About Dr. Berry
“…Never let anyone diminish your value, or extinguish your dream…”
Dr. K. J. Berry: The Beginning…
Kingsley Joel Berry was born September 20, 1955 at 5:15 AM in Bessemer, Alabama. As the first child to parents Joe Berry Jr. (Born June 9, 1935) and Emma Jean Brewster Berry (Born December 25, 1935) married February 27, 1955, Kingsley was the first grandchild to Sadie Thomas Brewster (Born December 31, 1919) and Walter Clyde Brewster (Born June 24, 1910).
Emma Jean and Joe Berry Jr. on their wedding day, with Joe’s brother Benny Berry.
Joe Berry Jr. served in the US Air Force 1956-1962. He was stationed in Dover Delaware and also served in Tokyo Japan.
Entrepreneur, Educator, and Engineer
Dr. K. Joel Berry, P.E., is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of KINGSBERRY FUEL CELL POWER INC.. He is recognized internationally as an ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Technical Fellow, has been Professor of Mechanical Engineering since 1987 at Kettering University, and served as Head of Mechanical Engineering from 1994-2012. He is also a registered Professional Engineer (PE) with the State of Michigan.
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 received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering in 1986 from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) with a minor in Artificial Intelligence. He received 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.
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 analyzing nuclear power plant structural and thermal components, and developing advanced predictive nuclear equipment maintenance software employing expert systems databases.
Celebrating 39 Years of Teaching and Research
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 associate 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 was very successful in recruiting industrial partners and developing state-of-the-art laboratories. This success resulted in the development of premier laboratories for research and teaching and contributed to the recruitment of top faculty researchers and the expansion of Kettering University’s activities for industrial consulting and applied product development.
The video here captures a few moments from Dr. Berry’s celebration ceremony honoring his 39 years of work for Kettering University.
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 performing non-linear heat transfer and structural deformation analysis for nuclear power plant components.
Leadership and Vision
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. His professional expertise includes:
Fuel cell systems design & engineering,
Fuel cell systems controls, network communications, & data acquisition,
Mechanical Engineering design & simulation of inter-disciplinary systems,
Computational heat transfer and fluid dynamics,
Finite element analysis, and,
Advanced engineering software development.
Dr. Berry spearheaded, conceived, and raised over $10 million in funding for the Center for Fuel Cell Systems Integration Research and business incubator infrastructure initiatives. The Center was supported by grants from USA 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.
Dr. Berry was acknowledged as “Flint’s Fuel Cell Father” by the Flint Journal for his relentless pursuit of excellence and for his tireless effort to ensure that Flint, as the birthplace of the automobile, would not be absent when the future of the automotive transport is re-written.(https://www.mlive.com/news/flint/2010/05/michigan_honors_flints_fuel_ce.html ).
Recognizing the lack of an infrastructure for the storage and distribution of hydrogen as a “fuel,” as required for traditional fuel cells, as being a major barrier to global fuel cell commercialization, Dr. Berry’s vision was a more robust fuel cell power plant system to leverage the existing global logistic fuel infrastructure such as abundant and inexpensive natural gas. The result being the GEI X5 as a novel and revolutionary hybrid electric power generation systems architecture for the integration of natural gas, fuel cells, wind, energy storage, and solar electric power.
A Second Dr. Berry Emerges
Dr. Berry’s third daughter, Kimberly Berry, recently completed her dissertation as part of a neuroscience Ph.D. program at the University of Pittsburgh. She is now officially Dr. Kimberly J. Berry. The two Dr. Berry’s are shown here, at the conclusion of Dr. Kimberly Berry’s thesis defense in March 2023.
Her defense presentation is included below.
Remembering Our Beloved Mother, Grandmother, and Great-Grandmother
June Johnson, Dr. Berry’s mother-in-law, passed away on July 25, 2023. She was blessed to live 104 years, with a life that was full of love and family.
Three video tributes are shown below, in her memory. In these videos, we can see June as she celebrated her 99th birthday with friends and family in Flint, MI. When June turned 100, she was profiled by the Valley Area Agency on Aging, which often honors people once they reach Centurian status. June’s friends and family gathered in Pennsylvania on August 26, 2023, to hold a memorial service in her honor.
Read more about June’s amazing life here.
Celebrating June’s 99th Birthday
Memorial Service for June
June Becomes a Centurian!