Zener was born in
Indianapolis, Indiana, the son of German-descent Clarence and Ida Zener, and brother of Katharine Zener (later Katharine Hurmiston) and psychologist
Karl Zener, and earned his PhD in physics under
Edwin C. Kemble at the
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences in 1929. His thesis was titled
Quantum Mechanics of the Formation of Certain Types of Diatomic Molecules. In 1957 he received the
Bingham Medal for his work in
rheology, in 1959 the
John Price Wetherill Medal from the
Franklin Institute, in 1965 the Albert Souveur Achievement Award, in 1974 the Gold Medal from
American Society for Metals, in 1982 the Von Hippel Award from the
Materials Research Society, and in 1985 received the ICIFUAS (International Conference on Internal Friction and Ultrasonic Attenuation in Solids) Prize for the discovery of the
Zener effect, pioneering studies of anelasticity in metals and prediction and observation of
thermoelastic damping. ICIFUAS Prize was later renamed after Zener, following his death in 1993. A notable doctoral student of Zener's was
John B. Goodenough, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry in 2019, and
Arthur Nowick held a postdoctoral appointment under Zener. Zener was a research fellow at the
University of Bristol from 1932 to 1934. He taught in
Arts and Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis (1935–1937), the
City College of New York (1937–1940), and
Washington State University (1940–1942) before working at the
Watertown Arsenal during
World War II. After the war, he taught at
University of Chicago (1945–1951) where he was professor of physics, Here he developed his system of
geometric programming, which he used to solve engineering problems using adjustable parameters, defined by mathematical functions. Using this, Zener modeled designs for
heat exchangers, to perform
ocean thermal energy conversion, and discovered the most suitable areas for their deployment; many of these models are still being used today. Following his career at Westinghouse, Zener returned to teaching, leaving Pittsburgh briefly to become a professor at
Texas A&M University (1966–1968) but returned to finish his career at
Carnegie Mellon University (1968–1993). == Personality ==