Mr. Berman has been an amateur astronomer and a telescope / observatory enthusiast for more than 30 years.  At McDonald Observatory he recently led the very first visual observation of 2003 UB313 / Eris (a ridiculously dim 19.2 magnitude object that was briefly named our 10th planet until it was ultimately demoted to "dwarf-planet" status along with Pluto).

Mr. Berman's longtime ambition is to visit every notable observatory extant, both in America and abroad. His current pace is about an observatory a month with recent visits to Palomar, Chabot, Lick, Yerkes, and USNO plus a dozen less well known university and private observatories.  To document his journeys (and to pretend that his "efforts" constitute "work"!), Mr. Berman is writing a book titled "ScopeSeeing" as well as a like-named companion website.

Professionally, Mr. Berman is a computer scientist with more than 25 years of professional experience. He has led two technology consulting firms and served as the Chief Technology Officer for three different companies, most recently at NPI Traders (a private hedge fund where he is also a founding partner). As the founding CTO of GiftCerticiates.com he spearheaded and managed explosive technological growth as the company raised its first $140M in venture / debt capital and earned its first $130M in revenue. His professional resume may be viewed online here.

Mr. Berman lives in Wynnewood, PA (right outside of Philadelphia on the "Main Line") with his lovely and talented wife, the oft-applauded set and costume designer Marie Anne Chiment.