Michael Dorff received his BA in Mathematics Education from Brigham Young University in 1986.

Dorff visited Purdue University as an assistant professor in the Spring of 2003, Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Poland from 2005–2006, and Mathematical Association of America as a mathematician in Washington D.C. in 2012.

Dorff founded the NSF-funded Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics CURM and directed it from 2006–2017.

[4][5] He co-founded and co-directed the NSF-funded PIC (Preparation of Industrial Careers) Math program with Dr. Suzanne Weekes.

[8][9] His research interests include geometric function theory, complex analysis, minimal surfaces, data analytics, and preparing students for non-academic careers.