Introduction
Neil William Ashcroft (born 27 November 1938 in London) is a British solid-state physicist.
Education
Ashcroft completed his undergraduate studies at the University of New Zealand (Bachelor 1958) received his PhD in 1964 from the University of Cambridge for research investigating the Fermi surfaces of metals.
Career
Following his PhD, Ashcroft completed postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago and at Cornell University, where he became a Professor in 1975.In 1990 he was named the Horace White Professor of Physics, and was elected to emeritus status in 2006.
He served as the director for the Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics at Cornell University (1979-1984), the director for the Cornell Center for Materials Research (1997-2000), and as the deputy director for the High Energy Synchrotron Source (1990-1997).
Between 1986 and 1987, he served as the head of the Condensed Matter division of the American Physical Society. His textbook on solid-state physics, written with N. David Mermin, is a standard text in the field.
Awards and honours
Since 1997, he has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences.