Science Center to be named Zimmer Hall

Harvard University announced on Friday that the Science Center on Oxford Street will be renamed Zimmer Hall, in recognition of a 2018 gift of $100 million from the Zimmer Family Foundation. 

Alan Zimmer, the late father of Stuart Zimmer ’91, was an American neuroradiologist whose work helped pioneer the research and use of computer axial tomography (CAT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the United States. Stuart and Jennifer Zimmer have also provided support to enhance kosher dining for Harvard students.

“We are profoundly grateful to Stuart and Jennifer Zimmer for their remarkable generosity and delighted they have chosen to honor Alan Zimmer’s legacy,” said President Alan Garber. “They have strengthened Harvard’s ability to advance deeper scientific understanding and innovative scholarship, and they have been instrumental in helping us implement the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli bias to support our vibrant Jewish community at Harvard. The impact of their generosity will be felt today and long into the future by students and scholars whose work will help address some of the world’s most complex and urgent challenges.” 

The Zimmer family’s support will enable enhancements to kosher dining on campus, including increasing menu variety and making kosher dining available at Eliot House after the renewal project there is complete. Harvard expanded options for kosher dining at Harvard Hillel, the Quad, and Annenberg in 2024.

“The Zimmer family is honored to support Harvard through this gift that reflects what we hold most dear: a commitment to knowledge and a commitment to community,” said Stuart Zimmer. “In renaming the Science Center to Zimmer Hall, we hope to inspire generations of students to pursue discovery with curiosity and rigor. And in establishing kosher dining at Eliot House, we hope to ensure that every Jewish student feels genuinely welcomed and at home on campus; that this place becomes a hub of tradition, belonging, and pride for years to come.” 

A central hub for undergraduate science and mathematics, the newly named Zimmer Hall has undergone a series of upgrades since 2018, including a full renovation of four teaching labs that support courses in physics, chemistry, and life sciences, as well as a transformation of the lobby and two lecture halls.

“This gift has and will continue to have a significant impact on the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, allowing critical support for state-of-the-art teaching in science and math that enables our students to learn, experiment, and discover in a world-class facility as well as providing an important investment in student life and community,” said Hopi Hoekstra, Edgerley Family Dean of the FAS.

The Science Center was designed by Josep Lluis Sert, then-dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and built in 1972. It houses the History of Science, Mathematics, and Statistics Departments, as well as the Cabot Science Library and Pritzker Commons, a hub for student study and collaboration.

Born in New York City in 1929, Alan Zimmer earned his MD from the University of Geneva Faculty of Medicine in 1956 and completed neuroradiology fellowships at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness, and the Cleveland Clinic.

He built a distinguished career at institutions such as Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yale University, and Temple University, culminating in his role as associate professor of radiology and chief of neuroradiology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey which he held until his death in 1993.

His research in duplex neurovascular imaging and MR angiography earned recognition from the American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, and Bausch & Lomb. He served as president of the Montefiore Hospital Radiology Association and held membership in the New Jersey Radiological Society and the New Jersey Medical Society.