Mike is an expert in polymer innovation and polymer processing, semiconductor packaging and electronic and optical materials. Dr. Zimmerman spent 14 years at Bell Labs, and rose to the highest technical level (top 1% of technical community). He subsequently started his own company (QLP, Inc.) by inventing a new liquid crystal polymer technology and developed products in the area of semiconductor packages, new printed circuit board materials, and revolutionary materials for replacing metals in automobiles.
He has been teaching at Tufts for over 20 years, in the areas of materials science, manufacturing and finite element analysis and has developed new classes in the areas of polymer science and composite materials. Dr. Zimmerman received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, in 1988 with joint research at Cavendish Labs/Cambridge University, Cambridge, England. He received his S.M. in mechanical engineering from the Fibers and Polymers Division of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, in 1981. His B.S. in mechanical engineering was granted by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in Troy, NY.
Mike’s latest creation is Ionic Materials, which he founded to bring to scale a highly promising new solid polymer battery. Many believe that batteries will do to gasoline-engine systems what those gas engines once did to horses, and Ionic’s innovation may be a key part of that solution.
