Written in the third person, this account describes Zelney's early childhood and elementary education in rural Wisconsin; his family's move to Minneapolis where he attended the University of Minnesota in a pre-law liberal arts program; his Master's degree in physics and his subsequent fellowship to the University faculty as Scholar, where he also continued his graduate studies; summer sessions at the University of Chicago, where he studied optics under Albert A. Michelson; study at the Universatt̃ Gt̲tingen; high temperature measurement research at Princeton; his patents on thermometers and moisture detectors; public service including war work; editing positions; society memberships and honors; and his private life. File also includes a photocopy of a short profile written for the Minnesota Alumni Weekly in 1938 and an obituary from the Minneapolis Morning Tribune, as well as a short list of publications.