George O. Zimmerman

George O. Zimmerman, Ph.D., (born 1935) is a Polish born American scientist, researcher, inventor, professor emeritus of physics and former physics department chair at Boston University. Professor Zimmerman achieved his PhD in solid state physics in 1963 at Yale University and came to Boston University in the fall of 1963.

Zimmerman's major contributions in physics include discoveries in Condensed Matter and Solid State Physics, phase transitions at ultra low temperatures, magnetically intercalated graphite compounds, Jahn-Teller materials, and applied superconductivity and modeling.^[1] Zimmerman is also well known for his popular lectures on physics, hands-on advanced laboratory lectures and, a Summer Research Internship Program for High School students.^[1][2]

Early life and education

Zimmerman was born George Ogurek Zimmerman in 1935 in Poland. He received his Ph.D. in Physics from Yale University in 1963. His thesis was in experimental low temperature physics.

After a few months as a post-doc with C.T. Lane at Yale, he joined the Physics Department at Boston University^[1] His research interests are in Condensed Matter and Solid State Physics. More specifically, some of the topics of interest are phase transitions, some at ultra low temperatures, magnetically intercalated graphite compounds, Jahn-Teller materials, and applied superconductivity and modeling. At Boston University, Zimmerman was department chair for 12 years, chaired the Faculty Council, and was a member and chair of several other influential university committees.

His research collaborations include the Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory at MIT, and sabbaticals at Brookhaven National Laboratory, UC San Diego, Leiden University, Holland, Harvard University, Cambridge, and Imperial College, London.

He is currently a Member At Large of the Governing Board of the Forum on the History of Physics (FHP) and its Webmaster ad hoc. He is also conducting oral history interviews which are being archived at the Niels Bohr Library and Archives.

He established a Summer Research Internship Program for High School students over 30 years ago.

Academic career

Society memberships

• American Physical Society
• Materials Research Society

Discovery

• Discovery of low temperature magnetic properties of iron intercalated graphite

Inventions

Zimmerman has developed high temperature superconductor based high current leads, which became the first industrial application of the then newly discovered high temperature ceramic superconductors.^[3] Some of Zimmerman's inventions were granted a patent as listed here (patent number and title):

• 5,399,547 Method for increasing the critical current density of high transition temperature superconductors
• 5,376,755 Composite lead for conducting an electrical current between 75-80K and 4.5K temperatures
• 5,296,459 Method for making an electrically conductive contact for joining high T.sub .
• 5,131,582 Adhesive metallic alloys and methods of their use
• 5,098,656 Alloys for electrically joining superconductors to themselves, to normal conductors, and to semi-conductors
• 4,966,142 Method for electrically joining superconductors to themselves, to normal conductors, and to semi-conductors

Books

Some of his latest research and studies are in his publications:^[4]

• Elastic Anomalies in Jahn-Teller Crystals with Competing Structural Orderings. Journal of Physics Conference Series 04/2013; 428(1):2033-.
• Strong Electron Correlation by Virtual Phonon Exchange in Jahn-Teller Crystals. 02/2012.
• Competition of Structural Orderings in Presence of Magnetic Interactions. 03/2010.
• Giant Dynamic Magnetostriction in Colossal Magnetoresistance Manganites with Single and Double MnO_6, Plenum, New York (1985),03/2001.
• Magnetic Non-Linearity Caused by Jahn-Teller Distortion Correlation in Manganites.
• Magnetostructural Properties of Colossal Magnetoresistance Manganites Under External Magnetic Fields and Uniaxial Pressure

Lectures

• The 50th Anniversary of the Prediction of Superfluidity of He3^[5][6]

References