Adolf Birkhofer (February 23, 1934, in Munich) is a German physicist. He is an emeritus professor of reactor dynamics and reactor safety at the Technical University of Munich. Adolf Birkhofer studied electrical engineering at the then Technical University of Munich. After two intermediate positions at Siemens and the Technical Inspection Association of Bavaria, he joined the Institute for Measurement and Control Engineering at the Technical University of Munich in 1963. There, he established the laboratory for reactor control and plant safety. After earning his doctorate at the University of Innsbruck in 1964 and obtaining his habilitation at the Technical University of Munich in 1967, he was appointed as an associate professor for reactor dynamics and reactor safety at the Technical University of Munich in 1971.