Clarence Zener

Clarence Melvin Zener
Born(1905-12-01)December 1, 1905
Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.
DiedJuly 2, 1993(1993-07-02) (aged 87)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education
Known forZener double-exchange mechanism
Zener diode
Zener effect
Zener pinning
Zener model
Zener ratio
Zener–Hollomon parameter
Landau–Zener formula
Thermoelastic damping
AwardsJohn Price Wetherill Medal (1959)
Bingham Medal (1957)
Scientific career
Institutions
Doctoral advisorEdwin Kemble
Doctoral studentsJohn B. Goodenough

Clarence Melvin Zener (December 1, 1905 – July 2, 1993) was the American physicist who in 1934[1] 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.[2] Zener was 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.

  1. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (July 6, 1993). "Clarence M. Zener, 87, Physicist And Professor at Carnegie Mellon". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 15, 2014.
  2. ^ Wert, Charles Allen (February 1994). "Obituary: Clarence Zener". Physics Today. 47 (2): 117–118. Bibcode:1994PhT....47b.117W. doi:10.1063/1.2808418. Archived from the original on October 6, 2013.