Peter D. Zimmerman (June 15, 1941,

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an independent city in southeast Virginia and across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. As of the 2020 census, the population was 97,915. It is part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Naval M ...

– August 27, 2021

Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

) was an American

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

, arms control expert, and former Chief Scientist of the

Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid pro ...

. At his death, he was Emeritus Professor of Science and Security at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

. He retired from the college in August 2008 and was named Professor Emeritus on 1 September of the same year.

Biography

Peter D. Zimmerman was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on 15 June 1941. He graduated from

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1963 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree. He earned a Filosofie Licentiat degree at

Lund University , motto = Ad utrumque , mottoeng = Prepared for both , established = , type = Public research university , budget = SEK 9 billion Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

in 1969. All degrees are in experimental nuclear and elementary particle physics. Zimmerman was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society in 1988. Zimmerman worked several times at the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency until the agency was folded into

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

, and worked closely with other physicists there such as David S. Wollan. He was Science Advisor for ACDA at the time it was merged into the Department of State in March 1999. He then became Science Adviser for Arms Control in the

. After the election of George W. Bush as president Zimmerman left the State Department and then served as the Chief Scientist of the

from August 2001 until January 2003 and as Democratic Chief Scientist until March 2004. In 2004, Zimmerman became Professor of Science and Security in the Department of War Studies at

Awards and honors

*2004 Joseph A. Burton Forum Award Recipient

References

* *Book: Hubris, Isikoff (Michael) and Corn (David), 2006, pp. 133–134; Crown Publishers

External links

Bio: Kings College Website, currently dysfunctionalVideo: Zimmerman on the urgent need for Europe to curb means available to terrorists globally.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmerman, Peter D 1941 births 2021 deaths American nuclear physicists Stanford University alumni 20th-century American physicists Academics of King's College London Arms control people People from Portsmouth, Virginia