Holt Ashley (January 10, 1923May 9, 2006) was an American
aeronautical engineer
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is si ...
notable for his seminal research of
aeroelasticity
Aeroelasticity is the branch of physics and engineering studying the interactions between the inertial, elastic, and aerodynamic forces occurring while an elastic body is exposed to a fluid flow. The study of aeroelasticity may be broadly classif ...
.
["National Academy of Engineering, Memorial Tributes: Volume 15 (2011):Holt Ashley"](_blank)
[Levy, Dawn (May 24, 2006).]
Stanford Report.
Early life and education
He was born in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, California.
Ashley attended the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
(MIT), located in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, from which he received a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree in aeronautical engineering in 1948 and later a
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
degree in 1951, also in aeronautical engineering.
Career
From 1951 to 1954, he was a member of the faculty at MIT.
Ashley served as an MIT associate professor from 1954 to 1960.
He became a full professor at MIT in 1960, serving in that position until 1967.
In 1967, Ashley joined the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, located in
Palo Alto
Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto.
The city was estab ...
, California, where he was a professor of
aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...
and
astronautics
Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the theory and practice of travel beyond Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science its overarching field.
The term ''astronautics'' (originally ''astronaut ...
.
He was elected to the
National Academy of Engineering
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Engineering is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy ...
in 1970 "for contributions to the field of aerolastic structures and unsteady aerodynamics, aiding in the solutions of problems in vibration and gust loading".
Ashley served as president of the
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) is a professional society for the field of aerospace engineering. The AIAA is the U.S. representative on the International Astronautical Federation and the International Council of ...
(AIAA).
He also served on the advisory boards of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
, the
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...
, the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
and the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage o ...
.
He died on 9 May 2006, age 83.
Legacy
The AIAA established an award in Ashley's honorthe
Holt Ashley Award for Aeroelasticity.
"AIAA:Technical Excellence AwardsAerospace Design, Structures, Test"
Notable awards and honors
* 1969the AIAA Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Award
* 1981the AIAA Wright Brothers Lecture Award
* 1987the Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring
The Ludwig Prandtl Ring is the highest award of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt (German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics), awarded "for outstanding contribution in the field of aerospace engineering". The award is named ...
from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt
German Society for Aeronautics and Astronautics (DGLR; german: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt - Lilienthal-Oberth e.V.) is a German aerospace society. It was founded in 1912 under the name of ''Wissenschaftliche Gesellschaft für ...
* 2003the AIAA the Daniel Guggenheim Medal
* 2006the AIAA Reed Aeronautics Award
See also
* List of aerospace engineers
This is a list of notable aerospace engineers, people who were trained in or practiced aerospace engineering and design.
__NOTOC__
A
* Gerd Achgelis (1908–1991) – helicopter pioneer
* Jakob Ackeret (1898–1981)
* Bruce Aikenhead (1923� ...
* List of Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni
* List of Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty
* List of people from San Francisco
* List of Stanford University people
This page lists the members of Stanford University, including students, alumni, faculty and academic affiliates associated.
Stanford office Presidents
Acting presidents were temporary appointments. Swain served while Wilbur was United Sta ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashley, Holt
1923 births
2006 deaths
20th-century scholars
21st-century scholars
American aerospace engineers
Engineers from California
Fellows of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
MIT School of Engineering alumni
MIT School of Engineering faculty
Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering
Writers from San Francisco
Stanford University School of Engineering faculty
American science writers
Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring recipients
20th-century American engineers