The grant was made through the Siemens PLM Software Global Opportunities in Product Lifecycle Management program -- called "GO PLM" -- and includes engineering software, student/instructor training and specialized software certification programs.
With a commercial value of nearly $245 million, it is the largest in-kind grant in the university's history, according to Siemens.
"Advanced tools such as the PLM software are essential to preparing our engineers for the challenges they will face in an increasingly complex and global economy," said Deirdre Meldrum, dean of the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. "They will be able to meet demand for designing and analyzing systems that transcend traditional boundaries.
"This gift from Siemens PLM Software aligns with our vision of leading engineering education and research that sparks innovation, and enables engineers to improve the quality of life."
ASU joins other universities with which Siemens PLM Software has similar academic partnerships or has made similar in-kind grants, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the University of California at Berkeley, Michigan State University, Brigham Young University, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, Carnegie Mellon and Purdue.
"Today's leading manufacturing and technology companies compete on the basis of time to market, product cost, quality and innovation," said Dave Shirk, executive vice president of global marketing for Siemens PLM Software. "It's quite clear that today's best students in top programs, like the program at ASU, benefit through opportunities to gain experience with technology that supports these objectives."
Jami Shah, a professor in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and director of the Design Automation Lab, said Siemens PLM Software "has an extremely generous academic license program."
"Siemens PLM Software realizes the important responsibility industry has in contributing to higher education," Shah said. "Our mechanical and aerospace engineering graduates go to work for major engineering companies that use these kinds of high-end computer-aided design and finite-element analysis software packages. This is why it's important to instruct students with tools such as Siemens PLM Software's NX software. We've used Siemens PLM Software's state-of-the-art software products for nearly 25 years."
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