Dr. Bruno Zimm received both his BS and PhD from Columbia University, in 1941 and 1944 respectively, where his interest in polymer chemistry was born. He is one of the founding
fathers of the physical chemistry of macromolecules. Early in his career, he developed a data analysis protocol for light scattering data, now known as the Zimm plot, as a
mechanism for determining the molecular weight, radius of gyration, and the second virial coefficient of large macromolecules in solution. He was a part of one of the first
two groups to do so in the US. At the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn between the years of 1944-1946, he worked under the famed polymer scientist Dr. Herman Mark and developed
an osmometer able to measure the osmotic pressure of very small samples at a temperature of up to 150 degrees Celsius. Zimm worked as an assistant professor and associate professor
from 1946-1955 at UC Berkeley after which he accepted the position of Research Associate at the General Electric Research Laboratory from 1951-1960. From 1960-2005, Zimm worked as
a professor at UC San Diego until he passed away on November 26, 2005.
There are two primary papers by Zimm that really exemplify his work as a polymer scientist and rheologist. Both were published during his time at General Electric. The first [1]
talks about the Zimm-Bragg theory for transitions between helix and coil configurations in polypeptide chains, while the second [2] provides a theoretical description of
polymer solution viscoelasticity including hydrodynamic interactions and flow birefringence. These papers exemplify his deep capabilities in theoretical developments, but he
was equally as comfortable in experimental work. This can be seen in the many pieces of equipment he built for his studies. One such piece was a rotating cylinder viscometer,
which would be used to infer the chain lengths of very large polymers such as DNA by measuring the viscosity of the solutions. In his later work at UC San Diego he worked on
using shear-induced migration to help separate large DNA macromolecules by size alone while also inventing new methods and tools to study and compare the properties of
different molecules in solution.
[1] Zimm, B.H.; Bragg, J.K. Theory of the Phase Transition between Helix and Random Coil in Polypeptide Chains. J. Chem. Phys. 1959, 31, 526.
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[2] Zimm, Bruno H. Dynamics of Polymer Molecules in Dilute Solution: Viscoelasticity, Flow Birefringence and Dielectric Loss. J. Chem. Phys. 1956, 24, 269.
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Sources
Elson, Elliot L.; Qian, Hong; Schurr, J. Mickey. Bruno H. Zimm (1920-2005). Biophysical Chemistry 2006, 121(2), 155-156.
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Doolittle, Russell F. Bruno H. Zimm (1920-2005). Protein Sci. 2006 Apr, 15(4), 924-944.
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Stockmayer, Walter H. Bruno H. Zimm on his 65th birthday. Macromolecules 1985, 18(11), 2095-2096.
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Post, Carol Beth; Doolittle, Russell F. Bruno Hasbrouck Zimm 1920-2005. Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences; National Academy of Sciences: Washington, D.C., 2007; pp 2-15.
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Dexter, F.D. Presentation of the Bingham Medal to Bruno H. Zimm. Transactions of The Society of Rheology 1961, 5(1), 3-5.
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Photo Credit
Zimm Bruno B1, Emilio Segrè Visual Archives.