News John A. Swanson

Education

1966 PhD in Applied Mechanics, University of Pittsburgh, Swanson School of Engineering
1963 M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University, College of Engineering
1962 B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Cornell University, College of Engineering

Career

Dr. Swanson is the founder of ANSYS, Inc. The company, headquartered in Canonsburg, PA, designs, develops, markets, and globally supports engineering simulation solutions used to predict how product designs will behave in manufacturing and real-world environments. ANSYS currently employs approximately 600 people and distributes products through a network of business partners in more than 40 countries.

The company was formed in 1970 to market the ANSYS program, the finite-element software code Swanson created, for use by a broad spectrum of industries employing computer-aided engineering, among them the aerospace, automotive, biomedical, manufacturing, and electronics industries. Swanson served ANSYS as president, chief executive officer, and director until his retirement in March 1999. He still teaches ANSYS training classes and serves the company in an advisory capacity.

Pitt Honors & Affiliations

2006 Appointed to the Board of Trustees
2002 Inducted into the Cathedral of Learning Society, which recognizes individuals who have donated $1 million or more to the University
1998 Received the Swanson School of Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award

Past Giving to Pitt

Through his prior philanthropy to Pitt, Swanson created the John A. Swanson Institute for Technical Excellence, which houses the John A. Swanson Center for Micro and Nano Systems; the John A. Swanson Center for Product Innovation; and the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Center of Excellence. He also has established the John A. Swanson Embedded Computing Laboratory in Computer Engineering.

Industry Honors & Awards

2009 Elected to the National Academy of Engineering
Click here to read more about this prestigious recognition.
2006 President’s Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
2004 The John Fritz Medal,
American Association of Engineering Societies

This is considered the highest and most prestigious award in the engineering profession. Presented since 1902, prior awardees of the Fritz Medal include, among others, Orville Wright, Alexander Graham Bell, Alfred Nobel, Thomas Edison, and George Westinghouse.
2003 Honorary Membership in ASME
1998 ASME Applied Mechanics Award
1994 Named One of the Top 5 of the Top 50 R&D Stars in the US by Industry Week
1994 Election as an ASME Fellow
1990 Computers in Engineering Award for outstanding contributions to the engineering & computing industries.
1987 Pittsburgh Engineer of the Year, American Society of Mechanical Engineers