Holt Ashley

Holt Ashley
Born(1923-01-10)January 10, 1923
San Francisco, U.S.
DiedMay 9, 2006(2006-05-09) (aged 83)
Alma materMassachusetts Institute of Technology
OccupationAeronautical engineer
Scientific career
ThesisAn experimental investigation of the flutter characteristics of low density wings
Doctoral advisorManfred Rauscher, Shatswell Ober
Doctoral studentsIlan Kroo

Holt Ashley (January 10, 1923 – May 9, 2006) was an American aeronautical engineer notable for his seminal research on aeroelasticity.[1][2][3]

Early life and education

He was born in San Francisco, California. His father was Harold Ashley, an American businessman who served in both World War I and World War II.

On the outbreak of World War II he would take leave from the California Institute of Technology and join the Army Air Corps.[4][5] Following completion of an undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago for meteorology he would fly as a weather forecaster and reconnaissance officer with squadrons in the Atlantic and Europe.[4][5] In this time he would earn 6 military medals and publish his paper “Icing in North West Europe.” [4][5]

Ashley attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from which he received a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering in 1948 and later a Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1951, also in aeronautical engineering.[1]

Career

From 1951 to 1954, he was a member of the faculty at MIT.[2] Ashley served as an MIT associate professor from 1954 to 1960, when he became a full professor at MIT in 1960.[2][5]

In 1964 he would help establish the Department of Aeronautical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India.[5] He would serve as its first head of Department until 1967 when he returned to america.[4][5]

In 1967, Ashley joined the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University, located in Palo Alto, California, where he was a professor of aeronautics and astronautics.[2][4][5]

He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 1970 "for contributions to the field of aerolastic structures and unsteady aerodynamics, aiding in the solutions of problems in vibration and gust loading".[1]

Ashley served as president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).[3][4]

He also served on the advisory boards of NASA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy.[1][4]

He died on 9 May 2006, age 83.

Legacy

The AIAA established an award in Ashley's honor – the Holt Ashley Award for Aeroelasticity.[6][7][8]

Notable awards and honors

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d "National Academy of Engineering, Memorial Tributes: Volume 15 (2011):Holt Ashley".
  2. ^ a b c d Levy, Dawn (May 24, 2006). "Holt Ashley, Professor of Aeronautics, Astronautics, Dies at 83". Stanford Report.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "AIAA Mourns the Loss of Past President Holt Ashley"[permanent dead link‍].
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "AIAA article on Holt Ashley for 2003 medal" (PDF). Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g "National Academies Obituary for Holt Ashley". Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  6. ^ "AIAA Ashley Award for Aeroelasticity; American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) – United States".
  7. ^ "AIAA Ashley Award for Aeroelasticity Recipients; The AIAA Ashley Award for Aeroelasticity recognizes outstanding contributions to the understanding and application of aeroelastic phenomena."[permanent dead link‍].
  8. ^ "AIAA:Technical Excellence Awards – Aerospace Design, Structures, Test"[permanent dead link‍].