Freshmen Discover Engineering Fundamentals Using Autodesk Inventor, the World's Leading 3D Mechanical Design Software

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Sept. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) today announced that Brigham Young University (BYU), one of the leading universities for mechanical engineering, has integrated Autodesk Manufacturing solutions into their Mechanical Engineering curriculum. Autodesk Inventor software, the world's leading 3D mechanical design application, has been added to the required BYU freshman-level computer-aided design course that commenced in early September.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO )

"After evaluating Autodesk Inventor against the three software packages we were teaching, we were impressed with how well it performed," says Professor Jordan Cox. "We see Inventor as a major player in the industry and believed our students deserved the chance to learn it." Cox and his colleagues at Brigham Young University believe that giving students the chance to experience real-world engineering early in their education improves their success when they enter the industry.

Brigham Young University will employ Autodesk Inventor in the entry-level engineering graphics course, which is taken by 300 students every year. Cox says that partnering with Autodesk provides a unique opportunity for students to download a free* copy of Inventor for use on their own computers, which enhances their learning experience by giving them more time to become familiar with the software.

In addition to its adoption of Inventor, Brigham Young University is also evaluating other Autodesk manufacturing products for use in their curriculum. BYU Teaching Assistants are learning Autodesk Streamline on-demand collaboration software for the purpose of managing and grading course project submissions and faculty are exploring Autodesk Intent software as a tool for use in a graduate level Mass Customization and Process Automation course.

In its commitment to serve the next generation of engineers, Autodesk recently launched the Student Engineering and Design Community. Now students in the fields of mechanical engineering, architecture, construction and civil engineering have free* access to the professional tools they need to bring ideas to life. Any student or faculty with a valid education e-mail address is invited to participate in the Community. Brigham Young University will supply curriculum content to the faculty section of the Autodesk Student Community portal this fall. For more information on the Autodesk Student Community portal, visit: http://students.autodesk.com .

About Brigham Young University

The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Brigham Young University provides strong academic programs and conducts cutting-edge research in mechanical engineering. The department has an ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) endorsed mechanical program and grants approximately 140 undergraduate (Bachelor of Science) and 35 graduate (Master of Science and Ph.D.) degrees annually.

About Autodesk

Autodesk Inc. is a Fortune 1000 company, wholly focused on ensuring that great ideas are turned into reality. With seven million users, Autodesk is the world's leading 2D and 3D software company for the manufacturing, infrastructure, building, media and entertainment, and wireless data services fields. Autodesk's solutions help customers create, manage and share their data and digital assets more effectively. As a result, customers turn ideas into competitive advantage, become more productive, streamline project efficiency and maximize profits.

Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California. For additional information about Autodesk, please visit www.autodesk.com .

* Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the end-user license agreements that accompany download of the software.

NOTE: Autodesk, Autodesk Intent, Autodesk Inventor, Autodesk Streamline and Inventor are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

    Contact:  Carly Herrig 312.233.1356      Andrew Favreau 312.297.7587
    Email:    carly.herrig@edelman.com       andrew.favreau@edelman.com

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc. 09/28/2006

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
Web site: http://www.autodesk.com
http://students.autodesk.com (ADSK)
0148 09/28/2006 16:30 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com