John Ziman

John Ziman
Born(1925-05-16)16 May 1925
Cambridge, England
Died2 January 2005(2005-01-02) (aged 79)
Spouses
  • Rosemary Dixon
  • Joan Solomon
AwardsFellow of the Royal Society (1967)[1]
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Bristol, University of Oxford, Victoria University of Wellington, University of Cambridge

John Michael Ziman (16 May 1925 – 2 January 2005)[1] was a British-born New Zealand physicist and humanist who worked in the area of condensed matter physics.[2][3][4] He was a spokesman for science, as well as a teacher and author.

Ziman was born in Cambridge, England, in 1925. His parents were Solomon Netheim Ziman and, Nellie Frances, née Gaster. The family emigrated to New Zealand when Ziman was a baby. He obtained his early education at Hamilton High School and the Victoria University College. He obtained his PhD from Balliol College, Oxford and did his early research on the theory of electrons in liquid metals at the University of Cambridge.[5]

In 1964 he was appointed professor of theoretical physics at University of Bristol, where he wrote his Elements Of Advanced Quantum Theory (1969) which explains the rudiments of quantum field theory with an elementary condensed matter slant. During this period, his interests shifted towards the philosophy of science. He argued about the social dimension of science,[6][7][8][9] and the social responsibility of scientists in numerous essays and books.[10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17]

He married twice, to Rosemary Dixon in 1951 and secondly to Joan Solomon, and was survived by her and three of his four children.[18]

  1. ^ a b Berry, M.; Nye, J. F. (2006). "John Michael Ziman. 16 May 1925 -- 2 January 2005: Elected FRS 1967" (PDF). Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 52: 479–491. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2006.0032. S2CID 120242010.
  2. ^ Enderby, J. (2005). "John Michael Ziman". Physics Today. 58 (11): 74. Bibcode:2005PhT....58k..74E. doi:10.1063/1.2155772.
  3. ^ Ravetz, J. (2 February 2005). "Obituary: John Ziman". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Ziman, J. (1998). "ESSAYS ON SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Why must scientists become more ethically sensitive than they used to be?". Science. 282 (5395): 1813–1814. Bibcode:1998Sci...282.1813Z. doi:10.1126/science.282.5395.1813. PMID 11645122. S2CID 12370224.
  5. ^ "Ziman, John Michael" (PDF). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 16 December 2014.
  6. ^ Ziman, J. (1996). "Is science losing its objectivity?". Nature. 382 (6594): 751–754. Bibcode:1996Natur.382..751Z. doi:10.1038/382751a0. S2CID 4322992.
  7. ^ Ziman, J. (2003). "Emerging out of nature into history: The plurality of the sciences". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 361 (1809): 1617–1633. Bibcode:2003RSPTA.361.1617Z. doi:10.1098/rsta.2003.1233. PMID 12952677. S2CID 20509519.
  8. ^ Ziman, J. (2003). "Non-instrumental roles of science". Science and Engineering Ethics. 9 (1): 17–27. doi:10.1007/s11948-003-0016-y. PMID 12645226. S2CID 39884237.
  9. ^ Ziman, J. (2002). "The continuing need for disinterested research". Science and Engineering Ethics. 8 (3): 397–399. doi:10.1007/s11948-002-0060-z. PMID 12353368. S2CID 6065466.
  10. ^ Ziman, J. (2001). "Getting scientists to think about what they are doing". Science and Engineering Ethics. 7 (2): 165–176. doi:10.1007/s11948-001-0038-2. PMID 11349357. S2CID 24284124.
  11. ^ Ziman, J. M. (1984). "Thoughts on Science Policy: Priorities in Research". Science. 224 (4650): 708. Bibcode:1984Sci...224..708K. doi:10.1126/science.224.4650.708. PMID 17780590.
  12. ^ Ziman, J. M. (1980). "The proliferation of scientific literature: A natural process". Science. 208 (4442): 369–371. Bibcode:1980Sci...208..369Z. doi:10.1126/science.7367863. PMID 7367863.
  13. ^ Ziman, J. (1978). "The Research Enterprise in the Soviet Union". Science. 201 (4361): 1115–1116. Bibcode:1978Sci...201.1115M. doi:10.1126/science.201.4361.1115. PMID 17830312.
  14. ^ Young, M.; Ziman, J. (1971). "Cycles in social behaviour". Nature. 229 (5280): 91–95. Bibcode:1971Natur.229...91Y. doi:10.1038/229091a0. PMID 4923114. S2CID 10951568.
  15. ^ Ziman, J. M. (1970). "Some pathologies of the scientific life". Nature. 227 (5262): 996–997. Bibcode:1970Natur.227..996.. doi:10.1038/227996a0. PMID 5449782. S2CID 4221784.
  16. ^ Ziman, J. M. (1970). "New knowledge for old". Nature. 227 (5261): 890–894. Bibcode:1970Natur.227..890Z. doi:10.1038/227890a0. PMID 5448993. S2CID 34898921.
  17. ^ Ziman, J. M. (1969). "Information, communication, knowledge". Nature. 224 (5217): 318–324. Bibcode:1969Natur.224..318Z. doi:10.1038/224318a0. PMID 5343876. S2CID 4279421.
  18. ^ "Library and Archive Catalogue". London: The Royal Society. Retrieved 16 July 2010.[permanent dead link‍]