Jeffrey Jupp is a key player in the European success story that is Airbus, which currently supports over 100,000 jobs in the UK.
After graduating with first class honours at Cambridge University, his first 20 years in industry were in aerodynamics at Hawker Siddeley in Hatfield. Major successes there were leading the aerodynamic design of the very successful Airbus A310 wing and his invention of the first drag-reducing wing tip device to enter service on a large civil aircraft. That device saves 1% of fuel burn and has been applied to over 5,000 aircraft, saving in the order of 10 million tonnes of CO2 to date.
In 1987, his work was recognised by the award of a Royal Society Gold Medal and the ESSO Energy Award - "In recognition of their work on wing design technology for civil aircraft which has led to increased aerodynamic efficiency and consequent savings in fuel."
Having moved to Filton, in 1987, Jeff was appointed Chief Engineer for the innovative “Common Wing” for the A330/A340 twin and four-engined projects. The A330 is still in production and the worldwide fleet is more than 1,400. He was appointed Engineering Director for British Aerospace Airbus in 1993 - responsible for the wing, landing gear and fuel system design for all Airbus aircraft, representing the UK during unification of the four national Airbus companies and helping to ensure the continued manufacture of wings and systems in the UK.
Shortly before retiring in 2001, he directed the UK team working with Airbus France to restore Concorde to service following the tragic accident in Paris. His leading contribution was acknowledged by both British Airways and the ‘Association Aeronautique et Astronautique de France’.
Jeff was elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering in 1996. He won the Royal Aeronautical Society Bronze Medal in 1993, the Society Gold Medal in 2002 and five prizes for published papers. His more recent lectures have concentrated on the design of future passenger aircraft for reduced environmental impact. He was chairman of the Society’s Environmental ‘Greener by Design” committee from 2009-2014. He was appointed as a Visiting Professor at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 2009-2012, and has also given several lectures to Beihang University and other organisations in China. Jeff was appointed visiting Professor at the University of Bath in 2000 until retiring in 2020. Over those 20 years, he has faithfully shared his unique expertise with students in our flagship 3rd year Aerospace Design project, with lectures and tutorials involving all aspects of civil aircraft design.
Jeff has been a member of The Friends of Bath Abbey since 2000 and their Chairman since 2014. The Friends have played a major part in helping the funding of the ongoing major ‘Footprint’ development programme. He has also fulfilled the roles of Visit Secretary and Editor of the annual report during his time as Chairman.
Vice-Chancellor, in view of his significant contributions to aerospace, to the University and to the City of Bath, I present Jeffrey Jupp who is eminently worthy to receive the degree of Doctor of Engineering, honoris causa.