Media Contact: Javier Rojas, Javier.rojas@csun.edu, (818) 677-2130 or Carmen Ramos Chandler, carmen.chandler@csun.edu, (818) 677-2130
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) President Erika D. Beck and Autodesk President and CEO Dr. Andrew J. Anagnost signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today formalizing a long-standing partnership that has benefitted CSUN’s Engineering and Computer Science programs and helped launch new initiatives with the Global Hispanic-Serving Institutions Equity Innovation Hub.
“Our partnership with Autodesk and Andrew aligns perfectly with our mission to create pathways of opportunity for our students in STEM and creative fields,” President Beck said. “Autodesk’s support of the Andrew J. Anagnost College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Autodesk Technology Engagement Center, and our Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub benefits the entire campus community and beyond, including K-12 educators, students and families through early experiences in STEM.”
The MOU formalizes an already-thriving collaboration between CSUN and Autodesk rooted in expanding access to technology and learning experiences for underserved students.
“It’s an honor to help create opportunities for future generations of CSUN graduates,” said Dr. Anagnost, who graduated from CSUN in 1987 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. “Through spaces like the Autodesk Technology Engagement Center and our partnership with the Global HSI Equity Innovation Hub, we can help more students graduate with the skills and confidence to enter careers across the broad industries Autodesk serves.”
The Autodesk Technology Engagement Center is designed to foster innovation and exploration among all CSUN science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) students, and the K-12 schools the university partners with through its Global HSI Innovation Hub. It features fabrication labs, state-of-the-art research, design and digital capture laps, and a makerspace open to all students.
The Center’s Additive Manufacturing and Reverse Engineering Lab provided the perfect workspace for Mechanical Engineering Professor Peter L. Bishay and his team of undergraduate and graduate students, who were designing a prosthetic arm with full wrist, elbow and finger movement.
“Through the use of the AI-empowered generative design tool in Autodesk Fusion, my Smart Prosthetics research-based senior design team was able to design and optimize the forearm internal structure of the wearable robotic arm we are developing this year,” said Dr. Bishay. “This internal structure is the main skeleton of the arm, as it carries all electronic components, including servomotors and the battery. Autodesk’s generative design tool generated an optimal design based on the dimensions, expected loads, boundary conditions, material, specifications, desired factor of safety, and manufacturing method specified by the team. The generated design has been manufactured and tested before being assembled in the arm. The experience has been highly beneficial for my students as they learn to utilize another form of AI in their professional lives. It is another step to prepare them for a future that will certainly be full of AI.”
The relationship between CSUN and Autodesk started back in 1989 when Autodesk first supported CSUN through a donation for student scholarships. In 2018, the company made an initial investment to design a facility that later became the Autodesk Technology Engagement Center, launching a partnership that has since benefited not just CSUN students, but students from its surrounding K-12 schools.
Dr. Anagnost returns to CSUN each year to volunteer and judge the Senior Design Showcase, a capstone competition for the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
In August, CSUN will celebrate the Autodesk Technology Engagement Center’s one-year anniversary.
