Roger Carr

Roger Carr is a physicist, artist, and community leader currently based in Berkeley, California.

Scientific Career

Carr grew up near Eugene, Oregon, attended Reed College for math and physics, and earned a PhD in physics from UC Berkeley.

Research Focus: Carr spent most of his scientific career as an experimental physicist working at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC) / Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL). His important contributions include circularly polarized x-ray sources and free-electron lasers.

Sabbaticals: He took sabbaticals in Paris, Lausanne, and Grenoble.

Art and Community Engagement

After retiring, Carr transitioned his focus to the arts and civic engagement.

Visual Artist: He is an accomplished visual artist whose works have been displayed at venues like The Chabot Space and Science Center, The Exploratorium, and the Burning Man festival, which he has attended since 1996 with installations in multiple years.

Maker Space: Carr co-founded a large maker space in West Berkeley with his late wife, Jana Olson, who passed away in 2024. He continues to manage the space today, which hosts a wide-ranging community of craftspeople, students, artists, and technology makers.

Philanthropy

Carr continues his work on civic engagement, with a focus on long-term philanthropic initiatives, including:

Founder and President of the Berkeley 100 Foundation.

Founding member, and serves on the Board of Directors for the Berkeley Historic Building Fund.