Intelligent Light’s Steve Legensky Named AIAA Associate Fellow; Honored for Significant Contributions to CFD in Aerospace Engineering

(January 26, 2009) – Steve M. Legensky, general manager and founder of Intelligent Light, a New Jersey-based software company, has been named an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The honor is given annually to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the “arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics.”

With more than 20 years' experience in computer science, large-scale visualization, and computer-aided engineering (CAE), Legensky has contributed significantly to the effective use of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in many industries, most notably aerospace and automotive. The core product of Intelligent Light, FieldView™, has become an industry and research standard for large-data CFD post-processing, providing advanced capabilities for mining simulation data using world-class visualization technology.

Legensky began working in computer graphics in 1974 while studying for his bachelor's degree which he received from Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ) in 1977. He continued his studies at Stevens while working with faculty there to establish and manage an NSF-funded Undergraduate Computer Graphics Facility, which was dedicated to finding ways to incorporate interactive graphics into the engineering curriculum. After receiving his master’s degree in mathematics in 1979, Legensky went into industry, in the area of real-time image generation for flight simulation. In 1984, he founded Intelligent Light, which has evolved from producing award-winning 3D animations to launching a set of integrated 3D rendering and animation solutions, to the current FieldView™ product line.

His in-depth, firsthand knowledge of the needs and trends in CAE, CFD, and high-performance computing, as well as a customer base reaching back to the earliest days of 3D computer graphics, have been key to the company’s success. Legensky’s philosophy relies heavily on collaboration with customers and partners to advance CFD technology. The company’s Applied Research Group, a team of CFD and computer science experts, including many long-standing AIAA members, works at the leading edge of CFD, and their efforts have resulted in methods and techniques that benefit the entire CFD community.

The author of numerous technical papers and a popular conference speaker, Legensky credits his success to the CFD practitioners with whom he has worked closely over the years. “While I have my own personal passion for this field,” he says, “it’s our customers – the scientists, researchers, engineers – who have really driven the many technological achievements of our FieldView product line. They share with us the real-world challenges and obstacles they face every day, and that openness allows us to fully collaborate on new and improved solutions. We learn something new from every project, every problem, and that knowledge goes back into the product. It’s a story of shared success.”

To attain the honor of AIAA Associate Fellow, nominees must be an AIAA Senior Member with at least 12 years’ professional experience in their field, and must have been recommended by a minimum of three AIAA members who are already Associate Fellows. The 2009 Associate Fellows were honored at a dinner during the AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting in Orlando in January 2009.

About the AIAA

AIAA advances the state of aerospace science, engineering, and technological leadership. Headquartered in suburban Washington, D.C., the Institute serves more than 35,000 members in 65 regional sections and 79 countries. AIAA membership is drawn from all levels of industry, academia, private research organizations, and government. For more information, visit www.aiaa.org.

About Intelligent Light

Intelligent Light, based in Rutherford, New Jersey, was founded in 1984 in order to provide the scientific and engineering community with the best possible tools for understanding data and communicating results. Through its Applied Research Group and a global network of staff and business partners, the company provides computational fluid dynamics (CFD) post-processing and large-data visualization tools under the industry-leading FieldView™ brand to the aerospace, automotive, and general manufacturing industries. Intelligent Light’s unique development team is composed of CFD leaders, computer scientists, and visualization experts with a keen focus on listening to clients and delivering products that meet their needs. For more information, visit www.ilight.com.