{{Short description|American physicist (1905–1993)}} {{Use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=June 2017}} {{Infobox scientist | name = Clarence Zener | birth_name = Clarence Melvin Zener | birth_date = {{Birth date|1905|12|01}} | birth_place = Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|07|02|1905|12|01}} | death_place = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | alma_mater = Harvard University (PhD) | known_for = {{Plain list| * Zener effect (1934) * Work on thermoelastic damping (1937) }} | relatives = Karl Zener (brother) | awards = {{Plain list| * Bingham Medal (1957) * John Price Wetherill Medal (1959) }} | fields = Physics | work_institutions = {{Collapsible list|title={{Nobold|''See list''}} | University of Bristol <br/> (1932–1934) | Washington University in St. Louis (1935–1937) | City College of New York (1937–1940) | Washington State University (1940–1942) | Watertown Arsenal <br/> (1942–1945) | University of Chicago <br/> (1945–1951) | Westinghouse Electric Corporation (1951–1965) | Texas A&M University <br/> (1966–1968) | Carnegie Mellon University (1968–1993) }} | thesis_title = Quantum Mechanics of the Formation of Certain Types of Diatomic Molecules | thesis_year = 1929 | doctoral_advisor = Edwin Kemble | doctoral_students = John B. Goodenough (1952) }}
'''Clarence Melvin Zener''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|z|iː|n|ər}} {{Respell|ZEE|ner}};<ref>{{Cite web|title=ZENER DIODE Definition & Meaning|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/zener-diode|website=Dictionary.com}}</ref> December 1, 1905 – July 2, 1993) was an American physicist who in 1934<ref name=WS93>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/06/obituaries/clarence-m-zener-87-physicist-and-professor-at-carnegie-mellon.html |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140115083940/https://www.nytimes.com/1993/07/06/obituaries/clarence-m-zener-87-physicist-and-professor-at-carnegie-mellon.html |archive-date=January 15, 2014 |title=Clarence M. Zener, 87, Physicist And Professor at Carnegie Mellon |first=Wolfgang |last=Saxon |newspaper=The New York Times |date=July 6, 1993}}{{cbignore}}</ref> was the first to describe the property concerning the breakdown of electrical insulators. These findings were later exploited by Bell Labs in the development of the Zener diode, which was duly named after him.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Wert, Charles Allen|title=Obituary: Clarence Zener|journal=Physics Today|date=February 1994|volume=47|issue=2|pages=117–118|url=http://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/phtoad/v47/i2/p117_s1?bypassSSO=1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131006174425/http://www.physicstoday.org/resource/1/phtoad/v47/i2/p117_s1?bypassSSO=1|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-10-06|doi=10.1063/1.2808418|bibcode=1994PhT....47b.117W|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
Zener was also a theoretical physicist with a background in mathematics who conducted research in a wide range of subjects including: superconductivity, metallurgy, ferromagnetism, elasticity, fracture mechanics, diffusion, and geometric programming.
== Life ==
Zener was born in Indianapolis, Indiana, the son of German-descent Clarence and Ida Zener, and brother of Katharine Zener (later Katharine Hurmiston) and psychologist Karl Zener, and earned his PhD in physics under Edwin C. Kemble at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1929. His thesis was titled ''Quantum Mechanics of the Formation of Certain Types of Diatomic Molecules''. In 1957 he received the Bingham Medal for his work in rheology, in 1959 the John Price Wetherill Medal from the Franklin Institute, in 1965 the Albert Souveur Achievement Award, in 1974 the Gold Medal<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.asminternational.org/documents/10192/1634213/Gold.pdf/5cf87fa2-23cb-00fe-4be7-426e4eeed400 |title=ASM International Gold Medal Award |access-date=December 26, 2019 |archive-date=March 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220318060836/https://www.asminternational.org/documents/10192/1634213/Gold.pdf/5cf87fa2-23cb-00fe-4be7-426e4eeed400 |url-status=dead }}</ref> from American Society for Metals, in 1982 the Von Hippel Award<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.mrs.org/vonhippel |title=Von Hippel Award Recipients |access-date=December 22, 2019 |archive-date=February 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200216172354/https://www.mrs.org/vonhippel |url-status=dead }}</ref> from the Materials Research Society, and in 1985 received the ICIFUAS (International Conference on Internal Friction and Ultrasonic Attenuation in Solids) Prize for the discovery of the Zener effect, pioneering studies of anelasticity in metals<ref>{{cite book | title=Elasticity and anelasticity of metals |first=Clarence M. |last=Zener |year=1948 |publisher=University of Chicago Press, Chicago & London}}</ref> and prediction and observation of thermoelastic damping. ICIFUAS Prize was later renamed after Zener, following his death in 1993.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rosariocantelli.com/roma-1993-conference-historical-reviews/ | title = Rome Conference 1993 – Zener Gold Medal Awards – Historical Reviews | author=Rosario Cantelli | access-date=6 June 2021}}</ref> A notable doctoral student of Zener's was John B. Goodenough, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry in 2019, and Arthur Nowick held a postdoctoral appointment under Zener.
