Ann Dowling facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dame Ann Dowling
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Dowling in 2011
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Ann Patricia Dowling
15 July 1952 |
| Alma mater | Girton College, Cambridge |
| Known for | Silent Aircraft Initiative |
| Spouse(s) | Thomas Paul Hynes |
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| Thesis | Acoustic Sources in Motion (1978) |
| Doctoral advisor | John Ffowcs Williams |
Dame Ann Patricia Dowling (born 15 July 1952) is a famous British mechanical engineer. She studies how things burn (combustion), how sound works (acoustics), and how things shake (vibration). Her main goal is to create engines that use less fuel and produce fewer harmful gases. She also works on making cars and airplanes much quieter.
Professor Dowling is a Deputy Vice-Chancellor and a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cambridge. From 2009 to 2014, she led the Department of Engineering there. In 1993, she became the first female professor in engineering at Cambridge. She was also the first female president of the Royal Academy of Engineering, serving from 2014 to 2019.
Education and Early Research
Ann Dowling went to Ursuline Convent School in Westgate, Kent. She then studied mathematics at the University of Cambridge, at Girton College, Cambridge. After a summer job at the Royal Aircraft Establishment, she earned her PhD in 1978. Her doctorate focused on aeroacoustics, which is the study of noise made by aircraft. Specifically, she researched the noise problems of the Concorde supersonic jet.
Engineering Career and Leadership
Professor Dowling has spent most of her research career at the University of Cambridge. She started as a research fellow in 1977. She has also been a visiting professor at other top universities. These include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in the United States.
In February 2012, she joined the board of directors at BP, a large energy company. She served as a non-executive director, which means she helped guide the company's decisions. She also served on the board of BIS (Department for Business, Innovation and Skills) from February 2014.
Professor Dowling is a supporter of the Women's Engineering Society (WES). This group encourages more women to become engineers.
In January 2014, she was chosen to be the President of the Royal Academy of Engineering. She started this role in September 2014. As president, she led a review in 2015. This review looked at how businesses and universities could work together better on research.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Ann Dowling has received many important awards and honors for her work.
- In 1996, she became a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng).
- In 2003, she became a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS). This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK. Her nomination praised her for understanding how to control unstable burning systems in jet engines and power plants. It also noted her work on how sound interacts with air flow and how to control aircraft noise.
- In 2008, she was elected an international member of the National Academy of Engineering in the United States. This was for her progress in acoustics and air flow, and for leading research between companies and universities.
- In February 2013, she was named one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
- She was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2002. She was then promoted to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2007.
- In 2016, she was appointed to the Order of Merit. This is a special honor given by the British monarch for outstanding service.
- Also in 2016, she received the James Watt International Gold Medal. This award recognized her work on efficient, low-emission engines and reducing noise from vehicles and aircraft.
- In November 2017, she was elected to the Chinese Academy of Engineering. She was one of only 18 foreign individuals to receive this honor that year.
- In 2018, she received an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Royal Holloway, University of London.
- In 2019, she was awarded the Royal Medal.
