Dame Ann Patricia Dowling (born 15 July 1952) is a British mechanical engineer who researches combustion, acoustics and vibration, focusing on efficient, low-emission combustion and reduced road vehicle and aircraft noise. Dowling is a Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and from 2009 to 2014 she was Head of the Department of Engineering at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, where she was the first female professor in 1993.www.theukrc.com
Women of Outstanding Achievement:Professor Dame Ann Dowling She was President of the Royal Academy of Engineering from 2014 to 2019, the Academy's first female president.

Education

Dowling was educated at Ursuline Convent School, Westgate, Kent, and the

(as a member of

Girton College Girton College is one of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge, 31 constituent colleges of the University of Cambridge. The college was established in 1869 by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon as the first women's college in Cambridge. In 1 ...

), where after studying mathematics at undergraduate level, and following a summer job at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, she was awarded a PhD degree in 1978. Dowling's doctorate was in

aeroacoustics Aeroacoustics is a branch of acoustics that studies noise generation via either turbulent fluid motion or aerodynamic forces interacting with surfaces. Noise generation can also be associated with periodically varying flows. A notable example of th ...

, specifically on the

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

noise problem.

Career

Dowling's research career has been at University of Cambridge starting as a research fellow in 1977 but she has held visiting posts at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

( Jerome C Hunsaker Visiting Professor, 1999) and at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

(Moore Distinguished Scholar 2001). Dowling is one of four main panel chairs for the

Research Excellence Framework The Research Excellence Framework (REF) is a research impact evaluation of British higher education institutions. It is the successor to the Research Assessment Exercise and it was first used in 2014 to assess the period 2008–2013. REF is under ...

.HEFCE announcement of panel chairs
accessed 16 July 2010 On 3 February 2012, the oil company BP announced that Dowling was to become a

non-executive director A non-executive director (abbreviated to non-exec, NED or NXD), independent director or external director is a member of the board of directors of a corporation, such as a company, cooperative or non-government organization, but not a member of th ...

with immediate effect.BP Board Changes
3 February 2012 She has been a non-executive board member at BIS since February 2014.

Awards and honours

Dowling was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng) is an award and fellowship for engineers who are recognised by the Royal Academy of Engineering as being the best and brightest engineers, inventors and technologists in the UK and from aroun ...

(FREng) in 1996 and a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

in 2003. Her FRS nomination reads: . Dowling was elected an international member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of ...

in 2008 for advances in acoustics and unsteady flow, and for leadership in collaborative research between industry and universities. In February 2013 Dowling was listed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by ''

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by ...

'' on

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

. and was the subject of an episode of ''

The Life Scientific ''The Life Scientific'' is a BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, dra ...

'' in 2012. Dowling is a Patron of the

Women's Engineering Society The Women's Engineering Society is a United Kingdom professional learned society and networking body for women engineers, scientists and technologists. It was the first professional body set up for women working in all areas of engineering, pred ...

(WES). In January 2014 Dowling was nominated for election as President of the Royal Academy of Engineering. She took up the position in September 2014, and in that role chaired a 2015 review (the 'Dowling Review') of business–university research collaboration, published in July 2015. She was appointed a

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

in 2002 and promoted to DBE in 2007. In 2016 she was appointed to the Order of Merit. The

James Watt International Gold Medal The James Watt Medal is an award for excellence in engineering established in 1937, conferred by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the United Kingdom. It is named after Scottish engineer James Watt (1736–1819) who developed the Watt stea ...

was awarded to her in 2016 by the

Institution of Mechanical Engineers The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) is an independent professional association and learned society headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that represents mechanical engineers and the engineering profession. With over 120,000 member ...

''for her work associated with efficient, low emission combustion; and understanding, modelling and reducing the noise from cars, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft'' . In November 2017, Dowling was elected to the

Chinese Academy of Engineering The Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE, ) is the national academy of the People's Republic of China for engineering. It was established in 1994 and is an institution of the State Council of China. The CAE and the Chinese Academy of Sciences ...

alongside 18 foreign individuals including

Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...

and

L. Rafael Reif Leo Rafael Reif (born August 21, 1950) is a Venezuelan-American electrical engineer, writer and academic administrator. He became the 17th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, succeeding Susan Hockfield on July 2, 2012. On Feb ...

. In 2019 she received the Royal Medal.Royal Medal 2019
/ref>

References

External links

Sidney Sussex College news
Ann Dowling's University of Cambridge Department of Engineering bioCreating silent skies – Professor Dame Ann Dowling CBE FREng
''Ingenia'', Issue 37, Dec 2008
www.theukrc.com
Women of Outstanding Achievement:Professor Dame Ann Dowling {{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Ann 1952 births Living people British women engineers British mechanical engineers British people of Irish descent Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Members of the Order of Merit Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Female Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Presidents of the Royal Academy of Engineering Fellows of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society Female Fellows of the Royal Society Directors of BP British corporate directors Alumni of Girton College, Cambridge Members of the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering 21st-century women engineers Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering People from Thanet (district) Engineering professors at the University of Cambridge