Penelope (Penny) Endersby is a British researcher and academic specialising in armour and explosives. She was appointed chief executive of the

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...

in December 2018. Prior to that, she led cyber and information systems at the

Defence Science and Technology Laboratory The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) is an executive agency of the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom. Its stated purpose is "to maximise the impact of science and technology for the ...

Education and early career

Endersby grew up in north London and was educated at

Haberdashers' Aske's School for Girls Haberdashers' Girls' School is an independent day school in Elstree, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as "Habs" (or "Habs Girls" to distinguish it from the neighbouring Haberdashers' Boys' School). The school was founded in 1875 by the Wo ...

, Elstree. She studied

Natural Sciences Natural science is one of the branches of science concerned with the description, understanding and prediction of natural phenomena, based on empirical evidence from observation and experimentation. Mechanisms such as peer review and repeatab ...

at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, and was a member of

Newnham College Newnham College is a women's constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1871 by a group organising Lectures for Ladies, members of which included philosopher Henry Sidgwick and suffragist campaigner Millicent ...

. She remains an associate of Newnham. Here she became interested in materials science and metallurgy. She was sponsored by

British Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Serving ...

, researching fuel cells. After graduating she joined the Royal Armament and Research Development Establishment in 1993.

Research

Endersby, a researcher specialising in armour and explosives, served at the Royal Armament and Research Development Establishment, becoming the "UK expert on electric and intelligent armours". She was appointed as the department manager at the

in 2009. She began to focus on C4ISR and cyber security. She holds a

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 ...

visiting professorship at the

University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...

. Endersby was made division head of Cyber and Information Systems Division at the

in 2015. She was involved in their

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

celebrations. She joined the council of the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physica ...

in 2017. Endersby was appointed as chief executive at the

in December 2018; she is the first woman to fill that role. She serves on the board of Ploughshare Innovations, the

Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. The MOD states that its principal objectives are to ...

technology transfer office. In 2021 she was elected a Fellow of the

Personal life

Endersby is an expert choir singer. She has two children. She is interested in wildlife and records the UK

phenology Phenology is the study of periodic events in biological life cycles and how these are influenced by seasonality, seasonal and interannual variations in climate, as well as environmental factor, habitat factors (such as elevation). Examples includ ...

. She is a trustee of the

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Wiltshire Wildlife Trust is a conservation charity based in Devizes, England which owns and manages 40 nature reserves in Wiltshire and Swindon. It also works to encourage Wiltshire's communities to live sustainable lifestyles that protect the e ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Endersby, Penelope Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Alumni of Newnham College, Cambridge Met Office British women scientists Computer security specialists Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering Female Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering People educated at Haberdashers' Girls' School