Mary Jones Berry

Berry is originally from Blacksburg, Virginia,^[1] and graduated from Blacksburg High School. Her father, James Beverly Jones, was head of the mechanical engineering department at Virginia Tech.^[2] Berry graduated with honors from Virginia Tech in 1962, with a degree in mechanical engineering. She was the third female mechanical engineering student at the university,^[3][1] and in 1967 she became the first woman to become a licensed professional engineer in Virginia.^[2][4] She continued her graduate study at George Washington University, receiving a master's degree there.^[3]

Berry spent her professional career working on rocket propulsion at the Atlantic Research Corporation, later acquired by Aerojet Rocketdyne.^[3] At the time of the acquisition, she became executive director of the new subsidiary, Virginia engineering.^[1] Her work for Aerojet Rocketdyne included the development of missiles for the US military including the M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System, FIM-92 Stinger, and the boosters for the Tomahawk missile family.^[3] One of her key innovations was the development of a cost-saving molded plastic rocket nozzle for these systems; she also served on a board that reviewed small spacecraft design for NASA.^[1]

She retired in 2008.^[3] She served on the Virginia Tech board of visitors from 1984 until 1988, and in 1999 was president of the university's alumni association.^[5] She also served on the Virginia State Board of Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Landscape Architects from 1984 to 1988, the first woman on the board.^[6] In 2010 she was named to the board of visitors of the University of Mary Washington in Virginia.

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) gave Berry their 1993 Upward Mobility Award.^[1] Berry was named as a Fellow of the SWE in 1998,^[3] and a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2011.^[7]

Berry received Virginia Tech's University Distinguished Achievement Award in 1992, its College of Engineering Distinguished Service Award in 1994,^[3] and its Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 1999. She was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Achievement Award.^[6] She was named a distinguished alumnus of the Virginia Tech College of Engineering in 1997.^[3] Virginia Tech named Berry to its Academy of Engineering Excellence in 2004.^[1][4]

The DC Council of Engineering and Architectural Societies named Berry as Engineer of the Year in 2002.^[3] The Library of Virginia named her as a 2017 Virginia Woman in History.^[1]