SIMULIA Champions 2023

Benoît Cousin is a Civil Engineer who graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) with a specialization in Energy. His field of expertise covers, in particular, the aero and geothermal behavior of underground structures and infrastructures, such as transportation and industrial infrastructures, as well as building foundations. He has been active in this field, first as a researcher and then as a consulting engineer. He is now a Director at ECCUS, responsible for the thermal management of ECO Caverns as well as the relationship with higher education institutions. His use of SIMULIA deals with fluid dynamics and conjugate heat transfer for aerothermal and geothermal systems simulation for ventilation, cooling, and heat storage applications.

Benoît Delmas discovered Abaqus during his engineering studies at ENSMA (Poitiers), from which he graduated in 2008 and obtained a master's degree in materials at the same time. He began as a calculation engineer working on structural and instrumentation subjects regarding composite structures for hydrogen storage tanks. Then, he joined the design office as a design engineer, where he used CATIA and was required to manage a CAD database. Following the company's growing need for modeling work, he turned to calculation issues, in particular, the study of bonded connections and the development of models on full-scale objects in parallel with instrumented test programs. He then specialized in modeling of residual stresses in complex multi-material components using various manufacturing processes (bonding, projection (pneumatic, plasma), machining, pressing), then in the modeling of those processes. The objective here is to reduce residual stress in manufactured objects and help optimize processes or adapt them to new materials. In this context, he is required to perform Abaqus calculations in pure thermal, mechanical and thermomechanical areas but also to study glue polymerization and mass diffusion.

Bin Ye graduated from the South China University of Technology with a master's degree in vehicle engineering and joined GAC Automotive Research & Development Center  in 2015. He has been engaged in wind noise and acoustic package simulation for 8 years and currently serves as the subsection chief of the wind noise and acoustic package Sub. of NVH department. Bin Ye has been familiar with PowerFLOW for 7 years and has an in-depth understanding of engineering applications of aerodynamics and statistical energy methods.

Cesare holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Parma, followed by a Ph.D. in Aeronautics from the Imperial College London. During his doctoral studies, he conducted research on numerical and experimental testing of composite structures for Airbus. This experience allowed him to start developing expertise in using Abaqus for highly non-linear analysis and with a multi-failure approach. After completing his Ph.D., Cesare joined Dallara Automobili as a structural analyst and designer, working on metallic and composite structures for the motorsport field (including Formula 1 and other racing formulas, Sport cars, etc.), for high-performance road cars, and aerospace and defense projects. Cesare currently acts both as a leader for the structural side of projects and as a researcher for innovative design methodologies. As a result of his academic and industrial experience, Cesare was appointed as an adjunct professor at the Motorvehicle University of Emilia-Romagna (MUNER), where he taught for three years. Recently, he has focused his work on the multi-objective optimization of complex systems, using a multi-disciplinary and multi-physics approach with the aid of Isight.

Christophe is a Dynamic Simulation Method Expert at Safran. Founded in 2005, Safran is an international industrial group of advanced aerospace technologies.  Christophe and his team are currently working on a multibody methodology to support the development of new Aircraft Engines. Simpack is one of the software tools they use for performance simulation. Christophe has a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. Since 2007 during his studies, he started using Abaqus and Finite Element tools. In 2017 Christophe began to use multibody simulation tools at Safran.  Outside of work, Christophe enjoys running, biking, and practicing martial arts.

Dana Frye is a structural and mechanical analyst with Joby Aviation, working to create a more sustainable and efficient way to travel. Prior to Joby Aviation, Dana worked at General Dynamics Electric Boat, performing analysis on VIRGINIA, SEAWOLF, and COLUMBIA class submarine structures and mechanical components. Dana has used various SIMULIA tools (Abaqus, Tosca, 3DEXPERIENCE) for 10+ years to evaluate the structural integrity of composite and metallic components. Dana is an advocate for both the cutting-edge Abaqus software, and the unique capabilities for composites design and simulation on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform thanks to the SIMULIA Structural Analysis apps. Dana holds a Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering from Lehigh University, and a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI).

