Zorn, Jens on 2020 April 24

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Abstract/Description:	In this interview, David Zierler, Oral Historian for AIP, interviews Jens Zorn, emeritus professor of physics at the University of Michigan. Zorn recounts his early childhood in central Germany. He explains how his family left Germany and emigrated to the U.S. amid the rise of the Nazis because of his familys association with the Communist party. Zorn describes his childhood in New Haven, then Southern California, and then Bloomington, and he explains some of the difficulties of being from a German family during World War II. Zorn discusses his dual interests in the arts and in experimental science, and he recounts his service in the U.S. Navy. He describes his undergraduate experience at Miami University in Ohio, where he was mentored by Ray Edwards and George Arfken. Zorn discusses his research work in Germany before enrolling at Yale to pursue a Ph.D. in physics, and he describes his dissertation research in molecular beams under the direction of Vernon Hughes. Zorn describes the expansive employment opportunities in academic physics in the post-Sputnik era, and he explains his decision to join the faculty at Michigan and how the department was looking to expand its program in optical spectroscopy. He discusses his long term association with the Resonance Group, he describes in detail the work of his many successful graduate students, and he explains why engineering and applied sensibilities always informed his experiments. Zorn discusses his collaborative work at the National Autonomous University in Mexico and why teaching quantum mechanics gave him great pleasure. He describes his longstanding amateur interests in history and sociology, and at the end of the interview, Zorn discusses his current work conveying physics concepts through sculpture.
Subject(s):	Arfken, George B. (George Brown), 1922- Hughes, Vernon W Zorn, Jens C Miami University. United States. Navy Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico University of Michigan Yale University Art and science Molecular beams Optical spectroscopy World War, 1939-1945

Abstract/Description:

In this interview, David Zierler, Oral Historian for AIP, interviews Jens Zorn, emeritus professor of physics at the University of Michigan. Zorn recounts his early childhood in central Germany. He explains how his family left Germany and emigrated to the U.S. amid the rise of the Nazis because of his familys association with the Communist party. Zorn describes his childhood in New Haven, then Southern California, and then Bloomington, and he explains some of the difficulties of being from a German family during World War II. Zorn discusses his dual interests in the arts and in experimental science, and he recounts his service in the U.S. Navy. He describes his undergraduate experience at Miami University in Ohio, where he was mentored by Ray Edwards and George Arfken. Zorn discusses his research work in Germany before enrolling at Yale to pursue a Ph.D. in physics, and he describes his dissertation research in molecular beams under the direction of Vernon Hughes. Zorn describes the expansive employment opportunities in academic physics in the post-Sputnik era, and he explains his decision to join the faculty at Michigan and how the department was looking to expand its program in optical spectroscopy. He discusses his long term association with the Resonance Group, he describes in detail the work of his many successful graduate students, and he explains why engineering and applied sensibilities always informed his experiments. Zorn discusses his collaborative work at the National Autonomous University in Mexico and why teaching quantum mechanics gave him great pleasure. He describes his longstanding amateur interests in history and sociology, and at the end of the interview, Zorn discusses his current work conveying physics concepts through sculpture.

Subject(s):

Arfken, George B. (George Brown), 1922-
Hughes, Vernon W
Zorn, Jens C
Miami University.
United States. Navy
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
University of Michigan
Yale University
Art and science
Molecular beams
Optical spectroscopy
World War, 1939-1945

Title:	Zorn, Jens on 2020 April 24.
Name(s):	Zorn, Jens C., interviewee.
Type of Resource:	mixed material
Genre:	Interviews. Oral histories. Transcripts.
Issuance:	monographic
Date Created:	2020-04-24
Publisher:	Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics
Extent:	Transcript: 64 pages. Audio recording: 1
Abstract/Description:	In this interview, David Zierler, Oral Historian for AIP, interviews Jens Zorn, emeritus professor of physics at the University of Michigan. Zorn recounts his early childhood in central Germany. He explains how his family left Germany and emigrated to the U.S. amid the rise of the Nazis because of his familys association with the Communist party. Zorn describes his childhood in New Haven, then Southern California, and then Bloomington, and he explains some of the difficulties of being from a German family during World War II. Zorn discusses his dual interests in the arts and in experimental science, and he recounts his service in the U.S. Navy. He describes his undergraduate experience at Miami University in Ohio, where he was mentored by Ray Edwards and George Arfken. Zorn discusses his research work in Germany before enrolling at Yale to pursue a Ph.D. in physics, and he describes his dissertation research in molecular beams under the direction of Vernon Hughes. Zorn describes the expansive employment opportunities in academic physics in the post-Sputnik era, and he explains his decision to join the faculty at Michigan and how the department was looking to expand its program in optical spectroscopy. He discusses his long term association with the Resonance Group, he describes in detail the work of his many successful graduate students, and he explains why engineering and applied sensibilities always informed his experiments. Zorn discusses his collaborative work at the National Autonomous University in Mexico and why teaching quantum mechanics gave him great pleasure. He describes his longstanding amateur interests in history and sociology, and at the end of the interview, Zorn discusses his current work conveying physics concepts through sculpture.
Identifier(s):	OH 45685
Note(s):	Interview conducted by David Zierler on April 24, 2020. Dr. Jens Zorn received an A.B. degree from Miami University (1955) and a Ph.D from Yale University (1961). He is Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan. His research concerns the cooling and trapping of neutral molecules. In English. This transcript may not be quoted, reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part by any means except with the written permission of the American Institute of Physics. This transcript is based on a tape-recorded interview deposited at the Center for History of Physics of the American Institute of Physics. The AIP's interviews have generally been transcribed from tape, edited by the interviewer for clarity, and then further edited by the interviewee. If this interview is important to you, you should consult earlier versions of the transcript or listen to the original tape. For many interviews, the AIP retains substantial files with further information about the interviewee and the interview itself. Please contact us for information about accessing these materials. Please bear in mind that: 1) This material is a transcript of the spoken word rather than a literary product; 2) An interview must be read with the awareness that different people's memories about an event will often differ, and that memories can change with time for many reasons including subsequent experiences, interactions with others, and one's feelings about an event.
Subject(s):	Arfken, George B. (George Brown), 1922- Hughes, Vernon W Zorn, Jens C Miami University. United States. Navy Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico University of Michigan Yale University Art and science Molecular beams Optical spectroscopy World War, 1939-1945
Library Classification:	OH 45685
Held by:	American Institute of Physics. Niels Bohr Library & Archives. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740, USA
Restrictions on Access:	Oral history interview may be read by any researcher with an approved access application on file, but copies and quotes may not be made, except with the written permission of the Institute.
In Collections:	Oral History Interview Transcripts