Sir Frank Whittle Medal

Named after Britain’s jet engine genius, the Sir Frank Whittle Medal is awarded to an engineer resident in the UK whose outstanding and sustained achievements have had a profound impact on their engineering discipline.

Recipients

Dame Julia Higgins - 2020

Dame Julia Higgins was awarded the Sir Frank Whittle Medal for her sustained excellence in polymer engineering, a field that designs, analyses, and modifies polymer materials. She is internationally recognised as one of the preeminent polymer engineers of her generation.

Robert Benaim - Founder, Robert Benaim & Associates - 2019

Eminent civil engineer Robert Benaim this month receives one of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s highest accolades, the Sir Frank Whittle Medal, in recognition of his lifetime achievements, leading a step-change in prestressed concrete structures and improving the way in which consultants and contractors work together.

John Bartlett CBE FREng - Former Chairman - Mott, Hay and Anderson Consulting Engineers - 2018

Civil engineering pioneer John Bartlett CBE FREng, who designed the UK side of the Channel Tunnel, was the 2018 recipient of one of the Royal Academy of Engineering’s highest accolades, the Sir Frank Whittle Medal, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to tunnel design and construction.

About Sir Frank Whittle

Founding Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering

Sir Frank Whittle OM KBE CB FEng FRS, one of the most creative engineers of all time. British pioneer of the jet engine, he made an extraordinary contribution to society despite many difficulties.

Frank Whittle was born in Coventry in 1907, the son of a skilful mechanic and inventor. From an early age he experimented in his father’s factory and was fascinated by the fledgling aviation industry. He joined the RAF in 1923 as an apprentice. His talents were soon recognised, and he qualified as a pilot at the RAF College, Cranwell, before reading Mechanical Sciences at the University of Cambridge. While at Cranwell he had developed a thesis on jet propulsion and patented his design in 1930, but officials at the Air Ministry dismissed his ideas as impractical. However, in 1936 he and some associates founded a company, Power Jets Ltd, to develop the theory.

Despite political and financial adversity, Whittle’s jet engine made its maiden flight on 15 May 1941, powering the purpose-built Gloster E28/39. By 1944 the engine was in service with the RAF. The technology quickly spread and has been fully exploited worldwide.