Prof. David Bergman

Emeritus in School of Physics and Astronomy
ביה"ס לפיזיקה ואסטרונומיה אמריטוס
Prof. David Bergman
Phone: 03-6408543
Fax: 03-6429306
Office: Shenkar Physics, 311

Research

Prof. David Bergman works mainly on physical properties of composite media or meta-materials. Recently he developed the eigenstates of the full Maxwell equations in such a medium as a basis for expanding the local EM field in that medium which results either from a given incident field or a given charge and current distribution. This has resulted in a very efficient method for computing such a physical field. He has also been studying the macroscopic response of a composite thermoelectric medium when a strong external magnetic field B is applied. In a composite where the micro-structure is periodic this response is strongly dependent upon the direction of B and that of the macroscopic electric and heat currents. There is also an intriguing possibility of finding such a composite where the thermoelectric figure of merit is large enough so that such a material can be useful in technology for the construction of an efficient heat pump or electric power generator. He has also been collaborating with a chemist (Ed Kossower) from our School of Chemistry in trying to understand the infra-red absorption spectrum of some water oligomers which lie upon a thin layer of polyethylene. In particular, surprising resonant dips in that spectrum were discovered by EK in his experiments. Those dips change into peaks when the temperature is raised. These observations have now been explained by these two collaborators.

Education

  • BSc in Physics and Mathematics, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, 1962

  • MSc in Nuclear Physics, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, 1964

  • PhD in Physics - Statistical Mechanics, Weizmann Institute,  1967

  • Post-doctorate in Physics - Superfluid Helium, University of CA in San Diego,  1969

Academic Appointments

  • Lecturer in Physics, Tel Aviv University,  1969

  • Senior Lecturer in Physics, Tel Aviv University,  1972

  • Associate Professor in Physics, Tel Aviv University,  1974

  • Resident Visitor at Bell Labs in Murray Hill, NJ,  1974-1976

  • Professor of Physics, Tel Aviv University,  1981

  • Visiting Professor of Physics at the Ohio State University in Columbus, OH, 1981, 1987, 1999, 2008

  • Visiting Professor of Physics at Michigan State University in East Lansing, MI,  2000

  • Visiting Professor at the Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) in the University of CA in Santa Barbara,  1982, 1984

  • The Joseph and Rebeccah Meyerhoff endowed Chair in Solid State Theory and Thermodynamics,  2003-2010

  • Professor Emeritus of Physics, Tel Aviv University,  2010

Awards and Prizes

  • Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), 1989

  • The Rolf Landauer Medal of the International ETOPIM Society “for research excellence in the field of composite science”,  2012

  • Fellow of the International Electromagnetics Academy, 2002

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