SIMULIA Welcomes 2025 Champions to Program

We are already in the sixth year of the Champions program and are delighted to have more than 170 SIMULIA Champions.

These simulation ambassadors live around the globe, hailing from various countries in Asia, Europe, North America, and Australia, and work in multiple industries, such as aerospace, automotive, energy, high-tech, manufacturing, life sciences, consumer package goods, and academia. Our Champions are scientists and engineers, professors and researchers. They are experts in electronics, additive manufacturing software, energy, and much more.

2025 Champions come from companies, including ASICS, Toyota Motor Corporation, Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology Co., Google, Huawei, Mercedes-Benz R&D India Pvt Ltd, Goldwind Science&Technology Co., BMW AG, Johnson & Johnson, DRI CNPC, Ford Motor Company, The University of Toyko and LG Electronics —to name a few.

This year’s Champions include:

• Ameya Apte, Vehicle Dynamics CAE Engineer at General Motors, has more than a decade of experience in multibody dynamics and is part of a core team that is leading more than 70 engineers in the transition to Simpack.
• Chad Bartlett, Visiting Scientist at Kiel University, his primary research interests include microwave and millimeter-wave passive components, filters, multiplexers and antenna networks for the next generation of satellite and communication systems, as well as developing methods for overcoming challenges in micro-scale designs.
• Neal Berner, Principal Engineer at Toyota Motor North America, has more than 25 years of simulation experience in the automotive industry and has been in the Toyota Motor North America R&D powertrain simulation group since 2006.
• Jiling Bu, Professional Engineer at Zhuzhou Times New Material Technology CO., Ltd., is mainly engaged in the fields of rail transit, automobile, wind power system dynamics simulation, fatigue life prediction of polymer material products structure optimization, and molding process.
• Marcos Cervantes, R&D Manager at Neklar, is performing CAE and analytical simulations, with a focus on the development of the project from the very beginning stage and has been using Abaqus for more than 10 years, acquiring expertise in the fields of dynamics and thermal management.
• Damien Chassoulier, R&D Magnetic Engineer at Thales Alenia Space, used to work on several projects and products to deliver for flight (TRL4 to 9): magnetic suspended wheels, solar arrays, and mechanisms. Now, he works on R&D projects for mechanisms (TRL1 to 4, and sometimes until TRL9), mainly on magnetic components such as sensors, motors, and actuators.
• Sang Hyuk Choi, Process Engineer at LG Electronics, has been a CAE engineer for 13 years, with a focus on the packaging of home appliances, rubber parts and topology optimization and has been managing the simulation process and data management system on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for 3 years.
• Mohamed El Hadidy, Professor for IoT and Digital Communication Technology at the RheinMain University of Applied Science, loves teaching, and research is his best hobby. He has more than 60 international publications and supervised several PhD and M.Sc. successive students.
• Huijuan Guo, Office Director at CNPC Engineering Technology R&D Company Limited, has been engaged in numerical simulation related to drilling and completion engineering for nearly 20 years. Using numerical simulation technology, he solved numerous failure problems in the drilling field and also improved the best scheme for drilling equipment and tools design.
• Ricardo Hernandez, Research and Development Manager at Jorcar Titanium, has been working with Abaqus since he finished his studies in mechanical engineering and now leads the research team, focusing on titanium recycling, powder production and additive manufacturing.
• Mohamed Hussein, Engineering Team Leader at Elsewedy Electric PSP, has more than 10 years of experience in mechanical design and analysis, specializing in the management of Static and Mechanical equipment. He is highly skilled in CAD and CAE and is a Certified SOLIDWORKS Expert, SIMULIA Champion, SOLIDWORKS Champion and User Group Leader.
• Yuta Ito, Assistant Manager at Toyota Motor Corporation, was engaged in evaluating and developing aerodynamics and wind noise of vehicles and since 2023, he has been involved in the technology development of Generative AI.
• Dowon Kim, Senior Engineer at Hyundai Transys, is performing strength analysis of automotive transmission as well as structural analysis of electrification components such as motors and inverters. He mainly uses Abaqus/Standard and Abaqus for CAE analysis.
