2003 North America VPD Conference

- Conference Overview

The MSC.Software Virtual Product Development Conference was held on October 13-15, 2003 in Dearborn, Michigan. The event brought together nearly 700 engineering professionals to share their knowledge, best practices and views concerning the future of design and simulation in the automotive, aerospace, defense, rail, shipbuilding and other industrial manufacturing industries.

Announcing the 2004 Americas Virtual Product Development Conference! To be held in the fall of 2004 in Southern California.

Conference Highlights

91% of surveyors rated the conference very good to excellent! 95% recommended attending future VPD conferences!

The top 10 "most valued" aspects of the conference based on survey respondents ranked in the following order:

1) Technical and Management Sessions
2) Keynotes presentations
3) Meeting with peers
4) Conference organization
5) Gaining information and insights on the use of VPD in the industry
6) Meeting with MSC.Software professionals
7) Special Interest Groups
8) Exhibits
9) Professional Development Opportunities
10) Virtual Product Development Maturity Model Assessment

Agenda Highlights

• Keynote presenters included:
  • Dale Karolak, Vice President of Product Development, Intier Automotive
  • Kevin Fowler, Director of Process Integration, 7E7 Program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes
  • Phil Martens, Vice President, Product Creation, North America, Ford Motor Company
  • Dennis J. Wend, Director of the National Automotive Center (NAC) Director for Technology Transfer at the US Army Tank and Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) US Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM)
  • Dr. Ahmed Noor, Director, Center for Advanced Engineering Environments, NASA Langley Research Center
  • Chris P. Theodore, Vice President, Advanced Product Division, Ford Motor Company


• Over 70 Technical presentations by world-class engineers from the automotive, aerospace, defense, education, bio-medical and machinery industries.
• A special management track designed for vice presidents and engineering directors on how to successfully implement VPD processes and strategies.
• Many networking events including: Welcome Reception, 40 years of Innovation cocktail reception, Customer Recognition Dinner, Monte Carlo Casino Night, and Birds of a Feather Lunch Tables.
• Professional Development Opportunities available free to conference attendees, including: Breakfast and Learns, Special Interest Groups, Mentor onDemand, Self-Paced Tutorials, Virtual Product Development Maturity Model Assessment, and the post conference MSC.Nastran 2004 and MSC.Marc technical seminars.
• Understand how to sell the VPD value proposition within your organization.
• The Technology Showcase featured over 20 exhibits from our Hardware and Software partners including a special MSC.Software exhibit demonstrating the latest Virtual Product Development software and services.
• A special 20+ year Customer Recognition Dinner distinguishing MSC.Software customers for 20 or more years. Over 40 customers were honored.