Who is Palmer Kirby from The Winds of War and what is their importance?

Palmer Kirby is a scientist working with the United States Government. Over the course of the novel, Victor learns that Palmer is looking for a way to make a uranium bomb work on a real level rather than just as a theory. He is smitten with Rhoda (Victor's wife), and they soon begin an affair. Kirby notes that it bothers him to carry on with her while her husband is serving abroad.