Computer simulation software allows engineers to predict how certain materials will perform under specific – and often extreme – conditions. For instance, major advances in aerospace and flight were made possible due to engineering simulation based on computational solid mechanics, leading to pioneering work conducted by the company Boeing.
H. David Hibbitt, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, founded ABAQUS, Inc., in 1978 to develop a robust software suite to analyze structural problems in engineering. The business boomed, and today ABAQUS software is used all over the world in applications dealing with the mechanical design of a wide range of products including cars, airplanes, smartphones, power plants and offshore oil platforms.
Hibbitt visited the UH Cullen College on Nov. 18 to serve as one of the Distinguished Rockwell Lecture speakers. His talk covered the development of ABAQUS (now Simulia) and its technology.
The Rockwell Lecture, named after Elizabeth D. Rockwell in honor of her gift to establish an endowed chair for the dean of engineering, is held annually at the Cullen College. The world’s most renowned engineers and scientists are invited each year to the Cullen College to deliver Rockwell Lectures.
Click here to view photos from Hibbitt’s Rockwell Lecture!