The Hans and Marlies Zimmer International Scholar Fund

The Department of Chemistry is pleased to announce the Hans and Marlies Zimmer International Scholar Fund, to which donations are continuously being accepted. This fund has been established over the past year as a memorial to Hans Zimmer and in recognition of Marlies Zimmer for her devotion to Hans in his many contributions to the Department over his 47 years as a faculty member.

In establishing special funds such as this, we make a special effort to find an aspect of the Honoree's contributions that have been unique and to translate these special contributions into an ongoing program that will provide a significant benefit to the Department in generations to come. Hans Zimmer had a special gift for bringing people together in collaborative efforts. This was best exemplified in the program that Hans established with the University of Stuttgart that for many years brought German students to the University of Cincinnati for graduate studies. Many of these students were superb students and became excellent scientists. Some of them returned to Europe to receive PhDs, some obtained their PhDs at U.C., and remained to obtain jobs in this country. The faculty of the Chemistry Department would like to continue this "tradition" of collaboration with scientists abroad, not just in Germany, but in all parts of the world. Many of them have been invited to countries in Europe and Asia, and these visits have always been financed completely by the host countries. On these trips, they have met many excellent scientists engaged in fascinating projects, and in many cases have established long-standing relations with these people. However, we have never had any mechanism to return the favor and invite our colleagues from abroad to the University of Cincinnati, an amenity that would greatly facilitate these collaborative efforts.

The purpose of the Hans and Marlies Zimmer fund is to provide the capability to invite internationally recognized scholars to the Department to spend time with our faculty and students. In the process, it is felt that common grounds can be found for ongoing collaborations and exchange of ideas and students. Each year the faculty of the Department elects and invites a Zimmer Scholar for an extended visit to the Department. In any given year, these Scholars interact intensely with one or several groups within the Department, and new initiatives are established based upon the strengths of the participating groups. The field of expertise of the Scholar is open to all areas of Chemistry. Consequently, over the years all areas of chemistry are benefiting from these interactions.

The Zimmer Fund is an endowed fund, and supports the Zimmer Scholar In-residence from the interest generated annually from its principal. At the inception of this program, the Department provided the financial support until the Zimmer Fund reached its current, self-sustaining level. As we continue to receive donations to the Zimmer Fund, we are able to continuously grow and expand this program, thus your support is invaluable. We do hope that many of our alumni and friends can support this most worthy effort by making donations to the Zimmer Fund.