Engineering Materials and Processes Desk Reference

Michael Farries Ashby is a British metallurgical engineer. He served as Royal Society Research Professor, and a Principal Investigator (PI) at the Engineering Design Centre at the University of Cambridge. He is known for his contributions in Materials Science in the field of material selection. In 1990, Ashby was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering for outstanding contributions to the understanding of mechanical behavior of materials and for development of formats useful for design. Ashby is the son of the leading botanist and educator Lord Ashby. He was educated at Campbell College in Belfast and the University of Cambridge where he studied the Natural Sciences Tripos as a student of Queens' College, Cambridge. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Metallurgy in 1957 (First Class Honours); his Master of Arts degree in 1959 and his PhD in 1961.