The W. J. Carr Lecture Series on Superconductivity and Advanced Materials was established by Dr. James L. Carr ‘ 89, in honor of his father and respected scientist, Walter J. Carr. Walter Carr joined the magnetism group at the Westinghouse research labs in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1942. His first assignment was working on naval magnetism problems as part of the war effort. He worked at the Westinghouse research labs for his entire career except for a sabbatical assignment to Harwell in the United Kingdom. In 1985, he officially retired as an industrial research physicist, but continued working as a consultant up until last year when he fell ill at the age of 89. Dr. Carr has over 100 scientific papers, two books and a dozen patents to his credit in the fields of ferromagnetism and superconductivity. His most recent paper was published in 2007. Now in ill health, he hopes to complete a book on the history of electromagnetic theory and Maxwell's equations at the age of 90. The annual series supports a distinguished guest lecturer at the University of Maryland. It aims to contribute to the advancement of students in the UMD physics program and the Center for Nanophysics and Advanced Materials.

Past Carr Lectures