ANSYS founder earns top engineering honor

23 May, 2004

ANSYS' founder, Dr. John A. Swanson, received the 2004 John Fritz Medal for his contributions in the field of finite element methods. The AAES (American Association of Engineering Societies) presents the award each year for scientific or industrial achievement in any field of pure or applied science. Past medal recipients include Alexander Graham Bell, George Westinghouse, and Orville Wright.

Early in his career, Swanson developed a series of special-purpose simulation codes and identified the need for a general-purpose finite element software code to do complex engineering calculations. He founded Swanson Analysis Systems in 1970 to develop, support and market the ANSYS simulation software program.

"The Fritz Medal signifies innovation in engineering, and Dr. Swanson is indeed an innovator," said John A. Parker, AAES chair. "He has contributed greatly to the engineering profession with his software code that ultimately changes the way companies develop products."