Siemens Corp. Announces $440M In-Kind Grant to YSU
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Siemens Corp. officially announced this morning it is providing an in-kind grant of $440 million in state-of-the-art product lifecycle management software and training to Youngstown State University's College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
The grant is a core component in the continuing efforts of the new National Additive Manufacturing Innovation Institute in downtown Youngstown to prepare a modern workforce in the Cleveland-Youngstown-Pittsburgh TechBelt and throughout the United States, YSU said in announcing the grant award. The software will be used to educate students and prepare them for careers in fields ranging from robotics design to computer-aided engineering to additive manufacturing in a multitude of industries around the world, including aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, high-tech electronics, machinery and oil and gas.
"From a software perspective, this in-kind grant puts YSU at the leading edge of advanced manufacturing research and provides our students the opportunities that they can only obtain from the best engineering research institutions," said Martin Abraham, YSU STEM dean.
The software allows companies to manage the entire lifecycle of a product efficiently and cost-effectively, from ideation, design and manufacture, though service and disposal. NASA used the software to develop the Mars rover Curiosity, Calloway uses it to design golf clubs and Space X, a private space exploration company in California, has used the software to develop its Falcon rocket and Dragon space capsule.
Eric Spiegel, president and CEO of Siemens Corp., a Mahoning Valley native and graduate of Poland Seminary High School in Poland, was on hand for this morning's announcement, which took place at YSU's Kilcawley Center.
"When I left Youngstown in 1976 to go to college, the city was rapidly declining and the future looked bleak," Spiegel recalled. "Today, seeing the revitalization of Youngstown, including the construction of a new steel mill and the addition of the NAMII, it is clear that not only is Youngstown back, it's once again at the forefront of innovation and technology, and I'm so proud that Siemens will contribute to that success."
YSU's president, Cynthia Anderson, thanked Siemens for its generosity. "With state-of-the-art software, a new Ph.D. program in materials science and engineering, and NAMII within walking distance of the campus, YSU becomes a destination university for students seeking advanced manufacturing, materials and engineering degrees," she said.
Siemens could have a tremendous impact on the future of the Mahoning Valley, said Tom Humphries, president and CEO of the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and coordinator of the in-kind grant opportunity. "The most sophisticated companies on earth want to locate where the pool of talent is world-class," he remarked. "Having our engineering students trained on this industry-leading PLM software gives us an advantage that will rival some of the great high-tech corridors in the United States."
SOURCE: YSU News Center
Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
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