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The Ohio State University and Honda celebrated the grand opening of the new Simulation Innovation and Modeling Center (SIMCenter) by inviting other potential industry partners to collaborate at the facility designed to advance product performance and manufacturing processes through computer-aided simulation.

Located in Smith Laboratory and part of the College of Engineering, the SIMCenter was launched as a result of a $5 million gift from Honda R&D Americas, Inc., and began operating late last winter. The Center is focused on researching and developing new and improved computational engineering tools for all aspects of vehicle design and manufacturing.

The grand opening event included Honda R&D Americas, Inc. President Frank Paluch, College of Engineering Dean David B. Williams, Ohio Supercomputer Center Executive Director Pankaj Shah, and University of Cincinnati College of Engineering Dean Teik Lim.

"The SIMCenter is a little over one year old, and we have already received significant industry funding, primarily from Honda," said SIMCenter Director Rob Lee. "With ten faculty members actively participating in the center, and an aggressive effort to hire research staff underway, we are now ready to reach out to potential industry partners to help them with their research and development needs."

The SIMCenter seeks to utilize computer-aided engineering to improve the accuracy of virtual testing for new materials and designs. These innovations will save time and resources during development, and can predict outcomes with greater precision.

Since 1988, Ohio State and Honda have continuously partnered on initiatives in education, research, product development, and public service. This latest step in the partnership will accelerate the adoption of virtual engineering methods to enable greater product innovations and benefit future customers.

"Every company has a different vision for the future of mobility, however, we all have a common need to develop ideas into new solutions as quickly, safely, and efficiently as possible," said Paluch. "The collaboration in the research environment of the SIMCenter by talented young engineers trained in advanced CAE methods will help advance the field much more quickly than we could do alone."

About Honda R&D Americas, Inc.
Honda R&D Americas, Inc. (HRA) is responsible for creating advanced products and technologies that provide new value to Honda and Acura customers. HRA has the capability of "complete product creation" – developing all-new products, starting from market and technology research and design styling through engineering design, prototype fabrication and testing, local parts procurement, and support for mass production preparation. With major facilities in California, Ohio, North Carolina and Florida, HRA is engaged in the development and testing of Honda and Acura automobiles, and Honda power sports and power equipment products, and is also taking a leading role in the advancement of leading-edge safety, driver assistive and environmental technologies.

About The Ohio State University
The Ohio State University is a dynamic community of diverse resources, where opportunity thrives and where individuals transform themselves and the world. Founded in 1870, Ohio State is a world-class public research university and the leading comprehensive teaching and research institution in the state of Ohio. With more than 63,000 students (including 57,000 in Columbus), the Wexner Medical Center, 14 colleges, 80 centers and 175 majors, the university offers its students tremendous breadth and depth of opportunity in the liberal arts, the sciences and the professions.

About The Ohio State University College of Engineering
Ohio State's graduate and undergraduate engineering programs are both ranked first among all Ohio universities and 17th nationally among all public universities. With more than 55,000 living engineering and architecture alumni worldwide, the College of Engineering features world-class, experiential learning programs within 11 departments: Center for Aviation Studies; Biomedical Engineering; Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering; Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering; Computer Science and Engineering; Electrical and Computer Engineering; Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering; Integrated Systems Engineering; Knowlton School of Architecture; Materials Science and Engineering; and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

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