California State University, Northridge has received a $1 million gift from design software giant Autodesk to support the creation of a Center for Integrated Design and Advanced Manufacturing at the university.
The proposed center would establish a single, comprehensive space to design and create prototype products, with enough room for and a workflow that encourages team discussions among students from different disciplines during the design, prototype manufacturing and testing processes.
CSUN President Dianne F. Harrison said the Autodesk gift has the potential to “transform the region’s engineering, design and manufacturing workforce.”
“We are delighted that one of the world’s most innovative companies, Autodesk, and their thought-leading CEO, Andrew Anagnost, has chosen to partner with CSUN to create what we hope will be a model for not only a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach to design and manufacturing related pedagogy, but also a catalyst for that sector’s need to diversify and expand its pool of available talent,” Harrison said. “If we are able to forge the partnerships necessary to bring this vision to fruition, the center will, by design, create an environment where entrepreneurial, inventive thinking is encouraged and where leaders are born.”
Houssam Toutanji, dean of CSUN’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, called the proposed facility a “center of possibilities” that will bring together faculty and students from across the university to collaborate and brainstorm on projects “that we can only imagine at the moment.” Read more...