Jennifer Mary Body is a British

aerospace engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

, the former President of the

Royal Aeronautical Society The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest Aeronautics, aeronautical society in the world. Memb ...

Early life and education

Body, whose father was an aerospace engineer, was the only girl in her physics class at high school in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. in 1971 she became an undergraduate

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

apprentice with

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft manufacturer, aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. ...

. She studied at

Imperial College London Imperial College London, also known as Imperial, is a Public university, public research university in London, England. Its history began with Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Prince Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, who envisioned a Al ...

Career

Working in the

avionics Avionics (a portmanteau of ''aviation'' and ''electronics'') are the Electronics, electronic systems used on aircraft. Avionic systems include communications, Air navigation, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the ...

group at

, Body created the software for the

fly-by-wire Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional aircraft flight control system#Hydro-mechanical, manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic sig ...

aircraft. She established the Next Generation Composite Wing Programme, the biggest UK Aerospace programme so far. In 2009 she established the Women in Aviation and Aerospace Committee. In 2002 she was made engineering lead of the Nimrod wing design team. She has been a technical manager for wing assembly. In 2013 Body became the first woman to be President of the

since its creation in 1866. During her time as President, she focussed on the development of women's technical skills, trying to inspire and motivate young people to consider careers in aerospace engineering. In 2014 she announced a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the International Aviation Women Association and the

to recruit and up-skill women within the aviation industry. She regularly represents the society to this day, awarding prizes and giving interviews to the press. She spoke about the lack of skills in the aerospace industry on BBC Radio Norfolk. On 16 July 2016, the

University of the West of England The University of the West of England (also known as UWE Bristol) is a Public university, public research university, located in and around Bristol, England, UK. With more than 39,912 students and 4,300 staff, it is the largest provider of hi ...

awarded her an honorary doctorate. She is on the Advisory Board of the Centre for Employment Studies Research. Body is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. In 2013 she became a Fellow of

City and Guilds of London Institute The City and Guilds of London Institute is an educational organisation in the United Kingdom. Founded on 11 November 1878 by the City of London and 16 livery companies to develop a national system of technical education, the institute has be ...

. She was awarded an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 2010 for services to engineering. In 2010 she retired from

Airbus Airbus SE ( ; ; ; ) is a Pan-European aerospace corporation. The company's primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate Airbus Defence and Space, defence and space and Airbus Helicopters, he ...

, where she was the most senior female engineer. She was a member of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

Diversity Committee between 2015 and 2017. She works on the Diversity Strategy of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

. She is a chair of the

Education and Skills Committee. She is part of the

British Computer Society image:Maurice Vincent Wilkes 1980 (3).jpg, Sir Maurice Wilkes served as the first President of BCS in 1957. The British Computer Society (BCS), branded BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, since 2009, is a professional body and a learned ...

Women in STEM network. She is an ambassador of Aerospace Bristol. Already,

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE), Body was appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2020 New Year Honours The 2020 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebratio ...

for services to aerospace engineering.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Body, Jenny English aerospace engineers British women engineers Aeronautical engineers Alumni of Imperial College London Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Engineers from Bristol Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century British women engineers 21st-century British engineers