SANTA ANA, CA -- MSC.Software Corp. (NYSE:MNS), the established information technology software and services provider helping companies worldwide develop better products faster, today announced that it awarded more than $6 million in computer-aided engineering (CAE) software to Kettering University's Mechanical Engineering department in an ongoing effort to support and foster Kettering's technical achievements in the mechanical engineering marketplace. "MSC.Software is committed to expanding our education efforts by providing leading-edge software to engineering programs at top universities like Kettering," said Frank Perna, chairman and chief executive officer of MSC.Software. "Today's economy makes it imperative that engineering students graduate armed with real-world design skills. This makes it essential that students be exposed to the latest technology and engineering tools that are already an integral component for the most innovative and progressive companies." Over the next three years, MSC.Software will grant Kettering software licenses for a variety of its simulation tools, including MSC.Patran, MSC.Nastran and MSC Working Model 4D. Both undergraduate and graduate students will utilize the software as a computational tool to visualize and streamline the design process. Kettering's students and faculty will now better be able to study the basic engineering mechanisms, linkages, and motions used to analyze complex and real-world "what-if" design scenarios. "MSC.Software's donation is vitally important to Kettering's mission of offering programs that are relevant, attractive and meet the needs of a changing engineering climate," said K. J. Berry, Ph.D., P.E., head of Kettering's Mechanical Engineering department. "The software helps strengthen our program to ensure that we remain one of the top schools in the nation for mechanical engineering." For more information visit www.mscsoftware.com or www.kettering.edu