Tom Scholz, the guitarist for Boston with a masters in MechE from MIT, built his own effects, and much of his own recording equipment.

I still remember a very interesting article about him in the Electronic Engineering Times back in 1998: "Boston's Scholz Engineers a Rock Dynasty"

https://web.archive.org/web/19990224204558/http://www.eetime...

"Wherever there's a microprocessor, there's trouble."

The story of getting their first album made is epic

Link to a recommended write-up?

The guitars on Def Leppard's Hysteria [1987] were supposedly direct recorded using a Rockman.

Greg Graffin, lead singer for punk rock band Bad Religion, has a PhD in zoology [1] and is a frequent university lecturer.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_Graffin

Dexter Holland (The Offspring) has a PhD in molecular biology [1].

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dexter_Holland#Science

Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden is (was?) a fully qualified pilot and flew the band's 747 around the world