Douglas Dominick is the Senior Director of the Computational Modeling & Simulation (CM&S) team in the Advanced Technology division of Edwards Lifesciences. The CM&S team consists of computational modeling industry experts who deliver world-class engineering services, technologies, and innovative designs to facilitate best-in-class products for treating structural heart disease. Douglas also manages the corporate-wide High-Performance Computing (HPC) platform at Edwards Lifesciences. Prior to Edwards Lifesciences, he was with Dassault Systèmes Simulia Corporation for 8 years, where he held multiple roles, including senior application engineer, technical lead for the Life Sciences and Hi-Tech industry sales teams, and Expert Solution Architect for the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform. He has a M.S. in mechanical engineering from University of Akron where he focused on numerical methods, fracture mechanics, and polymer engineering.

Giuseppe is a Mechanical Engineer who graduated from Politecnico di Torino with a thesis about comparing various methods to simulate the Fatigue Life Prediction of an automotive suspension component. He started very early in his professional life to use Abaqus (version 6.3), first as a consultant for important Automotive OEMs and also later when he moved to CRF (Fiat Research Center). After this experience, Giuseppe moved to IVECO Spa (a Company of Iveco Group), where he served as a Durability Performance Engineer and studied several methodologies for Fatigue, Elastomers, Digital Signal Processing, and Structures in general. He still continues to contribute to the simulations using Abaqus for Fatigue and Structural. The curiosity to operate in a virtual environment very close to reality was always the driver that moved him for more than 20 years to find always new solutions to have reliable simulations and good results.

Jan Hansen received a B.Sc. degree in Mathematics/Physics from Trent University, Peterborough, ON, Canada, in 1995, a Diploma in physics from Freiburg University, Freiburg in Breisgau, Germany, in 1998, and a Ph.D. degree in wireless communications from ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland, in 2003. After completing his Ph.D., he worked at the Information Systems Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA, working in digital communication theory, channel modeling, and wave propagation. In 2005, he joined Robert Bosch GmbH in Stuttgart, Germany, where he began working with CST Studio Suite's electromagnetic field calculation software to solve electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) problems. Since 2005, Jan Hansen has participated in a fruitful interaction with CST Studio Suite/SIMULIA in the field of EMC and electronics simulation, which has led to a thorough understanding of electromagnetic modeling in industrial electronics. Being a rather exotic business in 2005, EMC simulation has since developed into an important asset creating unique design opportunities. In 2022, Jan Hansen joined the faculty of Graz University of Technology, where he continues his work on electromagnetic modeling of industrial electronics. He is particularly interested in improving the speed, accuracy, and versatility of simulation using machine learning methods. In addition, Jan integrates electromagnetic design using simulation into university teaching to train happy future simulation engineers.

Engineering is Jim's passion, with a not-so-successful beginning as a youth learning about a stereo system (disassembly was fine…reassembly, not so much), but he got better. Jim taught engineering courses at the University of Colorado and developed advanced wind turbine blades at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which led to a career at Pratt & Whitney. Over the years, Jim has been able to help others advance their careers, something very important to him. He has been using SIMULIA products (primarily Abaqus and Isight) for about 20 years, performing a wide variety of finite element analysis simulations. When not in the office, Jim enjoys spending time with his family, participating in mud runs, and working on his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering (where he also uses quite a bit of Abaqus).

Kilbae is a Senior Research Engineer at Hyundai Rotem Company and has more than 25 years of experience in railway vehicle dynamics. He has been involved in developing bogies for various speed ranges, from the 3-axles bogie for the locomotive to bogies for high-speed trains with an operating speed of up to 300 kph. The simulation results for the vehicle running safety were validated using static and dynamic test results following GMRT2141 & GMRC2641. Investigation of the effect of traction on vehicle dynamics was done by co-simulation with Matlab and Simpack. In Kilbae's current work, he is developing a new generation of high-speed trains that travel at up to 400kph, focusing on the wheel/rail interface in high-speed running conditions and the vehicle dynamics on various infrastructures, such as the ballasted track and the DFF track. Simpack and Abaqus have been used for these investigations.

