CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
16 February 2005
Implementation Investments
Top Transportation Design School Selects think3 as a New Technology Education Partner
The Academy of Art University selected think3's next-generation industrial design technology, thinkiD®, to educate its more than 350 students. The university's school of industrial design is participating in think3's new education program, thinkstartT, launched in North America last October.
"Surface development and execution of surface quality are key factors in turning our students into professional designers," said Tom Matano, Director of the School of Industrial Design at the university. "thinkiD will add flexibility and speed in the design process allowing our students to produce a higher surface quality in their designs." Matano, a distinguished designer in the automotive industry, has more than 30 years experience at Mazda, General Motors, and BMW. Among his most notable accomplishments are Mazda designs that include the 1990 Miata and 1993 RX-7. Matano also noted that because thinkiD offers a surface and solids modeler in a single program, it will allow teachers to more efficiently work with students one-on-one in the classroom.
The school plans to introduce thinkiD into its curriculum this semester. Faculty member Max Sims, who will be teaching the advanced modeling and digital imaging courses, says that it will take "a lot of the pain out" of traditional surface modeling for his students. "Using a surfaces and solid modeler breaks the paradigm of dealing with multiple programs that are considerably more expensive and harder to learn," said Sims. "think3's GSM (Global Shape Modeling) technology will help our transportation students make big changes very late in their design refinement, which they haven't been able to do before, saving them a lot of time and effort."
"We're thrilled that the Academy of Art University selected think3 as an educational partner," said Ann Willey, Vice President of Communications for think3. "Their design school offers one of the top three transportation programs in the country, and the commitment to use the latest technologies in the classroom, like thinkiD, will help keep them there."
The Academy of Art University represents one of the first schools to participate in think3's North American thinkstart program. Thousands of students in more than 125 universities and top design schools in Italy, Germany, France, Japan and India are using think3 technology in the classroom.
Through thinkstart, think3 is partnering with schools and universities to put innovative next-generation industrial design technology-thinkiD-into the hands of the next generation of product design and development professionals. Students and faculty are eligible for the full version of our thinkiD software on an annual subscription basis when they participate in the thinkstart program. And, as an added benefit, students can use thinkiD for free for one year following their graduation. For more information about thinkstart, visit http://www.think3.com/ .
With over 7000 students, the Academy of Art University, established in 1929, is the largest accredited private art school in America. It offers students a curriculum that is current with the latest trends and needs in the art and design industry. Educating students using state-of-the-art technology and offering the most advanced facilities available, keeps the Academy and students on the cutting edge of technology.
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