While in high school, George Earl Barr was recruited to UW-Madison as a Ford Scholar. He graduated in 1958 at age 20. Dr. Barr earned his PhD in 1965, while Arvid Lonseth was department head. His advisor, Fritz Oberhetting, oversaw his thesis “On the Diffraction of a Cylindrical Pulse by a Half Plane”. The majority of Dr. Barr’s career was at the Sandia Lab in Albuquerque, NM where upon his retirement, Dr. Barr was named a scientist emeritus, and continued consulting.

Dr. Barr credited his career success to the support and encouragement of his OSU professors. As part of his estate, Dr. Barr included the OSU Math Department. The donation establishes the George Earl Barr Endowed Professorship in Mathematics. The Professorship will serve to meet Dr. Barr’s wishes and recognize the impact that Oregon State had on his life.