Stephen Barr, Physicist
Visiting King’s January 23 to 27, 2012

Stephen M. Barr is a theoretical particle physicist. He received his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1978 and went on to do postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania. After holding research faculty positions at the University of Washington and Brookhaven National Laboratory he joined the faculty of the University of Delaware in 1987, where he is Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and a member of its Bartol Research Institute.

His physics research centers mainly on “grand unified theories” and the cosmology of the early universe. He has written 140 research papers, as well as the article on Grand Unification for the Encyclopedia of Physics. He writes and lectures extensively on the relation of science and religion.

Many of his articles and reviews have appeared in First Things, on whose editorial advisory board he serves. He has also written for The Public Interest, The Weekly Standard, National Review, Modern Age, Academic Questions, and other national publications. He is the author of Modern Physics and Ancient Faith (Univ. of Notre Dame Press, 2003) and A Student’s Guide to Natural Science (Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2006). He has served on the board of The Fellowship of Catholic Scholars and was elected in 2010 to the Academy of Catholic Theology. He is a founding member of the St. Albert Institute for Catholic Thought. He and his wife Kathleen have five children and live in Newark, Delaware.