WILSONVILLE, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ:MENT) today announced that its FloEFD™ computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software product was used by all state finalists in the Fourth Annual Real World Design Challenge (RWDC), a national aviation design competition that was held on April 21, 2012 in Washington, D.C. The 2012 RWDC National Champion is the Baldwin High School “Kansas Tornadoes” team from Baldwin City, Kansas, who received their first place award at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum IMAX Theater. This is the second time Baldwin High School has won this national championship, having received this honor in 2010.
More than 600 high schools participated in this program. Thirty high school teams from across the country were selected for the national competition. This year’s aviation challenge problem was to design an efficient, low-carbon emission and environmentally friendly personal Light Sport Aircraft (LSA) that could support two people and fly from Kitty Hawk, N.C. to Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH at a minimum cruise altitude of 1,000 feet above ground level. The competition requirements included creating the tail and wings of a LSA using a computer design program, conducting aerodynamic, propulsion, sizing, weight and balance analyses to optimize the aircraft, followed by a team essay.
The fastest-growing educational program in the United States, the RWDC—which is based on a public and private partnership—provides tools and resources to the schools to support Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education. The Mechanical Analysis Division (MAD) of Mentor Graphics donated its leading FloEFD computational fluid dynamics software to all participating schools. The aeronautical challenge required the teams to apply the software and develop an essay on their findings, which were presented to a panel of expert judges. The judges, including Erich Buergel, general manager of the Mechanical Analysis Division at Mentor Graphics, selected the finalists and winning teams. Visit the RWDC website at www.realworlddesignchallenge.org.
The Baldwin High School team members are (freshman) Quint Heinecke, (juniors) Kaitlyn Barnes, Abby Clem, Carrie Dietz, Mackenzie Johnson, and Austin Kraus. The team coach and enhanced learning instructor at Baldwin High School was Pam Davis.
“The Real World Design Challenge is an outstanding opportunity for schools, government and industry to come together and ensure America’s continued leadership in aerospace innovation,” said Dr. Ralph K. Coppola, PTC senior director of government and strategic education programs, and the director of the Real World Design Challenge. “We applaud the commitment of our nation’s high school students, instructors, advisors and mentors, demonstrating the innovation, teamwork and problem-solving tasks to compete in this challenge—and we are proud of Baldwin High School for winning our national competition twice.”
“I commend the students and their instructors from across the country for participating in the RWDC since they are contributing to the future of aerospace engineering,” stated Erich Buergel, general manager of the Mechanical Analysis Division at Mentor Graphics. “Using PTC design and structural simulation tools and Mentor’s Creo-embedded FloEFD computational fluid dynamics simulation software during the challenge, high school students with little or no training in the use of technology were able to generate accurate, high-performance simulations to enhance their final product designs, with ease and confidence.”
About Mentor Graphics
Mentor Graphics Corporation is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world’s most successful electronic, semiconductor and systems companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues in the last fiscal year of about $1,015 million. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com.
(Mentor Graphics is a registered trademark and FloEFD is a trademark of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.)