Kyle Downes worked as a Simulation and Modelling Engineer at Unilever. His role within packaging R&D was to develop automated simulation models inside the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and ensure they are fit for purpose. Day-to-day tasks included running sensitivity studies of FEA simulations, investigating material models and understanding material behaviours, or supporting live design and manufacturing projects. Before joining Unilever, Kyle graduated from the University of Liverpool with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, where he undertook an industrial project with a large domestic appliance manufacturer, helping to develop automated manufacturing lines. After graduation Kyle worked as a design engineer for two years, designing fibre optic and power infrastructure products for the rail and highways sectors. In his spare time, Kyle enjoys socializing with friends, mountain biking and travelling.

Liu has been engaged in automobile development for 14 years, with 17 years of experience applying Abaqus and 11 years of experience using Isight. His strengths are in the multi-physical field coupling analysis, multidisciplinary optimization, and lightweight analysis. Liu has written more than 40 papers and nine patents. He was a speaker at the Global 3DEXPERIENCE Modeling & Simulation Conference and a speaker at the SIMULIA users' conference, obtaining the excellent paper award.

Liu's awards include: Second prize of the Liaoning Province Natural Science Academic Achievement Award (2 items); Second prize of Shenyang Natural Science Academic Achievement Award (2 items); Third prize of Shenyang Natural Science Academic Achievement Award (2 items); ALCE 2019/2020 Speaker of the 14th Automobile lightweight Conference; ALCECEE 2020 Speaker of China Automotive Engineering Annual Conference and Exhibition; 2021 Training instructor in Lightweight Alliance; specialty construction expert of Liaoning Toyota Jinbei Technician College.

Mario Durando has a Master's Degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Politecnico of Turin, Italy. His job experience is as a CAE analysis specialist, first at Alenia Aerospace, then at Fiat Research Center, and now in Stellantis, with 32 years of experience in virtual simulation, most of them for structural and durability analysis of powertrain components and systems. He is an active user of SIMULIA products for over 21 years, mainly with Abaqus and some applications with Isight and Tosca. Mario has constant interaction with the SIMULIA support team. He has been extensively using Abaqus in developing methods for thermo-mechanical, dynamic and fatigue analysis, material nonlinear behavior, and structural optimization, with the aim to support the powertrain components design and validation process.

Matteo Cendamo received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Telecommunication Engineering with a specialization in Radio-Frequency and Microwave from Politecnico di Milano. He is also licensed as a Professional Engineer. He started to use CST Studio Suite, and electromagnetic simulation software in his previous work experience as a Ground Segment Engineer designing antennas and feeds for satellite communication systems. He has been with the CommScope Research and Development department for about four years, where he is in charge of the design of filters, multiplexers, TMAs, and, in general, passive devices operating in the RF/Microwave range.

Meng was awarded a Bachelor's degree in electronic science and technology from Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, China, in 2010. In 2011, he started to work as an electronic engineer at Samsung Electronics and Harman Automotive Systems, mainly engaged in circuit design and SI, PI, and EMI. Currently, he is a senior electronics engineer at Nexteer responsible for developing e-drive products. 

Meng started to use CST Studio Suite in 2019 and quickly mastered CST Studio Suite in EMC simulation of electric drive systems. The simulation results matched perfectly with the test, which the company leaders highly recognized. As a user of CST Studio Suite, Meng has a very high opinion of CST Studio Suite and thinks it is the best 3D EMF simulation software. Meng presented his work with CST Studio Suite at the 2021 SIMULIA Regional User Meeting in China. Now Meng is the technical leader of Nexteer EM simulation and is working on applying CST Studio Suite to more design fields.

Graduating from the University of Sheffield in June 2013 with a First Class Master's Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Michael joined Jaguar Land Rover as a graduate in September 2013. Throughout his time within the business, Michael has spent most of his time working in virtual engineering, leading the way in digital engineering automation within the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform. In July 2019, Michael was elected to be a member of the IMechE as a Chartered Engineer. In December 2021, Michael was promoted to the position of Technical Specialist – CAE Templates, and continues to lead the transformation to empower engineers to carry out their own analysis.

Ming graduated from the South China University of Technology in 2014 with a Master's degree in Structural Engineering. He has been an Abaqus user for applied research and consulting applications of nonlinear behavior analysis and simulation of building structures and building toughness evaluation for over 8 years, and he is very familiar with the concrete constitutive model. He has been with Central-south Architectural Design Institute, China, since 2017, where he is a civil engineer.

