Vita

VITA

George O. Zimmerman

BORN: October 20, 1935


EDUCATION

  • B.S. Yale University – 1958
  • M.S. Yale University – 1959
  • Ph.D. Yale University – 1963

 

PROFESSIONAL HISTORY:

  • Research Associate, Yale University – 1962-63
  • Low Temperature Group, C.T. Lane
  • Assistant Professor, Boston University – 1963-68   
  • Visiting Scientist, Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory – 1964 – 1990
  • Member, National Magnet Laboratory – 1965-1990
  • Associate Chairman, Dept. of Physics, Boston University – 1971-72
  • Associate Professor, Boston University – 1968-74, Tenure 1969
  • Visiting Associate Physicist, Univ. of California at San Diego – 1973
  • Chairman, Department of Physics, Boston University, 1973-1983
  • Professor, Boston University – 1974
  • Consultant, Brookhaven National Laboratory – 1980
  • Visiting Scholar, Physics Dept. Harvard University. Host: Tinkham, 1988
  • Visiting Scholar, Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratory, Leiden, The Netherlands, 1988, Host: Frossati
  • Visiting Scholar, Centre for High Temperature Superconductivity
  • Imperial College, London, 1997. Host: A.David Caplin
  • Chairman Boston University Faculty Council – 1985-86
  • Member of Steering Committee of the Program of Applied Science and Engineering 1984 – 1988
  • Founder with Dr. W.J. Alston of the Research Internship Program in the Science and Engineering for High-School Juniors (1978) supported by the NSF till 1983.
  • NSF sponsorship resumed 1988-95 under the YSP program
  • Un-official host and organizer of the Massachusetts John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth awards ceremony at Boston University, June 1987-2001, 2009,  2010
  • Organized High-School Physics Teacher Symposia at Boston University (NSF)
  • Member of Middle School Science Curriculum Planning Committee at Boston University (NSF).
  • Boston University Planning Committee, 1995-2001, Chairman 1998-2000
  • Principal Investigator on Research Grants from the NSF and AFOSR
  • Made Boston University part of the Outreach Alliance for the Siemens-Westinghouse Science Competition and received $10,000 for HS student scholarships.
  • Professor Emeritus as of January 1, 2001.
  • Member at Large of the Executive Board of the Forum on the History of Physics of the American Physical Society 2007-2010 (Webmaster ad hoc)

 

OTHER

Society Membership

  • American Physical Society
  • Society of Sigma Xi
  • New York Academy of Sciences
  • American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • Materials Research Society
  • Cryogenic Society of America

Biographical Listings:

  • American Men and Women of Science
  • Who’s Who in America
  • Holocaust Survivors  
  • Who’s Who in the East

Selected Speaking Invitations:

  • University of Cinncinati, Oct. 30, 1986
  • Clark University, February 3,1987
  • Three Invited Lectures at I ENCUENTRO LATINOAMERICO DE FISICA DE BAJAS TEMPERATURAS Y SUPERCONDUCTIVIDAD, Bogota-Colombia, February 1-5, 1988
  • Invited Speaker at ISS’88, 1st International Symposium on Superconductivity, August 28, Nagoya, Japan
  • Colloquium Speaker, Kamerlingh Onnes Laboratorium Der Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden, December 9, 1988
  • Colloquium Speaker, Physics Department, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, January 31, 1990
  • SSC Laboratory, Dallas, TX.  March 17, 1992
  • CERN, Geneva, August 7, 1992
  • Colloquium: Boston College, Physics Dept. March 12,1997
  • Invited to give talks, January 7-12, 2001. Bangkok, Thailand Mahidol University “The History of the 1996 Nobel Prize”
  • “Practical Applications of Superconductivity” Chulalongkorn University
  • “Magnetic Intercalation Graphite Compounds” January 15-19, 2001.
  • “Third International Conference on New Theories Discoveries and applications of Superconductors and Related Materials” in Honolulu, Hawaii. Session Chairman
  • Presentation: “Dynamic Magnetostriction of Colossal Magnetoresistance in Manganites” M.D.Kaplan co-author
  • Talk at the New England Chapter of IEEE at Quantum Corporation in Shrewsbury, MA. “GMR, CMR and HTSC”. March 28, 2001.
  • Invited speaker and session chairman at the RAMIS conference in Poznan, Poland. Title of talk “FeCl3 Graphite intercalation Compounds, a Model System.” May 6-10, 2001.
  • Los Alamos National Laboratory Superconductivity Center, “AC-DC and DC-AC Conversion Using HTS Components.” July 12, 2001
  • Attended American Institute of Physics Corporate Associates meeting sponsored by Xerox and Kodak in Rochester, NY October 20-23, 2001
  • Invited Speaker, New Theories, Discoveries, and Applications of Superconductors and Related Materials, (New3SC-4), Jan. 16-21, 2003, San Diego, CA “Superconductivity: The Promise and Reality.” Also Session co-Chair..

Panel and Organizational functions:

  • Judge at the XXIV International Physics Olympiad, July, 1993, Williamsburg, Virginia
  • Panel Member for the New Young Investigator proposals under consideration in the Division of Materials research Condensed Matter Physics Program, April, 1993
  • Visiting Committee for the Graduate Program of the Physics Department at Northeastern University, April 1996
  • Member of the Organizing Committee of the conference on Spectroscopies of Novel Superconductors, Cape Cod, September, 1997.
  • Local organizer and Chairman, with Michael D. Kaplan, of the XV INTERNATIONAL JAHN-TELLER SYMPOSIUM on VIBRONIC INTERACTIONS IN CRYSTALS AND MOLECULES, and the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on Colossal Magnetoresistance and Vibronic Interactions
    • BOSTON, MA, August 16 – 22, 2000 held at Boston University                      
    • Symposium Chairmen:
    • Michael Kaplan (Simmons College)
    • George Zimmerman (Boston University)
    • Colin Bates (Nottingham University)
    • Boris Tsukerblat (Moldova Academy)
  • Member of the Siemens-Westinghouse Science Competition Outreach Alliance 1999-present
  • Candidate for Secretary-Treasurer of the American Physical Society Forum on Industrial and Applied Physics
  • Consultant to the Dow-Corning Corp., Carrolton, KY
  • Consultant to the Lumonics Company, Inc. Bedford, MA
  • Organized and Chaired a session U5, “Low Temperature Physics: A historical perspective” at the March Meeting of the American Physical Society, March 16, 2006, 8am. The session was taped and a DVD is being prepared.
  • Review Committee of the Simmons College Department of Physics 2009
  • Elected as Member at Large of the Forum for the History of Physics of the American Physical Society April, 2007-2011
  • Member of the Advisory Committee to the History of Physics section of the American Institute of Physics, The Niels Bohr Library and Archives, College Park, MD.

 

REVIEWING ACTIVITIES:

  • Reviewer of research proposals for the National Science Foundation, DOE,
  • Civilian Research and Development Foundation
  • Panel member and chair of NSF review panels
  • Reviewer for various scientific journals
  • Reviewer of text books in physics for various publishers
  • Consultant to Addison-Wesley Interactive

 

MISCELLANEOUS:

  • Member of Conservation Commission of Hamilton, Massachusetts – 1984 – 1989
  • V.P. of Kenmore Tower Board of Directors 1994-present, President, 1996-2001
  • President of the ZerRes Corporation, maker of specialty solders and HTS current leads. 1990-1997

 

TEACHING:

  • Taught many physics courses ranging from the introductory level to graduate.
  • During the past years introduced computer demonstrations into introductory physics lecture courses.