• Yuya Kozuka, Mechanical Engineer at ASICS, has developed a design system for sports equipment using nonlinear structural analysis and structural optimization with Abaqus. He has contributed to improving athlete performance by applying this design system to design high-functioning shoes that integrate algorithmic design with Isight while considering human body shape and motion.
• Santhana Kumar P, Team Leader at APTIV, is proficient in vibration, durability and fatigue analysis of various automotive subsystems with fuse box, power distribution unit, wireless charger, plug-in hybrid and electric vehicle charge inlet/plug connectors, DEC parts, safety restraint systems, engine fuel systems, engine ignition systems, gear connectors, electrical centers for automotive OEMs’ EV using Abaqus.
• Sang Soo Lee, Principal Research Engineer at MTG (Microwave Technologies Group), works on the development of satellite-mounted and defense antennas, having previously been focused on the design and development of phased array antennas and antennas for mobile communications.
• Haiyan Li, Technical Specialist at General Motors, has more than 20 years of FEA experience and leads a global team in developing standard analysis works and capability growth, with a main focus on casting structure durability and battery manufacturing.
• Maciej Majerczak, FEA Expert at Valeo, has responsibilities, including design verification, proposing improvements, and optimizing processes using finite element analysis. He primarily focuses on dynamic testing and simulations for automotive components.
• Francesco Marano, Antenna Siting Engineer at Leonardo Aircraft Division, worked on antenna design topics as a Postgraduate Researcher at the University Federico II from January to May 2018. His main interests include antenna siting for proper products.
• Florian Mayot, Team Leader Acoustic Cooling Module at MAHLE, his various work experiences in simulation and technical project management, combined with his passion for solving technical challenges, led Florian to his current position, in which he and his team answer customer inquiries and develop innovations for acoustic cooling modules (axial fans with small packaging).
• Heewook Moon, Head of CAE Department at Hyundai Motor Group, has been using SIMULIA products at Hyundai Motor Company for 10 years. He is in charge of simulating the motor, reducer and power conversion system for power trains and electric vehicles.
• Fabio Morgia, MW Engineer/Antenna Designer at Huawei, specializes in metasurface antennas, GRIN (Gradient Index) lens antennas and waveguide antennas. With his degree in microelectronics, Fabio has a deep knowledge of the interaction between electromagnetic waves and materials, enabling him to develop highly efficient and innovative antenna solutions.
• Brian Nixdorf, Structural Design Engineer at BWX Technologies, Inc., his experience in structural analysis, primarily using Abaqus, has ranged from designing and optimizing frames with custom connections to in-depth thermal/mechanical stress analysis of pressure vessel components for fatigue and fracture. Recently, his focus has been designing and analyzing custom shipping and lifting/handling equipment and supporting its fabrication, testing, assembly, and use.
• Ryan Potter, Senior Lead Technical Specialist at YASA Limited, has been strongly engaged in the magnetic design optimization of axial motors and toolchain development and enjoyed using Opera for six years, as well as various in-house Python and MATLAB codes, and has more recently been exploring how process integration and design optimization tools can be applied to YASA’s workflows.
• Guru Prakash, Structural Analysis Engineer at PPG, his career has spanned across automotive, microelectronics and aerospace industries. Lately, he has been engaged in addressing the challenges of bird strikes on aircraft windshields relying on Abaqus/Explicit while working at PPG Aerospace.
• Anjay Prasad, Senior Technical Lead at Mercedes-Benz R&D India Pvt Ltd, specializing in Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) for body electronics, powertrains and high-voltage (HV) batteries. He combines technical acumen with a strategic approach to design and development. At Mercedes-Benz R&D India, he led EMI/EMC and RF simulation teams, driving compliance with industry standards and delivering innovative solutions that optimize product performance.
• Marek Roh, Simulation Engineer at Weldex Autotechnik s.r.o., Marek and his team implemented the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, a comprehensive solution covering structural, thermal, durability, and moldflow analysis—all under one roof. Mastering these tools, he has been able to provide fast and accurate feedback to two international R&D offices, streamlining workflows and improving collaboration across borders.