The UMAT subroutines of civil engineering materials developed by Ming Cheng have been applied to many large and complex engineering problems. His team also developed a general Pre-processing and Post-processing software based on Abaqus for nonlinear analysis of building structures. During the last 2 years, he devoted himself to CFD simulation based on XFlow, from pollutant diffusion for hospitals to FSI simulation of buildings. Relevant achievements helped him win the first prize in the BRICS simulation contest. Future research of his team will be on multi-hazard simulation in urban areas.

Parag is a senior manager in the CAE department at Bharat Forge Ltd, India. He holds a Master's degree in Design Engineering from IIT Mumbai, India. Parag has more than 23 years of experience in the automotive industry. He has been using Abaqus for more than 18 years. His main interests include durability, NVH, DFSS, elastomer modeling, MDO, digital twin, light weighting using Al-intensive structures, and manufacturing simulations. Currently, his focus areas are virtual validation of E-axles and E-drives for electric vehicles.

Rich is a Staff Reservoir Geomechanicist at ConocoPhillips Company and has used the finite element numerical technique to solve problems in geomechanics for about 30 years. Rich has spent the past 20 years in the oil and gas industry. He has used Abaqus for most of this time, and some notable projects have involved coding user subroutines involving material nonlinearity in classical, rate-independent plasticity, salt deformation, and fracturing of rock. Rich's most recent work involves hydraulic fracturing in porous rock, the XFEM technique, and extensive Python scripting within pre- and post-processing. Rich holds B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from the Universities of Rochester, Wisconsin, and Washington (St. Louis) in Geosciences and Mechanical Engineering, and post-docs at Northwestern and Sydney. His hobbies are playing drums and piano, history, and his primary text editor will always be improved vi.

Roman is a Principal RF Engineer in the Base station antenna department at Commscope, where he is with the "Future technology team" exploiting novel filter designs and technologies. He received his Ph.D. in electrotechnical engineering from the Brno University of Technology in 2006 in the field of Radioelectronics and Antennas. Roman's experience with simulation tools goes back to his Master's and Ph.D. studies, where he used CST Microwave Studio for antenna near-field radiation modeling. After a short period dealing with EMC and cable harness-related tasks of passenger vehicles at Skoda-Auto, he joined the Andrew (later acquired by CommScope) R&D group and focused his attention on R.F./microwave filters and multiplexers. Roman helped to introduce several innovative simulation approaches and to improve the modeling fidelity and workflow of complex filters. Besides everyday challenges at work, he enjoys outdoor activities and good food.

Scott Piper has worked for corporations in the automotive and aerospace industries for over 19 years using electromagnetics simulation to solve issues for electromagnetic compatibility (EMC). Scott has worked for General Motors – the largest automaker in the United States on a team developing new methods for computer-aided engineering (CAE) throughout the company worldwide. Scott's particular area of expertise is in electromagnetic modeling and simulation using tools, including CST Studio Suite in his work. EMC is a very challenging issue to simulate, and Scott enjoys the challenge in pushing the edge of what is possible to improve our understanding, increase the quality of engineering, and decrease development time. Scott also has enjoyed seeing computational electromagnetics technology noticeably progress much further since he started with it and is looking forward to seeing how far it can go.

Shree is a results-oriented engineering professional with an impeccable history of achieving desired results in cutting-edge solutions development, rapid and reliable engineering problem resolution, large-scale research operations, and first-rate client service. He possesses superior expertise in failure investigation management, asset integrity practices, tactical project implementation, and all facets of computational mechanics. He was repeatedly recognized for his robust knowledge base in fracture mechanics, intricate computer-aided engineering (CAE) techniques, and state-of-the-art structural analysis software.

Sungjin Yoon received a graduate degree in finite element analysis in 1992. During the 30 years since that time, he has worked in the CAE department of Hyundai Motor Company. Currently, his main task is to predict the structural performance of vehicle chassis systems. He mainly uses Abaqus and fe-safe. Sungjin has a history of participating in SIMULIA events, such as the global and local conferences in the USA, Spain, and Korea, where he presented a number of his studies as author and co-author. He also shared his studies in Dassault Systèmes' SIMULIA Community News (February/March 2012). He has also submitted papers and presentations to JSAE (Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan) three times (1997, 2004, 2016).

