Press Release

Astronaut Gregory Chamitoff Keynote to Kick-off MSC’s 50th Anniversary User Conference Series

By SpaceRef Editor
March 13, 2013
Filed under , ,

MSC Software Corporation, the leader in multidiscipline simulation solutions that accelerate product innovation, today announced that NASA astronaut and engineer Dr. Gregory Chamitoff will deliver the keynote speech at the company’s 2013 Americas user conference and 50th anniversary celebration.

The conference, “A New Era Begins,” will be held on May 7-8 in Irvine, California. It kicks off a worldwide series of user group conferences in 20 countries through the spring and summer.

Chamitoff has been with NASA since 1995 and contributed to space projects before that as a graduate student at MIT. He has logged more than 198 days in space on NASA missions.

While working on his doctoral degree, Chamitoff performed stability analysis for the Hubble Space Telescope deployment, designed flight control upgrades for the Space Shuttle and developed attitude control system software for the Space Station. After joining NASA, Chamitoff led the development of software for spacecraft attitude control monitoring, prediction, analysis and maneuvering.

In 2008, Chamitoff served as the flight engineer and science officer for a six-month mission aboard the International Space Station. In 2011, Chamitoff served as a mission specialist on the last flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour and also performed the final spacewalk of the Space Shuttle program.

NASA helped launch MSC’s 50 years of success in the software industry. The company was founded in 1963. In 1965, MSC was one of the primary developers of NASTRAN simulation software for the Apollo space program. MSC then developed the first commercial version of NASTRAN (MSC Nastran), which established it as a leading simulation and analysis software company.

“It’s a particular honor to have Dr. Chamitoff as our keynote speaker because of NASA’s place in MSC Software’s history,” said MSC President and CEO Dominic Gallello. In addition to Chamitoff’s keynote, “A New Era Begins” will include an opening-day address from Gallello recounting the company’s 50-year history of innovation and describing its vision for the future. The general session will include a video of MSC’s history, from the NASA era to the present, and the scientific accomplishments its products have supported through the years.

The Americas user conference will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Irvine, California. For more information, please visit http://pages.mscsoftware.com/50Years-HomeUSA.html. The conference agenda includes deep technical expertise from speakers presenting on behalf of BMW, Boeing, Baker Hughes, Caterpillar, China Aerospace, Ford, Graham Packaging, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA, Scripps and many more. To view a full listing of speakers and abstracts to be presented at the Americas Conference, visit http://pages.mscsoftware.com/50Years-AbstractsUSA.html.

International user group events will be held in the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions in May, June and September. EMEA events will be held in: Sweden May 13-14; Germany May 14-15; UK May 15-16; France May 16-17; Russia May 21-22; Italy May 22-23; and Turkey May 27. Asia-Pacific events will be held in: Japan, May 30; Korea, June 5; China, June 6-7; and India, Sept. 5-6. For more information on international events, please visit http://www.mscsoftware.com/50years/.

About MSC Software

MSC Software is one of the ten original software companies and the worldwide leader in multidiscipline simulation. As a trusted partner, MSC Software helps companies improve quality, save time, and reduce costs associated with design and test of manufactured products. Academic institutions, researchers, and students employ MSC’s technology to expand individual knowledge as well as expand the horizon of simulation. MSC Software employs 1,100 professionals in 20 countries. For additional information about MSC Software’s products and services, please visit: www.mscsoftware.com.

The MSC Software corporate logo, Simulating Reality, MSC Nastran, Adams, Actran, Digimat, Dytran, Easy5, Marc, Patran, MSC, MasterKey, MasterKey Plus, Mvision, SimDesigner, SimManager, and SimXpert are trademarks or registered trademarks of MSC Software Corporation and/or its subsidiaries in the United States and/or other countries. NASTRAN is a registered trademark of NASA. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.

SpaceRef staff editor.