Space-Tourism Pioneer Rutan To Keynote SolidWorks Conference

Burt Rutan, former Design News Engineer of the Year and winner of the Ansari X-Prize for his SpaceShipOne rocket plane, will be the keynote speaker at the SolidWorks 2005 User Conference, which kicks off January 30 in Orlando, FL. His topic: how small teams of engineers and designers can achieve breakthrough product designs.

Rutan led the team from Scaled Composites, Inc. that won the $10-million X-Prize when SpaceShipOne in 2004 became the first privately manned spacecraft to exceed an altitude of 100 kilometers twice in a 14-Day period.

But Rutan’s fame was ensured years before when his Voyager aircraft became the first to fly nonstop, non-refueled around the world. That was in 1986, when the plane completed the 25,000-mile trip in nine days.

The Conference will be at the Disney Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando. Among the technical sessions on the agenda: Product data management; finite element analysis; medical product design; automation of product design; how to bridge the gap between ECAD and MCAD; and tips and tricks when using SolidWorks software.

Attendees will also hear industry and company updates from CEO John McEleney and COO Jeff Ray, and various SolidWorks users.