Ashby began her independent academic career at Iowa State University as an assistant professor in 1996, and was promoted to associate professor in 2002.[5] While at Iowa State, Ashby was a mentor for the Iowa State University Program for Women in Science & Engineering, a summer research program for undergraduate and high school students.[citation needed]
University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
Ashby spent August 2003 to June 2004 on sabbatical leave at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the direction of Prof. Robert Langer. In August 2003, Ashby also began her appointment as associate professor at UNC Chapel Hill.[8] In 2005, Ashby was awarded an NSF grant[9] that aimed to increase the number of underrepresented minorities receiving doctoral degrees in STEM fields. Her work helped to increase the Ph.D. completion rate for underrepresented minorities from about 60% to 85% at UNC.[10] She was appointed Vice Chair of Undergraduate Studies in August 2005. Ashby was granted the rank of full professor and the Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professor of Chemistry in July 2007. In July 2012 she was named chair of the department of chemistry and the faculty director of the UNC Chapel Hill Graduate School Initiative for Minority Excellence (IME) in July 2014.[citation needed]
Through her career, Ashby has accumulated numerous awards, including the National Science Foundation Career Development Award, the DuPont Young Faculty Award, the 3M Young Faculty Award, the UNC Chapel Hill General Alumni Association Faculty Service Award, the J. Carlyle Sitterson Freshman Teaching Award, the UNC Student Undergraduate Teaching Award, and the Johnston Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching.[11]
On Monday, April 4, 2022, outgoing UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski announced that Ashby would be the next President of UMBC, effective August 1, 2022.[13]
List of patents
"Shape Memory Materials and Biomaterials with Fabrication of Nanoscopic and Microscopic Features", Patent filed, 5/14.
"Iodinated Polymers for CT Contrast Agents", Patent filed 8/14.
"Polyester Based Degradable Materials and Implantable Biomedical Articles Formed Therefrom", issued 9/6/11, U.S. Patent No. 8,013,061
"pH-Sensitive Methacrylic Copolymers and the Production Thereof", issued 1/07, U.S. Patent Number 7,160,971.
"Functionalized Diene Monomers and Polymers Containing Functionalized Dienes and Methods for Their Preparation", Continuation issued 6/03, Patent No. 6,583,260[14]
"Functionalized Diene Monomers and Polymers Containing Functionalized Dienes and Methods for Their Preparation", Continuation Issued 2/02, Patent No. 6,344,538
"Functionalized Diene Monomers and Polymers Containing Functionalized Dienes and Methods for Their Preparation", Issued 8/00, Patent No. 6,100,373[15]