A new method is presented for the measurement of thermal diffusivity of solids. It is based on the temperature variations induced by the thermoelastic effect in a material undergoing elastic deformations. Small cylindrical compression specimens are deformed by a conventional material testing machine with an auxiliary equipment, which expands its application to the measurement of thermophysical properties. Measurements performed at room temperature are presented. Extensive experimentation led to the identification of application guidelines and to validation of the method by a set of measurements on reference materials, including certified reference materials and encompassing a wide range of diffusivities. In most cases precision and accuracy are comparable to those of established methods.