Even at the age of 55, he is still developing new analysis methods using Abaqus and passing on his experiences to younger researchers. He still enjoys his job and wants to keep doing this until he retires. Sungjin's current interests are rubber analysis and co-simulation (nonlinear-multi body dynamics) in the automotive field.

Dr. Thomas A. H. Bressner obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and information technology from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Germany, in 2012. During his bachelor studies, he gained his first experience with SIMULIA. This knowledge was then solidified during his Master's studies. He obtained his Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Stockholm, Sweden, in 2015, an M.S. degree in electronic engineering from the Politecnico di Torino (POLITO), Italy, in 2015, and an M.S. degree in electrical engineering with a focus on R.F. technologies from KIT, in 2016. Subsequently, he joined the Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology (TUE), Netherlands, to start his Ph.D. on energy-efficient base stations for mobile communications (www.silika-project.eu). In 2020, Thomas started working as an R.F. developer and expert in CST Studio Suite at Ericsson in Rosenheim. His current focus is on base station antenna for mobile communications.

Vikram joined the faculty of Engineering at the University of Cambridge as a lecturer in 2001 and was promoted to a professorship in Materials Engineering in 2010. He has also served on the faculties at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the Technical University of Eindhoven. His work is primarily in experimental and theoretical solid mechanics, and Vikram has used Abaqus from his early Ph.D. years. More recently, he uses it performing highly coupled multi-physics calculations for failure of Li-ion batteries and in mechanobiology. Vikram has been awarded the 2020 Rodney Hill Prize in Solid Mechanics, the 2022 Prager Medal and the 2022 ASME Koiter medal. He has also been elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, London and an International member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Woocheol has about 20 years of experience using Abaqus. Over the past 10 years, he has conducted tire-related analysis and gained expertise in nonlinear and composite material-related analysis. Currently, he's working at L.G. Electronics, conducting analysis related to clothes dryers and vacuum cleaner products. He specializes in nonlinear analysis, simulation process automation, and customization in in-house code. He has rich experience in large deflection analysis using Abaqus Standard/Explicit and fluid-structure interaction analysis using XFlow and Abaqus co-simulation. He's also very interested in robust design using Isight and applying optimization techniques.

Yadhu Krishnan, Technical Lead – RF simulation, has been working in Continental AG since 2020. He is responsible for leading the planning and execution of major RF simulation activities (focused on autonomous driving) according to customer/internal milestones with the required scope and quality. He is involved in key projects covering aspects of Vehicle Integration Simulation, EMI/EMC, antenna/sensor development, and radar-based autonomous driving functions & scenario simulation. 

Yadhu Krishnan has a wide experience in RF modeling and simulation approaches/tools. Throughout his career of 6+ years, he has been involved in mitigating RF & EMI/EMC challenges in product development & working with clients across electronics, aerospace, automotive, defense, research, etc. industry domains. He holds a Master of Engineering Degree in Electromagnetics and RF/Antenna Engineering.

Ying joined Great Wall Motors Company in 2011. His first job was as a CAE engineer in FAW Dalian diesel engine company after graduating in 2003 with a Master's degree in Vehicle Engineering. Then he worked at AVL List (Shanghai) technical center in 2006 and at Shanghai diesel engine company in 2009. Ying has been using Abaqus for 12 years. In 2021, he selected SIMULIA's MBS tool Simpack in NVH simulation. Using SIMULIA brought a high-efficiency and high-fidelity way to the team and they have completed many NVH prediction and troubleshooting issues.

Zhilong holds a Doctorate in Mechanics from the University of Science and Technology of China and is a postdoctoral and senior engineer in oil and gas well engineering at the China Petroleum Exploration and Development Research Institute. He is mainly engaged in the research and development of numerical simulation technology and software for oil and gas well engineering, the material testing and structural design of high-temperature and high-pressure rubber seals, and the development of ultra-high-temperature and high-pressure test gauges. 

He has presided over and participated in more than 10 national Program 973 projects, major national science and technology projects, and key research and development projects of CNPC. He successfully developed drilling and completion engineering design analysis software, 200 ℃/105MPa packer rubber cartridge, 175 ℃/206MPa storage pressure gauge and other achievements.