INDUSTRY

Altair Engineering, Inc., a leading global provider of technology and services that strengthens client innovation and decision-making, today announced that the design team of Luna Rossa Challenge 2007, based in Milan, Italy, has chosen Altair HyperWorks as one of its preferred technology suites to optimize the design of their challenger for the 2007 America's Cup competition. Next year's America's Cup race will take place in Valencia, Spain, and is the international sailing competition that determines the fastest International America's Cup Class (IACC) sailboat and crew in the world. "The America's Cup is a standing symbol of advanced technology," said Claudio Maletto, of the Luna Rossa yacht design team that also includes Bruce Nelson and Roberto Biscontini. "If you want to succeed in a global competition like this, you have to be 100% certain about every single design detail of your boat. We at Luna Rossa will combine the experience of our engineers with Altair HyperWorks design technology to develop the most advanced, high-performance racing vessel. The proven optimization tools in Altair HyperWorks will provide Luna Rossa a distinct design advantage to help us win this race." "We are very proud that HyperWorks will be used to drive the development of the new Luna Rossa competition sailboat," said James R. Scapa, president and CEO of Altair. "The America's Cup always draws attention to design innovation and crew skill. Together, these attributes result in a formidable competitor and a true contender for the Cup. My best wishes go out to the entire Luna Rosa Challenge 2007 team in their pursuit of sailing excellence."