Holt Ashley

Holt Ashley (January 10, 1923 – May 9, 2006) was an American aeronautical engineer notable for his seminal research of aeroelasticity.

He was born in San Francisco, California.

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.

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, located in Palo Alto, California, where he was a professor of aeronautics and astronautics.

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".

Ashley served as president of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

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.

He died on 9 May 2006, age 83.

The AIAA established an award in Ashley's honor – the Holt Ashley Award for Aeroelasticity.

Notable awards and honors

• 1969 – the AIAA Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Award
• 1981 – the AIAA Wright Brothers Lecture Award
• 1987 – the Ludwig-Prandtl-Ring from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Luft- und Raumfahrt
• 2003 – the AIAA the Daniel Guggenheim Medal
• 2006 – the AIAA Reed Aeronautics Award