$70 Million Design Technology Package from PACE Consortium
November 20, 2007, Volume 54, No. 13	Print Issue

The School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) at the University of Pennsylvania will receive an in-kind hardware and software contribution totaling approximately $70 million in commercial value from Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE), a consortium comprised of General Motors, EDS, Hewlett Packard, Siemens PLM Software, Sun Microsystems and academic partners chosen for their focus on engineering.

Penn’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics will receive comprehensive modeling and simulation tools available to PACE companies, which will be used to support a departmental campaign to intensify the design content in the engineering curriculum and to help launch a new integrated product design program. Projects will include research into the design of more efficient factories, hybrid vehicles and artificial heart valves.

“The PACE laboratory will infuse state-of-the-art computer-aided design, modeling and analysis tools into the curriculum, making it easier for students at all levels to incorporate complex engineering models into the design process,” said Dr. Vijay Kumar, chair of mechanical engineering and applied mechanics at SEAS.

The PACE program is an alliance to develop the automotive Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) team of the future through the integration of parametric-based tools in design, engineering, and manufacturing curricula. PACE software includes UGS NXTM, UGS Teamcenter Engineering, UGS Teamcenter Community and UGS Tecnomatix; MSC Adams and MD Nastran; Altair HyperWorks; and FLUENT/GAMBIT. The applications provide support for concept development, product engineering, simulation, supply-chain management and digital collaboration among research peers.

PACE is a joint philanthropic initiative begun in 1999 to support academic institutions worldwide by contributing computer-based engineering tools to prepare designers, engineers and analysts with the skills to compete in the future.

The PACE consortium has 43 universities around the world. The PACE Partnership also extends to institutions in Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Mexico and Sweden.

For PACE information go to www.pacepartners.org. For information on Penn’s engineering efforts go to www.me.upenn.edu/~pacelab.