The launch of the UTP-Altair CoE for applied scientific computing in 2018 by the then Petronas chairman and UTP pro chancellor Tan Sri Ahmad Nizam Salleh (fifth from left) and invited guests.
Universiti Teknologi Petronas’ latest collaboration with Altair Engineering is an asset to industry, government and other enterprises keen to stay resilient and ahead of the pack
UNIVERSITI Teknologi Petronas (UTP) and Altair Engineering Sdn Bhd are elevating their collaboration up a notch with the recently established UTP-Altair Professorial Chair in applied scientific computing, which in turn further cements the varsity’s proposition as the technology and solutions partner for industries.
Led by Altair Global Academic Programmes senior director Dr Armin Veitl, a veteran in the realm of win-win industry-university collaboration, the chair is an asset to start-ups, small and medium enterprises as well as corporations seeking to develop practical solutions to digitalise their operations, boost competitiveness and ramp up productivity.
Industries that stand to benefit from the UTP-Altair Professorial Chair’s consulting services include manufacturing, banking and financial services, insurance, architecture and construction, oil and gas, automotive, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, as well as electrical and electronics.
Engineering project for automotive industry.
From manufacturers seeking to lower cost of production, improve quality and reduce scrap to fraud detection and risk analysis in the banking and financial services sector, and customer experience, dealer management and profitability planning in product development processes, the chair’s consultancy capabilities and practical solutions facilitate new collaboration opportunities between UTP and its industry network.
The setting up of the UTP-Altair Professorial Chair comes on the heels of the UTP-Altair Centre of Excellence (CoE) for applied scientific computing, set up in 2018.
The first of its kind in the Asia Pacific region, the centre is only the second CoE for Altair, after Houston in the United States.
Focusing on research related to multi-physics, multi-scale modelling and Internet of things (IoT), the CoE’s vision is to become a regionally recognised resource centre for computational modelling and analytics focusing in energy, transportation, and fundamental engineering research.
A subsidiary of Nasdaq-listed Altair Inc, a leader in simulation and engineering solutions, Altair Engineering as UTP’s technology partner has also equipped the CoE with a high-performance computing infrastructure.
With 128 computing nodes, this infrastructure is an asset for UTP researchers as well as industry and partner universities.
Unlimited usage
Parked under the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research, Innovation and Commercialisation)’s office, the CoE for applied scientific computing comprises three entities – namely the department liaison, a technical expert team, and the Altair support team.
“The technical expert team, made up of faculty members, have been trained in specialised software such as Optistruct, AcuSolve, Radioss, EDEM, Feko and Hypermesh, and they serve the entire UTP community,” said CoE head Associate Prof Dr Mokhtar Awang.
“The Altair technical support team is always at hand to provide technical support to students and researchers,” Mokhtar shared.
Participants during the Hypermesh training.
He said that Altair’s engineering software allows UTP to undertake more complex multi-physics problems and address current technology and engineering trends – paving the way for UTP to undertake more cutting-edge research for industry partners and accelerate the commercialisation of its own research.
“We have more than 50 engineering software covering computer aided design and pre-processor software, structural, computational fluid dynamics, electromagnetics, crash and impact solvers, and systems and manufacturing solutions – all of these with unlimited utilisation unlike other commercial engineering software.
“The campus-wide hosted licence via the cloud server is something that is unique and the first of its kind in the country, which means anyone with a UTP email address can access the software and carry out the required simulation design,” he said.
This means UTP is able to enhance its consulting services. The pandemic and the various accompanying restrictions, for instance, did not put the brakes on UTP’s consulting activities, he explained.
He disclosed that the university recently completed a project for an international automotive consultant based in China.
“We could do this, thanks to the licensing package for Altair Hyperworks, the company’s signature product which includes a full commercial licence with unlimited usage,” he added.
Prospective clients across sector and industry
Through the CoE, the university can offer its services to the automotive, electronics and semiconductor industries both in talent development and consultancy projects.
Oil and gas companies can also capitalise on the variety of engineering solutions available under the CoE’s campus-wide licence package – from computing mathematics to physics simulation.
Besides the oil and gas sector, UTP is poised to market its consulting services to government agencies like the police force, whereby the CoE can be used to simulate high-frequency waves to improve coverage of existing communication infrastructure.
He added that the CoE is also set to play a crucial role in capability-building especially in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic that has exacerbated unemployment and employability issues.
Through the programme and support of the National Economic Recovery Plan (Penjana) grant under the Higher Education Ministry, UTP will embark on a 30-day training initiative to upskill the competency of graduates using Altair Hyperworks software.
Later this year, UTP in collaboration with Altair will stage an international design competition.
The month-long virtual event from October to November is expected to attract about a dozen teams from around the region and the world who will compete to come up with the best design optimisation of an offshore transfer bucket using Altair software.
