Walter H. Zinn

Biography

Abstract

Walter Zinn was Vice President and Head of the Nuclear Division of Combustion Engineering, Inc. (1964-1971). Other institutional affiliations included General Nuclear Engineering Company, Argonne National Laboratory, the Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory and City College of New York. His research interests included nuclear fission, nuclear reactors, and nuclear energy.

Important Dates

December 10, 1906Birth, Kitchener (Ont.).

1927Obtained BA in Mathematics, Queen's University, Kingston (Ont.).

1929Obtained MA, Queen's University, Kingston (Ont.).

1932 – 1941Instructor to Assistant Professor of Physics, City College of New York, New York (N.Y.).

1934Obtained PhD in Physics, Columbia University, New York (N.Y.).

1942 – 1946Physicist (1942-1944) and Acting Director, Argonne Branch (1944-1946), Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project, Chicago (Ill.).

1946 – 1956Director, Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont (Ill.).

1955 – 1956President, American Nuclear Society.

1956Member, National Academy of Sciences.

1956 – 1964President, General Nuclear Engineering Company, Dunedin (Fla.).

1960 – 1962Member, President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

1964 – 1971Vice President and Head, Nuclear Division, Combustion Engineering, Inc., Windsor (Conn.).

1972 – 1974Member, General Advisory Committee, United States Atomic Energy Commission.

1975Member, General Advisory Committee, United States Energy Research and Development Administration.

1982Awarded Enrico Fermi Award, United States Department of Energy.

February 14, 2000Death, Clearwater (Fla.).

Occupation

Nuclear physicist.

Places

Birth

Kitchener (Ont.)

Undergraduate Education

Kingston (Ont.)

Graduate Education

Kingston (Ont.)

New York (N.Y.)

Employment

New York (N.Y.)

Lemont (Ill.)

Dunedin (Fla.)

Windsor (Conn.)

Death

Clearwater (Fla.)

Subjects

Nuclear energy.

Nuclear fission.

Nuclear physics.

Nuclear reactions.

Nuclear reactors.

Relationships

People

Family

Zinn, Jennie A. Smith

First wife. Married 1933-1964.

Zinn, John Eric

Son.

Zinn, Mary Teresa Pratt

Second wife. Married in 1966.

Zinn, Robert James

Son.

Colleagues

Agnew, Harold M.

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Anderson, Herbert Lawrence

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Bardeen, John

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Beadle, George Wells, 1903-1989

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Bollinger, Lowell M. (Lowell Moyer)

Both employed at Argonne National Laboratory.

Breit, Gregory, 1899-1981

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Bronk, Detlev W. (Detlev Wulf), 1897-1975

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Brooks, Harvey

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Chodorow, Marvin

Both employed at City College of New York.

Creutz, E.

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Daniels, Farrington, 1889-1972

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Dempster, Arthur Jeffrey

Both employed at Argonne National Laboratory and at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Doty, Paul M., 1920-2011

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Fermi, Enrico, 1901-1954

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project and Argonne Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Feshbach, Herman

Both employed at the City College of New York.

Garwin, Richard L.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Gilliland, Edwin Richard, 1909-1973

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Hilberry, Norman, 1899-

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project and Argonne National Laboratory.

Hofstadter, Robert, 1915-1990

Both employed at City College of New York.

Holstein, Theodore David, 1915-1985

Both employed at City College of New York.

Hornig, Donald F., 1920-2013

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Killian, James Rhyne, 1904-1988

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Kistiakowsky, George B. (George Bogdan), 1900-1982

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Loeb, Robert F. (Robert Frederick), 1895-1973

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Long, Franklin A., 1910-1999

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Macdonald, J. Ross (James Ross), 1923-

Both employed at Argonne National Laboratory.

MacLeod, Colin M. (Colin Munro), 1909-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Manley, John Henry, 1907-

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Monk, George Spencer, 1884

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Piore, Emanuel Ruben, 1908-2000

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Press, Frank, 1924-

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Purcell, Edward M.

