Jennifer Boykin is an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, the first woman

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Newport News Shipbuilding Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, is the sole designer, builder, and refueler of aircraft carriers and one of two providers of submarines for the United States Navy. Founded as the Chesapeake Dry Dock ...

, and the

vice president A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

Huntington Ingalls Industries Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII) is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States as well as a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. HII, ranked No. 375 on the Fortune 500, was formed ...

, which is located in

Newport News Newport News () is an independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 186,247. Located in the Hampton Roads region, it is the fifth-most populous city in Virginia and 140th-most populous city i ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Biography

Early life

Boykin's father's parents are both from

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. She was born in California and grew up in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Jennifer was a tomboy and was the first girl to play baseball with the boys in her division.

Education

She received her

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in

Marine Engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circ ...

from the

United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipman, midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serv ...

Kings Point, New York Kings Point is a village located on the Great Neck Peninsula in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County, on the North Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 5,619 at the time of the 2020 census. History T ...

. She earned her

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

degree in

Engineering Management Engineering management is the application of engineering methods, tools, and techniques to business management systems. Engineering management is a career that brings together the technological problem-solving ability of engineering and the organi ...

from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Career

Boykin first worked as an engineer in the

nuclear engineering Nuclear engineering is the engineering discipline concerned with designing and applying systems that utilize the energy released by nuclear processes. The most prominent application of nuclear engineering is the generation of electricity. Worldwide ...

division at

before moving through the ranks and eventually becoming president of the company. She is the first woman president of Newport News Shipbuilding, the first in over 133 years of operation. She runs the largest shipbuilding operations in the United States, including the only one that builds nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of two that makes nuclear-powered submarines. The shipyard is currently working on ''Gerald R. Ford''-class aircraft carriers. The shipyard employs over 22,000 personnel.

Family life

She has been married to Blake Boykin for more than 30 years, and has one daughter that also works at Newport News Shipbuilding.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boykin, Jennifer United States Merchant Marine Academy alumni George Washington University alumni 21st-century American women engineers 21st-century American engineers Living people Year of birth missing (living people)