Air vice-marshal Air vice-marshal (Air Vce Mshl or AVM) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometime ...

John "JE" Ernsting (21 April 1928 – 2 June 2009) was a senior

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) commander and renowned medical researcher.

Early life

Ernsting was born in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

, London on 21 April 1928, and educated at

Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School is a mixed sex education#UK, mixed-sex grammar school with Academy (English school), academy status located in Hurst Road (A222 road, A222), Sidcup in the London Borough of Bexley, England. It is located a ...

for Boys. From

Guy's Hospital Guy's Hospital is an NHS hospital founded by philanthropist Thomas Guy in 1721, located in the borough of Southwark in central London. It is part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and one of the institutions that comprise the Kin ...

, he qualified in

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

in 1949 and in medicine in 1952.

Military career

In 1954, Ernsting was commissioned into the RAF Medical Branch, where he spent his entire military service. While working in the Altitude Division of the

RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine The Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine was a Royal Air Force aviation medicine research unit active between 1945 and 1994. Early days The RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine (IAM) was opened on 30 April 1945 by the Princess Royal. ...

, he worked on Partial-pressure suit assemblies. He was head of this division for twenty years from 1957 to 1977. However, the RAF never issued a partial-pressure suit, preferring instead to use anti-g trousers in conjunction with pressure jerkins. He was the aeromedical project officer for the development of the United Kingdom's versions of the

Phantom Phantom, phantoms, or the phantom may refer to: * Spirit (metaphysics), the vital principle or animating force within all living things ** Ghost, the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear to the living Aircraft * Boeing Phanto ...

F-111 The General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark is a retired supersonic, medium-range, multirole combat aircraft. Production models of the F-111 had roles that included attack (e.g. interdiction), strategic bombing (including nuclear weapons capabilit ...

, and

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

. He later became chairman of the aeromedical and

life support system A life-support system is the combination of equipment that allows survival in an environment or situation that would not support that life in its absence. It is generally applied to systems supporting human life in situations where the outside ...

working parties for the

Tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...

and

Typhoon A typhoon is a tropical cyclone that develops between 180° and 100°E in the Northern Hemisphere and which produces sustained hurricane-force winds of at least . This region is referred to as the Northwestern Pacific Basin, accounting for a ...

. In 1971 he became the RAF Consultant Adviser in Aviation Medicine, a position he held until 1990. Between 1990 and 1993 he served as Dean of Air Force Medicine, then as Senior Consultant (RAF). Upon leaving the Altitude Division in 1977, he was first appointed Deputy Director of Research (1977–1985), then Director of Research (1985–1988), before becoming Commandant of the RAF Institute of Aviation Medicine (1986–1992). However, between 1979 and 1980, Ernsting spent a

sabbatical year A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work; "an extended period of time intentionally spent on something that’s not your routine job." The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Bib ...

at the

USAF School of Aerospace Medicine The United States Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine (USAFSAM) is the United States Air Force (USAF) organization focused on education, research, and operational consultation in aerospace and operational medicine. USAFSAM was founded in 1918 t ...

. He was

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

's honorary surgeon from 1989 to 1993. He retired as commandant of the IAM in December 1992 and from the RAF on 21 April 1993.

Later life and death

On retiring from the RAF, Ernsting became a visiting professor at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

(KCL), where he taught a human and applied physiology

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 ...

course. Later, KCL asked him to establish a research laboratory. He was active both in research and in training undergraduate and postgraduate students for 16 years. In addition to his position at KCL, he was a visiting professor 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 ...

. In 1998, Ernsting was appointed Head of the Human Physiology and Aerospace Medicine Group of the Guy's, King's and St Thomas's School of Biomedical Sciences. He was the Honorary Civil Consultant in Aviation Medicine to the Royal Air Force. He was also an aeromedical adviser to

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

, and a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association. Ernsting was an international ambassador for aviation medicine. He was President of th
International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine
from 1995 to 1997.

Awards

On 1 January 1958, the then Acting

Squadron Leader Squadron leader (Sqn Ldr or S/L) is a senior officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is used by air forces of many countries that have historical British influence. Squadron leader is immediatel ...

Ernsting, was appointed an

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 ...

for his work in connection with the

Lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

and

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

aircraft. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of the Bath Companion may refer to: Relationships Currently * Any of several interpersonal relationships such as friend or acquaintance * A domestic partner, akin to a spouse * Sober companion, an addiction treatment coach * Companion (caregiving), a caregi ...

on 31 December 1991, on completion of his tenure as Commandant of the RAF Institute of Aviation. Ernsting received the

Louis H. Bauer Louis Hopewell Bauer (July 18, 1888 – February 2, 1964) was an American medical doctor who founded the Aerospace Medical Association in 1929. Bauer was the first medical director of the Aeronautics Branch of the United States Department of Comme ...

Award from the

Aerospace Medical Association The Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA) is the largest professional organization in the fields of aviation, space, and environmental medicine. The AsMA membership includes aerospace and hyperbaric medical specialists, scientists, flight nurses ...

in 2002. In May 2008 Ernsting was awarded the title of

honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

PUCRS The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (, PUCRS) is a private non-profit Catholic university. With campuses in the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre and Viamão, it is the largest private university of the state of Rio Grande do Su ...

, Porto Alegre, Brazil in recognition of his distinguished contribution to the field of Aerospace Physiology. He was further honoured with the dedication of a research laboratory in his name, the John Ernsting Aerospace Physiology Laboratory, at the Microgravity Centre, PUCRS, coordinated by Professor

Thais Russomano Thais Russomano (born 25 September 1963) is a Brazilian doctor and scientific researcher specialising in space medicine, space physiology, biomedical engineering, telemedicine and telehealth. She founded the Microgravity Centre (MicroG) at PUCR ...

Personal life

He was married twice. He had two sons (one of whom predeceased him) and a daughter through his first marriage. He was survived by his second wife Joyce, née Heppell, whom he married in 1970.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ernsting, John 1928 births 2009 deaths Companions of the Order of the Bath Officers of the Order of the British Empire Royal Air Force air marshals Royal Air Force Medical Service officers People educated at Chislehurst and Sidcup Grammar School Military personnel from the Royal Borough of Greenwich People from Woolwich Fellows of the Royal Aeronautical Society