Bio: Scott Ashford's work has been funded by numerous organizations, such as the University of California, Caltrans, the Royal Thai government, and the Japanese Port & Airport Research Institute. Ashford came to UCSD in 1996 after working as an assistant professor at the Asian Institute of Technology in Bangkok, Thailand. He also served as a research scientist with the Ford Motor Company, and a geotechnical engineering for CH2M HILL and McClelland Engineers. Ashford is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Seismological Society of America, and the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. He was an Outstanding Early Career Engineer at Oregon State University where he received his B.S. in Civil Engineering. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Geotechnical Engineering from UC Berkeley.  

Research: Professor Ashford is interested in the full -scale testing of soils and structures to determine the effects of earthquakes and resulting liquefaction behaviors. By analyzing the results, he sheds greater light on liquefaction effects such as lateral spreading on sloped areas, which can lead to safer buildings and structures. In addition to his work in the United States, Ashford has traveled throughout the world, conducting tests in remote areas in Asia. Prior to entering the world of academia, spent several years in industry at companies such as McClelland Engineers, CH2M HILL and the Ford Motor Company. Ashford is also the Assistant Director for Education for PEER (Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center), a consortium of nine universities including UCSD, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, UC Irvine, Cal-Tech, Stanford, USC, and the University of Washington.