Mary Jones Berry has a record of attaining “firsts” for women engineers. Her pioneering career represents the epitome of a lifetime of achievements.
For many years, her allegiance to her alma mater came at a time when she was truly the only active alumna who served as a role model to Virginia Tech’s female engineering students. In 1998 the Society of Women Engineers awarded her the rank of Fellow for her contributions to women in engineering.
Ms. Berry’s career spans more than four decades with Aerojet General Corporation (formerly Atlantic Research Corporation) where she started as a structural engineer. Ms. Berry is the Executive Director of Engineering at the Gainesville, Virginia facility. In 1992 the Society of Women Engineers gave her the Upward Mobility Award in recognition of her advancement in the engineering industry.
Ms. Berry’s technical achievements are admirable. Her expertise is in solid propellant rocket motor design. During the early part of her career, she conducted structural and thermal analysis of metal and plastics parts and solid propellant, as well as the mechanical design of hardware. She devoted part of her career as the chief engineer on the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). Aerojet subsequently produced more than 500,000 of these rockets.
In terms of career “firsts” as a woman, Mary Berry holds many distinctions. She was the first woman registered as a professional engineer by the Commonwealth of Virginia. This affiliation occurred five years after her graduation from Virginia Tech, Mechanical Engineering Class of 1962. (She was the only woman in her class.) She was the first woman appointed to the State Board of Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Landscape Architects, a position she held from 1984-88. She was the first female engineer appointed by a Virginia Governor to serve on the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, 1984-88. She was the first woman to receive her alma mater’s highest honor, the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award. Until about 12 years ago, she was the only woman to have served on the Virginia Tech College of Engineering’s Advisory Board. (She also chaired this board.) She was also the first woman to receive the College of Engineering’s Distinguished Service Award. She was President of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association in 1999.
During National Engineers Week in 2002 the District of Columbia Council of Engineering and Architectural Societies awarded her the “Engineer of the Year” award. In 2004 she was the first woman to be inducted into the Academy of Engineering Excellence at Virginia Tech. “I hope that I will always be able to serve Virginia Tech. When I started college in 1958 Virginia Tech had the only College of Engineering in the Commonwealth that would admit women. It was not until Title IX that the other engineering schools were forced to offer equal opportunities to women. I will always be grateful for the opportunity,” Ms. Berry said.
Berry and her husband Dallas reside in Gainesville, VA.
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