Dynamic innovation

Trine engineering school receives software valued at $1.6 million

ANGOLA, Ind. – Thanks to the efforts of Trine University professor Darryl Webber, Ph.D., the university’s Allen School of Engineering and Technology was gifted dynamic software the company values at $1.6 million.

Magmasoft, a software package used in more than 1,000 industrial plants around the globe, is now available in Trine classrooms. Magmasoft is advanced manufacturing software used in industry to simulate products, allowing engineers to save time when developing products.

Webber said mechanical engineering and design engineering technology students will use the software to test hypotheses and then take their research to the lab to prove and enhance results.  He added that students, already having been trained in this software, will have an advantage when they begin their job searches, as this programming is used throughout industry.

“It’s about reinforcing theory and giving students an advantage in the marketplace,” Webber said. “This software not only supports Trine’s cast metals programs, which is among the very top undergraduate programs in North America, but opens the door for concurrent and collaborative engineering.”

In addition, Webber said the software could be of benefit to northeast Indiana industries seeking to test the quality of their products.

Webber is the Foundry Education Foundation (FEF) key professor at Trine. In addition, he is involved with the Materials Society (American Society of Metals, The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, American Ceramic Society, Association for Iron and Steel Technology and the American Foundry Society. He frequently encourages his students to attend conferences and compete in regional and national contests. He is now seeing the benefits of his hard work.

“One hundred percent of my cast metals students were employed or in graduate school within six months of graduation,” Webber said. “Even better, most mechanical engineering seniors already have secured employment or are entertaining job offers from multiple companies. The more we can expose our students to industry and give them hands-on, real-world experience in labs, with software, with partner industries, the better prepared they will be.”

To share your news, contact Trine University communication specialist Lindsay Winslow Brown at winslowbrownl@trine.edu.