Brief Bio

Bruce Loeffler grew up in Chappaqua, New York, and frequent visits as a child to the American Museum of Natural History inspired his interest in science. He received a BS in Chemistry from Harvey Mudd College in the Claremont Colleges outside of LA; while at the Claremont Colleges, he took anthropology at Pitzer College, and geology, French literature, music and art history at Pomona College. He applied to PhD programs in chemistry, geology, and anthropology (he was an anthro minor); accepted to programs in all three fields, he opted to study geochemistry at M.I.T. and Harvard. He began teaching geology at Colorado College in Colorado Springs ABD, and completed his PhD in geology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. His favorite course as an undergrad was art history, and on his second sabbatical, he completed an MA in art history, also at the University of Colorado in Boulder. After that, he taught art history, as well as geology, at Colorado College. He currently resides with his husband Dan O’Brien and their dog Bodi in San Luis Obispo, California, where he teaches part-time at California Polytechnic State University.