Lewis Zimmerman Doctor Lewis Zimmerman was a noted 24th century Human scientist and holo - engineer , responsible for the creation and development of the Emergency Medical Hologram , or " EMH " and considered to be the father of modern holography . He was also the model for the image of the EMH Mark I , a fact that he found to be a great source of embarrassment when wide scale use of the Mark I was discontinued and the holograms later re utilized to perform menial tasks . Biography . He was born in Grover ' s Mill , New Jersey on Earth to Gregory Zimmerman and Sandra Fritz in the year 2320 . He graduated from Starfleet Academy in 2342 . He was assigned to the Holo - Programming Center at Jupiter Station in 2361 and by 2373 , Dr . Zimmerman was Director of Holographic Imaging and Programming at Jupiter Station . Long - Term Medical Hologram research . In an attempt to further the capabilities of the EMH , Zimmerman sought to create a new Long - term Medical Holographic program , and selected Julian Bashir as the template . Zimmerman traveled to Deep Space 9 to begin his work . He interviewed many residents of the station , to get a complete picture of Bashir . In Quark ' s , Bashir asked Zimmerman to not invite his parents to the station . Zimmerman did the opposite and asked Richard and Amsha Bashir to come to the station immediately . Zimmerman later stumbled across the fact that Bashir had been genetically engineered as a child , and had to withdraw Bashir from consideration as a suitable template . Zimmerman dated Leeta for a short time and asked her to work in the bar on Jupiter Station . They were on their way to a transport when Rom appeared and told Leeta he loved her . Zimmerman was initially disappointed until he met a female passenger . He asked her if she was familiar with the Earth text , the " Kama Sutra " . ( ) " Father / son " reunion . Dr . Zimmerman lived and worked at Jupiter Station constantly , and rarely left . His only companions were holographic figures , including a fly named Roy , an iguana called Leonard , and his personal assistant ( who was the first sentient hologram Zimmerman programmed ) . He was especially close to Haley and considered her more than a hologram . In 2376 , Dr . Zimmerman was terminally ill and only expected to live a few more months . In preparation , he began dictating his last will and testament , leaving his entire collection of holographic art , including the 21st century masterpiece " Woman in Four Dimensions " , to Reginald Barclay , as well as his holographic research about miniature holograms for espionage purposes , on the grounds that Barclay was the only person who appreciated them . In an attempt to find a cure , Barclay contacted the via the Pathfinder Project . " Voyager " carried a Mark I EMH , The Doctor , whose unique knowledge and abilities Barclay hoped would help . Analyzing Zimmerman ' s medical records , The Doctor noted some similarities between Zimmerman ' s condition and the Vidiian Phage , which he had been partially able to treat in the past and which gave him hope that he could do the same to Zimmerman . Reasoning that other doctors would not be experienced with the treatments , The Doctor requested that he be sent to the Alpha Quadrant to administer the treatment himself . Zimmerman initially refused to be treated by The Doctor , whom he saw as inferior to the later Mark III and Mark IV EMHs , reprogramming The Doctor ' s equipment and transferring him to other parts of the station , forcing The Doctor to reconfigure his appearance to a Tarlac masseuse to even try and get close to Zimmerman to examine him . Lieutenant Barclay recruited Counselor Deanna Troi to mediate between the EMH and Dr . Zimmerman and try to resolve their differences , Troi reflecting that part of Zimmerman ' s problem was his anger over the final fate of the Mark Is given how much he had personally invested in them . The situation became so frustrating that Barclay , Troi , and Hayley created a fake glitch in The Doctor ' s program to encourage the two to work together , Zimmerman being forced to acknowledge that The Doctor was more than a Mark I when he was informed that " Voyager " wouldn ' t accept a Mark IV EMH in The Doctor ' s place as they would simply want their friend back , as he had believed that a Mark I was incapable of making that kind of impact on others . Beginning his work on The Doctor , Zimmerman initially contemplated making various additions to the EMH ' s programming , but when The Doctor protested at Zimmerman ' s inability to accept him as he was , Zimmerman ' s anger and frustration at what had happened to the Mark Is came to the fore , ranting about the negative reaction of Starfleet to the other Mark I EMHs and his own grief at the garbage cleaners they had become . As Zimmerman sank into a chair in depression , The Doctor offered an awkward moment of comfort to him , reminding Zimmerman that " he " was still doing the job he was designed for and was actually rather good at it . This encounter marked the first steps in their near - father / son relationship , with The Doctor confessing that he ' d hoped Zimmerman would be proud of his achievements if the two of them ever met , and Zimmerman admitting that , for all his anger about the fate of the other Mark Is , he was grateful that at least one of them was still doing what Zimmerman had designed them for . Before The Doctor departed , Zimmerman slightly grudgingly posed for a photograph with his " son " , and said that The Doctor could drop them a communication the next time his ship got the chance to do so . ( ) The holonovel " Photons Be Free " was written with acknowledgment made to Dr . Zimmerman . During the subsequent court case to defend The Doctor ' s rights as a person , Barclay noted that The Doctor ' s attempt to save Zimmerman was reminiscent of a son seeking the father ' s approval . ( ) Appendices . Background information . Lewis Zimmerman was played by actor Robert Picardo . In the pre - production of , " Doc Zimmerman " was intended to be the name of The Doctor . An early , British ad promoting the series still referred to him by this name , as well as the " TV Guide " article promoting the new series . He was named for Herman Zimmerman , a production designer for TNG , DS9 , and the four TNG movies . " Zimmerman ' s first name was spelled " Louis " in the script for , though the spelling " Lewis " was seen on - screen in . Ronald D . Moore commented on Zimmerman ' s lack of rank insignia in " Doctor Bashir , I Presume " , despite wearing a Starfleet uniform : " " This is a mistake , but an understandable one . Dr . Zimmerman ' s appearance was guided by his appearance on the " Voyager " episode in which he was recreated on the holodeck . In that episode , he didn ' t wear a rank insignia either , and our costumers simply followed that choice in doing our episode . Why he didn ' t have one on " Voyager " is a good question . " " Apocrypha . His mirror universe counterpart is depicted as a scientist working for the Klingon - Cardassian Alliance to develop a telepath in the novella " The Mirror - Scaled Serpent " . The Ocampa Kes , who had become trapped in the Alpha Quadrant after a brief encounter with the , was sent to him to be experimented upon .