Michael Berry

Biography

Graduated from the University of Exeter and St Andrews, where he received his PhD. Spent his entire career at the University of Bristol. Awarded the Lorentz Medal, Max Planck Medal, and Wolf Prize. Knight bachelor since 1996. Known for elegant explanations of complex physical phenomena (e.g., rainbows and rogue waves).

Key discoveries

• Berry phase: an additional phase factor acquired by the wave function under cyclic parameter variation, depending on path geometry, not time.
• Connection of the Berry phase with the Aharonov–Bohm effect and with light polarization in optical fibers.
• Application of geometric phases to understand the nature of 'rogue waves' and caustics.