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 si ...

, 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 aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows ...

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, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

. in 1971 she became an undergraduate

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

apprentice with

British Aerospace British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. Formed in 1977, in 1999 it purchased Marconi ...

. She studied at

Imperial College London Imperial College London (legally Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine) is a public research university in London, United Kingdom. Its history began with Prince Albert, consort of Queen Victoria, who developed his vision for a cu ...

Career

Working in the

avionics Avionics (a blend word, blend 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, ...

group at

, Body created the software for the

fly-by-wire Fly-by-wire (FBW) is a system that replaces the conventional manual flight controls of an aircraft with an electronic interface. The movements of flight controls are converted to electronic signals transmitted by wires, and flight control co ...

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 BBC Radio Norfolk is the BBC's local radio station serving the county of Norfolk. It broadcasts on FM, AM, DAB, digital TV and via BBC Sounds from studios at The Forum in Norwich. According to RAJAR, the station has a weekly audience of 1 ...

. 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 research university, located in and around Bristol, England. The institution was know as the Bristol Polytechnic in 1970; it received university status in 1992 and ...

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 A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

. 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 ...

. She was awarded an

Order of the British Empire 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 ...

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

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

, 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 senior ...

. She is a chair of the

Education and Skills Committee. She is part of the

British Computer Society Sir Maurice Wilkes served as the first President of BCS in 1957 BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT, known as the British Computer Society until 2009, is a professional body and a learned society that represents those working in infor ...

Women in STEM network. She is an ambassador of

Aerospace Bristol Aerospace Bristol is an aerospace museum at Filton, to the north of Bristol, England, U.K. The project is run by the Bristol Aero Collection Trust and houses a varied collection of exhibits, including Concorde ''Alpha Foxtrot'', the final Conco ...

. Already,

Officer of the Order of the British Empire 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 ...

(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 contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established 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 celebration ...

for services to aerospace engineering.

References

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