The W. J. Carr Lecture Series on Superconductivity and Advanced Materials was established by Dr. James L. Carr ‘ 89, in honor of his father, 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 until he fell ill at the age of 89. Dr. Carr had over 100 scientific papers, two books and a dozen patents to his credit in the fields of ferromagnetism and superconductivity. His final paper was published just three years before his death in 2010.

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 Quantum Materials Center.

Carr Lecturers

2024-25 Dmitri Basov, Columbia University

2023-24 Jochen Mannhart, Max Planck Institute/Stuttgart

2022-23 Dale Van Harlingen, University of Illinois

2018-19 Gregory S. Boebinger, Florida Statue University & National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

2017-18 Robert Schoelkopf, Yale University 

2016-17 Stuart Parkin, Max Planck Institute, Halle, Germany

2015-16 Arthur Hebard, University of Florida

2014-15 Carlo Beenakker, Leiden University

2013-14  Laura Greene, University of Illinois

2012-13  Michael Devoret, Yale University

2011-12  Mac Beasley, Stanford University

2010-11  Douglas Scalapino, University of California at Santa Barbara

2009-10  Paul Ching-Wu Chu, University of Houston

2008-09  John Clarke, University of California at Berkeley