Zener was a research fellow at the University of Bristol from 1932 to 1934. He taught in Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis (1935–1937), the City College of New York (1937–1940), and Washington State University (1940–1942) before working at the Watertown Arsenal during World War II.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Seitz |first1=Frederick |year=1986 |title=On the occasion of the 80th birthday celebration for Clarence Zener: Saturday, November 12, 1985 |journal=Journal of Applied Physics |volume=60 |issue=6 |pages=1865–1867 |bibcode=1986JAP....60.1865S |doi=10.1063/1.337234}}</ref> After the war, he taught at University of Chicago (1945–1951) where he was professor of physics,<ref name=WS93 /> before being appointed as director of science at Pittsburgh's Westinghouse Electric Corporation (1951–1965).<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.mpri.lsu.edu/textbook/Chapter3.htm |title=Optimization for Engineering Systems |first=Ralph W. |last=Pike |year=2001 |chapter=Geometric Programming |publisher=Louisiana State University |asin=B00BF2TLXO |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051119132902/http://www.mpri.lsu.edu/textbook/Chapter3.htm |archive-date=November 19, 2005 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Here he developed his system of geometric programming, which he used to solve engineering problems using adjustable parameters, defined by mathematical functions. Using this, Zener modeled designs for heat exchangers, to perform ocean thermal energy conversion, and discovered the most suitable areas for their deployment; many of these models are still being used today.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://link.cs.cmu.edu/article.php?a=470 |first=Jason |last=Togyer |title=Then and Now: Web Extra |journal=The Link Magazine |publisher=Carnegie Mellon University |date=April 28, 2010}}</ref> Following his career at Westinghouse, Zener returned to teaching, leaving Pittsburgh briefly to become a professor at Texas A&M University (1966–1968) but returned to finish his career at Carnegie Mellon University (1968–1993).
== Personality ==
Zener was known both for his dislike of experimental work and for preferring to work on practical problems within the arena of applied physics. Although he had a reputation of being very successful in these endeavors, he apparently considered himself as being less qualified to work on purely theoretical physics problems. In recognition of this, he once commented, after having dined with physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer: "when it came to fundamental physics, it was clear there was no point in competing with a person like that."<ref>{{cite web |author=Maguire, Metthew |date=March 29, 2010 |title='Web Extra: Clarence Zener, A Rare, Strange Genius', Carnegie-Mellon Magazine, Winter, 1985, pp. 18–19 |url=https://www.cs.cmu.edu/link/web-extra-clarence-zener-rare-strange-genius |access-date=6 June 2021 |work=Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science |archive-date=December 7, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207104135/https://www.cs.cmu.edu/link/web-extra-clarence-zener-rare-strange-genius |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>
== Eponyms == *Zener effect *Zener diode *Zener pinning *Zener–Hollomon parameter *Landau–Zener formula *Zener double-exchange mechanism *Zener ratio, an elastic anisotropy factor for cubic crystals *Zener model for viscoelastic solids
==See also== *Bloch oscillation *Mist lift *Posynomial *Slater's rules
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == *[http://www.nasonline.org/publications/biographical-memoirs/memoir-pdfs/zener-clarence.pdf National Academy of Sciences Biography] *[https://www.rosariocantelli.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Wert-JAC211_001.pdf Remembrances of Clarence Zener] *[https://physicstoday.scitation.org/doi/10.1063/1.2808418 Obituary]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zener, Clarence}} Category:20th-century American physicists Category:Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Category:American materials scientists Category:Rheologists Category:1905 births Category:1993 deaths Category:University of Chicago alumni Category:Carnegie Mellon University faculty Category:Academics of the University of Bristol Category:Washington University in St. Louis physicists Category:Fellows of the American Physical Society Category:Washington State University faculty Category:Texas A&M University faculty Category:American people of German descent