North Carolina High School Students Get a Head Start on Engineering Careers with SolidWorks Software

Business Wire, March 17, 2003

Business Editors/Education Writers/High-Tech Writers

CONCORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 17, 2003

Wake County Public School System standardizes on SolidWorks

to teach juniors and seniors the principles of 3D CAD

The Wake County (N.C.) Public School System (WCPSS), one of the fastest growing school districts in the country, is teaching SolidWorks(R) software to juniors and seniors interested in engineering careers. WCPSS is using 425 licenses of SolidWorks in 17 high schools in the Raleigh area to teach students three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) basics and prepare them for the mechanical engineering courses they'll take in college.

WCPSS serves more than 104,000 students from kindergarten through 12th grade in 125 schools. The school system is located in the Research Triangle, a hotbed of high technology research and education formed by North Carolina State University in Raleigh, Duke University in Durham, and the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. The school system has installed 25 seats of SolidWorks software in each of its 17 high schools to open a window for juniors and seniors to quickly learn solid modeling fundamentals.

"The Wake County Public School System has become one of the success stories in education in the country partly because we provide our students with the best educational tools available," said Craig Pendergraft, senior administrator for technology education.

John Geraghty, a drafting teacher at Southeast Raleigh High School, uses SolidWorks to teach second-level drafting students to design gears, cams, pistons, crankshafts, and other mechanical basics in 3D CAD. Students use SolidWorks 3D CAD software to visualize their designs as solid models.

"Students can look at a part designed in SolidWorks and easily understand how it was created, and the manufacturing that will eventually go into it," said Geraghty. "Seeing that process helps students create designs that others can understand as well. SolidWorks is the 3D CAD software that professional engineers often use, so it makes sense for us to expose students to the tools that they'll be using in college and in their careers."

WCPSS students pursuing engineering careers broaden their mechanical engineering skills at such institutions as N.C. State, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Rice University. Some of the regional companies they will find jobs at include Caterpillar Inc., IBM, and BASF.

"High school juniors and seniors are already thinking about what they're going to do after college," said Rosanne Kramer, director of worldwide education markets for SolidWorks Corporation. "Wake County is taking a proactive step by fueling students' engineering interests with the 3D CAD software they will most likely use through college and in their professional jobs. Instead of confounding students with complex software, Wake County teachers are showing them that they can use software to create parts in 3D, on their own."

WCPSS relies on SolidWorks' reseller TriMech Solutions for ongoing software implementation, training, and support.

About WCPSS

The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) is the second largest school system in North Carolina, serving more than 104,000 students in 125 schools throughout the county. WCPSS is committed to ensuring academic success for all students in the system while maintaining fiscal responsibility and accountability. The system was formed in 1976 with the merger of the former City of Raleigh and Wake County school systems and, today, is the 27th largest public school

system in the nation. For more information about WCPSS, please visit the Web site at www.wcpss.net.

About TriMech Solutions

TriMech Solutions, LLC is a full service Value Added Reseller (VAR) of best-in-class engineering software applications. Headquartered in Columbia, Md., TriMech also has sales and training centers in Pittsburgh, Penn., Richmond, Va., Durham, N.C., and Charlotte, N.C., with sales offices in Stewartstown, Penn., and Wytheville, Va. Areas of expertise include CAD, CAM, CAE, FEA, CFD, PDM, and associated consulting services. For more information, visit www.trimech.com or send email to info@trimech.com.

About SolidWorks Corporation

SolidWorks Corporation, a Dassault Systemes S.A. (Nasdaq: DASTY, Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) company, develops and markets software for mechanical design, analysis, and product data management. Founded in 1993, SolidWorks' mission is to unleash the power of 3D for everyone in product development and foster a collaborative user community. In seven years of delivering product, SolidWorks has shipped more than 230,000 total seats of software worldwide. SolidWorks has offices around the globe and sells, distributes, and supports its products through a worldwide reseller network. For the latest news, information, or a live online demonstration, visit the company's Web site (www.solidworks.com) or call 1-800-693-9000 (outside of North America, call +1-978-371-5000).