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Stephen Matthew Barr (born November 28, 1953) is an American physicist who is a professor emeritus of physics at the
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...
.
A member of its Bartol Research Institute, Barr does research in theoretical particle physics and cosmology. In 2011, he was elected Fellow of the
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society (APS) is a not-for-profit membership organization of professionals in physics and related disciplines, comprising nearly fifty divisions, sections, and other units. Its mission is the advancement and diffusion of ...
, the citation reading "for original contributions to grand unified theories, CP violation, and
baryogenesis."
Career
His notable work includes co-discovering the much studied
flipped SU(5) scheme of unification, identifying the Barr–Zee diagram as an important source of electric
dipole
In physics, a dipole () is an electromagnetic phenomenon which occurs in two ways:
* An electric dipole moment, electric dipole deals with the separation of the positive and negative electric charges found in any electromagnetic system. A simple ...
moment for
basic particles such as the electron and neutron in many theories, and proposing the so-called Nelson–Barr mechanism as a solution to the
strong CP problem. He is the author of the article on "Grand Unified Theories" for the ''Encyclopedia of Physics''.
Barr received his PhD in theoretical particle physics from Princeton University in 1978. Princeton awarded him the Charlotte Elizabeth Proctor Fellowship "for distinguished research." He went on to do research at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
as a post-doctoral fellow (1978–80), the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
as a research assistant professor (1980–85), and
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) is a United States Department of Energy national laboratories, United States Department of Energy national laboratory located in Upton, New York, a hamlet of the Brookhaven, New York, Town of Brookhaven. It w ...
as an associate scientist (1985–87), before joining the faculty of the University of Delaware in 1987. He was elected director of the
Bartol Research Institute of the University of Delaware in 2011.
Barr, a practicing Catholic, writes and lectures frequently on the relation of
science and religion. From 2000 to 2017 he served on the Editorial Advisory Board or Advisory Council of the ecumenical religious intellectual journal ''
First Things'', in which many of his articles and book reviews have appeared since 1995. His writing has also appeared in ''
Commonweal'', ''
National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...
'', ''
Modern Age'', ''
The Public Interest'', ''
America
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
'', ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...
'', and other publications. In 2002 he gave the Erasmus Lecture, sponsored by the Institute on Religion and Public Life. In 2007 he was awarded the
Benemerenti Medal by
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
. In 2010 he was elected a member of the Academy of Catholic Theology. He is also president of the
Society of Catholic Scientists.
Personal life
He is married to Kathleen Whitney Barr. They have five children.
Barr is the younger brother of
William Barr
William Pelham Barr (born May 23, 1950) is an American attorney who served as United States Attorney General, United States attorney general in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1991 to 1993 and again in the first adminis ...
, the 77th and 85th Attorney General of the United States, and the son of
Donald Barr, an educator who served as headmaster of
Dalton School
The Dalton School, originally the Children's University School, is a private, coeducational college preparatory school in New York City and a member of both the Ivy Preparatory School League and the New York Interschool. The school is located in ...
and
Hackley School. He graduated from
Columbia College in 1974.
Publications
*
* Stephen M. Barr, (2006) Modern Physics and Ancient Faith. University of Notre Dame Press. .
* Stephen M. Barr, (2006) A Student's Guide to Natural Science. ISI Press.
* Stephen M. Barr, (2011) Science and Religion: The Myth of Conflict (Explanations). Catholic Truth Society.
* Stephen M. Barr, (2016) The Believing Scientist: Essays on Science and Religion.
Descriptionarrow/scrollable preview Eerdmans.
Articles
Stephen M. Barr, (2023) ''Contrary to Popular Belief: The Catholic Church Has No Quarrel With Evolution and Never Condemned It.''
See also
*
List of science and religion scholars
References
External links
*
*
University of Delaware faculty page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barr, Stephen
21st-century American physicists
University of Delaware faculty
American particle physicists
Princeton University alumni
University of Pennsylvania faculty
University of Washington faculty
Living people
1953 births
21st-century American male writers
21st-century American non-fiction writers
21st-century Roman Catholics
Writers about religion and science
American people of Jewish descent
American Roman Catholic writers
Recipients of the Benemerenti medal
Columbia College (New York) alumni
Fellows of the American Physical Society