Dr. Berry is currently Professor and Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Kettering University, formerly GMI Engineering & Management Institute. Dr. Berry received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1986 from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) with a minor in Artificial Intelligence, his M.S. in Engineering Mechanics from Michigan State University (MSU) in 1981, and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from General Motors Institute (GMI) in 1979.
While attending GMI (1973-1979) Dr. Berry worked as a co-op Durability & Test Engineer for Detroit Diesel. Upon graduation and during his MSU graduate school studies, Dr. Berry worked in advanced product research to advance the state-of-the-art for diesel engine development and performance. In 1981 Dr. Berry enrolled in Carnegie Mellon University as a Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering and was employed as a research engineer in Analytical Mechanics for Westinghouse Research developing software for non-linear structural deformations.
Upon receiving a Ph.D. from CMU in 1986 in Mechanical Engineering and a minor in Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Berry was employed by Westinghouse Energy Systems developing advanced predictive nuclear equipment maintenance software employing expert systems databases.
In 1987 Dr. Berry accepted a position as an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at GMI (renamed Kettering University in 1998). Dr. Berry was promoted to Associated Professor in 1990 and to Professor in 1994. He was also promoted to Head of Mechanical Engineering in 1994. While Head of Mechanical Engineering, Dr. Berry has been very successful in recruiting industrial partners and developing state of the art laboratories. This success resulted in the development of premiere laboratories for research and teaching and contributed to the recruitment of top faculty researchers and expansion of Kettering University’s activities for industrial consulting and applied product development.
Dr. Berry was appointed to the Eugene W. Kettering Chair of Power Engineering in 2002 for his leadership in developing state-of-the-art engineering laboratories, for his vision and foresight, and for developing one of the largest and strongest undergraduate mechanical engineering programs in the nation. Dr. Berry is currently spearheading the development of Kettering’s Center for Fuel Cell Systems & Powertrain Integration (http://fuelcells.kettering.edu). The Center is supported by grants from federal and state governments, industry, and private foundations. Completed in 2005, the advanced research facility serves a broad based mission that includes education and public awareness, fuel cell systems integration and hybrid controls research, combined with a regional focus of economic development and commercialization.
In 2005 Dr. Berry received the Automation Alley Emerging Leader Award for his visionary efforts to position Flint and Michigan as a national leader for innovation in fuel cell research and for helping to spur economic development opportunities for mid-Michigan.
Dr. Berry has received advanced academic leadership and administrative training through the Harvard University Institutes for Higher Education, and is a registered professional engineer with the State of Michigan. His professional expertise includes fuel cell systems engineering, design simulation of inter-disciplinary systems, computational fluid dynamics, and advanced engineering software development.
Kettering University is one of the nations largest institutions of engineering education, with a history of graduating the best and brightest engineering talent for over 80 years. U.S. NEWS WORLD REPORT, in its 2007 annual THE BEST COLLEGES ISSUE (Sept 2006) ranked Kettering in the top 10 colleges overall nationwide in the Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs category. For the seventh year in a row, the engineering and management institute ranked No. 1 in the U.S. for Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering and Mechanical Engineering moved up the ranks to No. 3. Kettering University enrolls 1350 Mechanical Engineering students and graduates more undergraduate Mechanical Engineering students than any other program nationally.
