Thermo-Calc Software Receives ASM Pacesetter Award

Since 2015, following a successful pilot program that commenced in 2012, Thermo-Calc Software has supported the ASM Materials Genome Toolkit Program Award which is partially supported by the NIST-funded Center for Hierarchical Materials Design (CHiMaD) as part of the national Materials Genome Initiative (MGI). This award, established by the ASM Materials Education Foundation and under a special arrangement with Thermo-Calc Software AB, is a competition open to U.S. undergraduate engineering programs to compete to receive licenses for the latest versions of Thermo-Calc, add-on modules and databases. This program has been instigated to promote science-based computational materials design and engineering in undergraduate curriculum.

To enter the competition, schools must submit a proposal stating how they plan to integrate the software into their undergraduate curriculum and how they would use it in the context of the ASM Undergraduate Design Competition. Winners are then chosen based on how well their proposal balances the use of the software between theory and application. Thermo-Calc Software provides the winning schools with three-year licenses along with training and support.

In 2015, six schools were awarded three-year licenses. In 2016 and 2017 a further three schools each year were awarded, bringing the total to twelve. In 2018, as the licenses for the first six schools expired, four schools renewed for an additional three years and an additional four new schools were added into the programming, expanding the program to sixteen schools. Since 2015, Thermo-Calc Software has provided approximately $3M of licenses for software and databases in support of this program.

Thermo-Calc Software AB was established in 1997 and the majority owner of the company is the non-profit foundation “Stiftelsen för Tillämpad Termodynamik” (STT), the purpose of which is to support research in the field of computational thermodynamics which is achieved annually by distributing scholarships to young researchers who are active in this field. Supporting educational activities is part of the mission of STT and also Thermo-Calc Software through actively providing a free educational version of Thermo-Calc, developing educational resources in collaboration with KTH Royal Institute of Technology, actively supporting University research programs in Sweden, the United States and China as well as providing numerous training programs, educational videos and webinars and workshops to be used in both undergraduate, post-graduate and continuing workforce development.

Thermo-Calc Software believes that for the vision of Industry 4.0 to be realized, simulating materials properties is going to be an essential component of such a framework. Educating the future workforce in the use of such tools is essential for equipping the next generation of materials engineers and supporting the ASM Materials Genome Toolkit Program is aligned with this. We are proud to partner with ASM Materials Education Foundation in supporting the future generation of materials engineers and are honoured to be recognised by ASM.