• Venkat Santhanam, Structural Mechanics Simulation Scientist at W.L. Gore & Associates Inc., has been performing FEA simulations leveraging his skillset in solid mechanics, FEA and materials characterization for 5 years at W.L. Gore. During this time, he has enabled the future growth of the division by supporting in root cause investigation efforts, accelerating product development and fundamental understanding of materials in application as an FEA expert.
• Norbert Schroeder, Specialist Simulation and Data Management at BMW AG, has been developing drive solutions for BMW AG in the areas of combustion engines, electric machines and battery cell technology since 2013. Nowadays, he regularly works with software solutions such as Abaqus, Simpack and Tosca.
• Thomas Sevegrand, Head of Numerical Simulation at Safran Aerosystems, is in charge of developing fast and accurate methodologies to predict the behavior of inflatable equipment under various conditions, including mainly interaction with fluids (water and air). For 20 years, Thomas has practiced static, crash and dynamic finite element simulation in the automotive and aerospace industry.
• Balamurugan Shanmugam, Antenna Technical Lead at Google LLC, leads the antenna design for head-worn devices with a focus on optimizing wireless performance for body-worn use-cases, bridging the gap between antenna simulations and measurements, optimal human phantom modeling, highly integrated antenna assemblies, novel material, and communication technology research.
• Marc Stiepel, Advanced Railway Dynamics and Mechatronics Engineer – Senior Expert at ALSTOM Transport Deutschland GmbH, is involved in the development of all types of rolling stock, ranging from trams, regional and inter-city trains up to very high-speed trains. In addition to conducting multi-body system calculations, Marc participates in the on-track testing of railway vehicles, which is primarily required for train authorization.
• Di Su, Associate Professor at The University of Tokyo, his research is centered on structural engineering, with particular interests in structural simulation, transportation infrastructure dynamics, reliability-based design and risk analysis, and optimization design. He is also integrating advanced numerical simulations with structural monitoring data to develop digital twin technologies, with the aim of improving the maintenance and resilience of infrastructure in the future.
• Emil Szkop, Microwave Designer at Kubara Lamina S.A., has been working with various simulation software, focusing on electromagnetic and particle-in-cell simulations using CST Studio Suite. He has experience designing and simulating microwave tubes, such as magnetrons, klystrons, travelling wave tubes, electron guns, waveguide components and antennas.
• Greg Thorwald, Principal Engineer at Quest Integrity USA, LLC, uses Abaqus finite element analysis for structural, fracture, and fatigue crack growth assessments in a variety of fitness-for-service consulting projects. He is the lead developer of the commercial FEACrack software, an automated parametric 3D crack mesh generation program creating Abaqus input files to compute crack front stress intensity and J-integral values needed for Level 3 assessments.
• Jari van Wonterghem, Principal Antenna Engineer at Radientum, his work is a mix of antenna design, technical sales and project management. EM Simulations with CST Studio Suite plays a major role in his current line of work. With his long-term experience in antenna design, he saw firsthand how the introduction of electromagnetic 3D simulation tools changed the game, making antenna design work more efficient and precise.
• Lin Wang, Staff Digital Engineer at Johnson & Johnson MedTech, has 16 years’ experience with SIMULIA products (Abaqus, FE-Safe, Tosca) in solving challenge problems faced by academia and industry. In particular, he is an expert in using Abaqus to simulate highly nonlinear conditions and ultra-large material deformations.
• Zhiliang Xu, Dynamics Engineering at Goldwind, focuses on the research and development of wind turbines and has 13 years of experience using SIMULIA, including the aero-elastic-servo-hydro multi-body simulation modeling, verification & validation, intelligent diagnosis and control of vibration.
• Helen Zhu, CAE Engineer at Ford Motor Company, has been working as a CAE engineer at Ford since 1998 and has been using SIMULIA products throughout her career. Her main areas of expertise include chassis structural strength, durability, test correlation and optimization, with more than 15 years of experience in suspension system-level analysis using Abaqus.

SIMULIA is happy to welcome the 2025 Champions and thank them for their efforts to advance the development and adoption of simulation technology! We look forward to hearing about their work and expertise. They will share their stories here in the SIMULIA blog and in the SIMULIA Community.

Stay tuned for more SIMULIA Champions announcements!

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