the Earth system". Science. 363 (6434). doi:10.1126/science.aau8299. hdl:10919/93142. ISSN 0036-8075.
• Babakhani, Peyman; Phenrat, Tanapon; Baalousha, Mohammed; Soratana, Kullapa; Peacock, Caroline L.; Twining, Benjamin S.; Hochella, Michael F. (2022). "Potential use of engineered nanoparticles in ocean fertilization for large-scale atmospheric carbon dioxide removal". Nature Nanotechnology. 17 (12): 1342–1351. doi:10.1038/s41565-022-01226-w. ISSN 1748-3395. PMC 9747614. PMID 36443601.

Hochella met his wife, Barbara M. Bekken, at Stanford University, where she completed her Ph.D. in 1990. They have two children.^[1][11]