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Reynolds, John Hamilton, 1923-2000

Both employed at Argonne National Laboratory.

Sachs, Robert Green, 1916-

Both employed at Argonne National Laboratory.

Schiffer, John P.

Both employed at Argonne National Laboratory.

Seaborg, Glenn T. (Glenn Theodore), 1912-1999

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Seitz, Frederick, 1911-2008

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Snell, Arthur H.

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Stearns, Joyce C.

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Szilard, Leo

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Tukey, John W. (John Wilder), 1915-2000

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee.

Weinberg, Alvin Martin, 1915-2006

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Whitaker, Martin Dewey

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Wiesner, Jerome B. (Jerome Bert), 1915-1994

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Wilson, V. C.

Both employed at Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory, Manhattan Project.

Zacharias, Jerrold Reinach, 1905-1986

Both worked on President's Science Advisory Committee (PSAC).

Zener, Clarence, 1905-

Both employed at City College of New York.

Additional

Morrison, Philip

Needell, Allan A.

Institutions

Major Positions

Argonne National Laboratory

Director.

College of the City of New York (1926-1961). City College. Physics Department

Instructor to Assistant Professor of Physics.

Combustion Engineering, inc.

Vice President and Head, Nuclear Division.

Manhattan Project (U.S.)

Physicist and Acting Director, Argonne Branch, Chicago Metallurgical Laboratory.

United States. Office of Scientific Research and Development. Metallurgical Laboratory

Physicist and Acting Director, Argonne Branch, Manhattan Project.

Professional Activities & Affiliations

American Nuclear Society

President.

Columbia University. Department of Physics

Obtained PhD (1934).

National Academy of Sciences (U.S.)

Member.

Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.). Department of Mathematics

Obtained BA (1927).

Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.). Department of Physics

Obtained MA (1929).

U.S. Atomic Energy Commission

Member, General Advisory Committee.

United States. Department of Energy

Received 1982 Enrico Fermi Award.

United States. Energy Research and Development Administration

Member, General Advisory Committee.

United States. President's Science Advisory Committee

Member.

Resources

Archival Resources

Author

Fermi Memorial Session [sound recording] / American Physical Society spring meeting, 1955 April 30.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

The pioneers of atomic energy [sound recording] : their voices recorded on the 10th anniversary of the Manhattan Project; 1952 December 2.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

The Technology of Power Reactors. 1952 A Collection of Papers.

The Joseph Regenstein Library. Department of Special Collections

University of Chicago

1100 East 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA

Subject

Allan A. Needell research records, 1944-1981.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Atomic year 25 [sound recording] : the story of CP-1 / produced by the Atomic Energy Commission's Argonne National Laboratory.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Century of the atom [sound recording] : ...told through the voices of the scientists who created the nuclear age / a presentation of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission ; narrated by Chet Huntley and Glenn T. Seaborg.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Fifty years with nuclear fission [videorecording]: highlights of the 1989 conference.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Herbert Anderson, 1981 January 13 and 16.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Oral history interview with Philip Morrison, 2002 December 19 and 20.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

President's Science Advisory Committee records, 1957-1961.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Library

Abilene, KS 67410, USA

The Italian navigator has landed...a half century of nuclear energy [videorecording] / Argonne National Laboratory, producer ; U. S. Dept. of Energy ; Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute ; Power Reactor and Nuclear Development Corporation-Japan, sponsors ; Peter Graves, narrator, 1992.

Niels Bohr Library & Archives

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA

Published Resources

Author

Nuclear power, U.S.A. / [by] Walter H. Zinn, Frank K. Pittman [and] John F. Hogerton.

Subject

"Walter Henry Zinn: 1906-2000", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences

The presentation of the Atoms for Peace Award to Leo Szilard, Eugene Paul Wigner, Alvin Martin Weinberg, Walter Henry Zinn at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., May 18, 1960.

Walter Zinn New York Times obituary.