Women, Minorities, and High School Students Use SolidWorks and COSMOS Software at University of Arizona

Business Wire, March 1, 2004

Business Editors/Education Writers/High-Tech Writers

CONCORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 1, 2004

SolidWorks software's ease of use, short learning curve let students begin designing on day one

The power and ease of SolidWorks(R) 3D mechanical design software is creating new opportunities for women and minorities, who now have a greater chance to design the products of tomorrow.

The University of Arizona College of Engineering, a leader in presenting these opportunities, has purchased SolidWorks software and is using 100 licenses of the SolidWorks Education Edition in a Summer Engineering Academy that immerses high school students from around the country in weeklong engineering orientation programs. The programs, operated by the school's Multicultural Engineering Program (MEP), are intended to attract qualified women and minority high school students to engineering. They feature aerodynamic car design contests with student creations evolving from boxy vehicles resembling milk trucks to futuristic Ferraris by the program's end.

A condensed version of the program, funded by grants from Boeing and the Engineering Education Foundation, brings the academy to eighth-grade girls in Arizona middle schools. A privately funded Virtual Development Center involves female students from the University of Arizona's engineering school, business school, and other disciplines in applying "technology in service of society." The program is leading to the development of new preventive medicine products that will benefit the underinsured. In addition, every engineering student at the university is exposed to SolidWorks freshman year and continues using it whether they pursue studies in mechanical, aerospace, biosystems, or architecture.

"SolidWorks software is integral to all of these programs' success," said Ray Umashankar, assistant dean, industry relations, of the University of Arizona College of Engineering. "Ease of use and brevity of learning curve can make or break a weeklong engineering program for high school students. With SolidWorks, students are designing automobiles by day one. By day two, when they've learned the fundamentals of aerodynamics and drag, their designs are looking less like UPS trucks and more like concept cars. By day three, they're testing their designs with COSMOSWorks(TM) and COSMOSFloWorks(TM) to see if they're viable. SolidWorks unleashes students' creativity so they can experience the mystique of engineering professions. It also enables them to create some truly mind-boggling designs." Umashankar added that the excellent support he receives from the departments of aerospace and mechanical engineering and civil engineering has a lot to do with the success of the Summer Engineering Academy. Companies like Intel and Raytheon also support the program.

SolidWorks is the predominant 3D mechanical design software on campus. Ease of use and short learning curve were just two considerations in choosing SolidWorks. A third was SolidWorks' substantial market share, which ensures that the company will be actively supporting the software for years to come.

"The success of the MEP program proves that middle and high school students are not too young to begin exploring the fundamentals of 3D design and analysis," said Rosanne Kramer, director of worldwide education markets for SolidWorks Corporation. "The University of Arizona has done a terrific job of integrating multiple levels of instruction into a rich and dynamic set of instructional opportunities. We applaud their efforts to deliver highly educated engineers to the workforce." University of Arizona engineering graduates find job opportunities and careers at prominent companies like Boeing, Cisco, Exxon, Honeywell, Intel, Microsoft, and Raytheon.

The university expects to purchase more licenses as mechanical design interest spreads to other disciplines. To answer such demand, the university is creating new courses such as "Computer-Aided Design and 3D Modeling for Science and Business Majors."

Digital Dimensions, an authorized SolidWorks reseller, is providing ongoing software support and training to University of Arizona students, faculty, and staff.

About the University of Arizona

The University of Arizona is a student-centered university with over 34,000 students, located in Tucson, Arizona. UA is one of the top ranked research universities in the nation. For more information, visit www.arizona.edu.

About Digital Dimensions

Digital Dimensions Inc., a charter member of the SolidWorks reseller organization provides mechanical design and analysis software for engineering, manufacturing, and educational users throughout Arizona and the San Diego area. DDi's expertise in the implementation, training, and support for CAD and the SolidWorks family of products has helped hundreds of companies realize the benefits of state-of-the-art design and analysis tools for the past 20 years. For more information about Digital Dimensions, visit the company Web site at www.ddicad.com or call 1-800-575-7543.