Harvard Forestry Professor Dies of Cancer at Age 57

Martin H. Zimmermann, Bullard Professor of Forestry at Harvard, died of cancer Wednesday at the age of 57 in Stillman Infirmary.

According to botanists, Zimmermann was among the top plant physiologists in the world.

Professor of Biology Robert M. Woollacott said yesterday, "Zimmermann was one of the leaders of his generation in botany and a great teacher of several generations of Harvard students."

"Zimmermann was very concerned for his students and went out of his way for them." Professor of Botany P.B. Tomlinson said, adding that "he will be very much missed by both faculty and students."

Kathleen R. Walter '86, who worked with Zimmermann at Harvard Forest this past summer said. "He was an amazing person, always into a million things at once. But he would always take the time to explain things to his students."

Swiss-born Zimmermann conducted research on trees of the temperate forest and on marine algae in places as varied as Antarctica and the coast of Gloucester, Mass.

Talented

In his spare time Zimmermann built harpsichords, crafted stained glass windows and played the flute. "He was a truly talented man," Woollacott said.

Zimmermann received his Ph. D. from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 1953 and continued there as an assistant in plant physiology. He came to Harvard as a lecturer and received tenure here in 1960.

He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the International Academy of Wood Sciences, and a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences and the Botanical Society of America.

Zimmermann is survived by his wife, Elvira, and two daughters, Regula D. Zimmermann, a geologist in Houston, and Barbara H. Zimmermann, a graduate student at the University of Michigan.