The American University of Armenia (AUA) has announced its celebration of its decade long collaboration with Siemens.
In 2023, the Engineering Research Center (ERC), housed in the American University of Armenia’s (AUA) Zaven P. and Sonia Akian College of Science and Engineering (CSE), celebrated 10 years of collaboration with leading industrial technology company, Siemens.
The ERC traces its history to the founding of the University. When AUA was established in 1991, it housed three master’s programs: business administration, industrial engineering and systems management, and earthquake engineering. The latter two were housed in the College of Engineering, which was the first and only college structure to exist in the University until the introduction of the undergraduate programs in 2013. AUA President Emeritus Dr. Armen Der Kiureghian served as dean of the College of Engineering for the first 15 years of its existence.
Today, the ERC has undertaken numerous projects in conjunction with industry. Notable partnerships include Siemens, Samsung, ServiceTitan, and Picsart, among others. The vision for the Center is a flexible, bottom-up aggregate defined by the researchers working there. The nature of the research conducted in the ERC is project-to-project, facilitated by the adaptability of its researchers.
“Our currency at AUA is in producing peer-reviewed journal articles, white papers, proposing policies that are adopted by the Armenian government, and proprietary information for companies. We’ve made a great impact through the ERC; it’s all about how you define ‘research,’” says CSE Dean Dr. Aram Hajian, adding, “We have attained much better alignment in the last 10 years in terms of harmonizing our research with our students and the degree programs we offer.”
In 2012, AUA initiated a collaborative relationship with electronic design automation (EDA) leader Mentor Graphics, which is now part of Siemens. Since then, Siemens has provided the ERC with annual research grants. “They have faith in us, confidence and respect for our past productivity and alignment with the company’s goals,” explains Dr. Hajian. Scientists working out of the Center, together with their counterparts at Siemens, tackle 1-2 research topics per year, based on the availability of relevant researchers. This has yielded a fruitful partnership that has produced publications and improved upon certain established processes.
“We believe that such collaboration is mutually beneficial and helps bring academia and industry closer to each other,” says Sedrak Sargisian, senior director of engineering, Calibre, Siemens Digital Industries Software. “Industry gains access to top researchers on topics that are interesting and important for our technology and product development, while academia gains access to the most modern integrated circuit tools, design, and manufacturing technologies — real problems that require solutions. Siemens gains the necessary scientific expertise, and AUA receives funding that supports its researchers and students. The best outcome of such collaboration is expected solutions that we can later incorporate in our products.” The combined efforts of Siemens and ERC researchers has also led to joint publications, such as “Pressure calculation using obstacle problem for CMP modeling” by Davit Piliposyan, Dr. Ruben Ghulghazaryan, CSE Adjunct Associate Professor Dr. Mikayel Poghosyan, and B.S. in Computer Science Program Chair Dr. Hayk Nersisyan, published in the Journal of Physics: Conference Series.Read the announcement in full at AUA's newsroom
