David Berry

   Associate Professor of Physics

   Department of Physics

   University of Évora   

   Colégio Luis Verney   

   7002-554 Évora     

   Portugal

   Tel               +351-266-745300

   Fax               +351-266-702306

   Email           dberry@uevora.pt

   Web site      http://evunix.uevora.pt/~dberry/

Short Biography

David Berry obtained his Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics at the University of Bath, UK in 1985 and his doctorate at the Open University, UK  in 1990. After a two year period as a lecturer at the Faculty of Technology at the Open University, he moved to the Department of Physics at the University of Évora in 1992.

Professional Appointments:

Associate Professor, 2000-present, Auxiliary Professor, 1996-1999, Invited Auxiliary Professor, 1992-1996,  Department of Physics, University of Évora, Évora, Portugal. Lecturer, 1990-1991, Research Assistant, 1986-1989, Faculty of Technology, Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.  Marine Geophysicist, 1985-1986, Hunting Surveys and Consultants Ltd, Borehamwood, UK.

Currently on sabbatical leave during the academic year 2008-09 at  Wolfson College, University of Cambridge.

Research Interests

David Berry is interested in a wide range of areas of physics, from the basic theory of wave propagation and scattering to the dynamics of fluid flow in large-scale astrophysical systems. These interests have led him to study such problems as the relativistic flow of particles from pulsars, the pulsar-supernova remnant interaction, the flow of gas and plasmas in the Milky Way and  the dynamical flow of the atmosphere of Venus.

More recently, his research has focussed on the dynamics of certain chaotic processes in the human body.  In particular, he has been focussing on why congenital or acquired lesions of the human nervous system lead to unpredictable and possibly chaotic movements such as oscillatory or paroxysmal behaviour (e.g., tremor, nystagmus, and epilepsy). Clinically, these chaotic movements have been remarkably refractory to clinical intervention and impose a proportionately heavy burden on clinical and social/educational resources. There is no evidence to indicate that the normal adaptive processes of the brain are compromised, so the persistence of such excitatory behaviour is a mystery. The objective of the research is to determine why these movements are not suppressed by the plasticity of the nervous system and to have a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that lead to these disorders.

Some Recent Publications

● An automated method for tracking clouds in planetary atmospheres, D. Luz, D.L. Berry, M. Roos-Serote. New Astronomy, 2007.

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● A Distal Model of Congenital Nystagmus as Nonlinear Adaptive Oscillations. C.M. Harris, & D.L. Berry. Nonlinear Dynamics, 44(1-4), Springer Netherlands, 2006.

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● A● Developmental Model of Infantile Nystagmus. C.M. Harris, & D.L. Berry. Semin Ophthalmol. 21(2):63-9, 2006.

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