Newswise — ASM International provides a vast library of professional reference content, enormous experience in developing and using such content, and the backing of a membership of 38,000 materials scientists and engineers. Granta's unique expertise and technology helps engineering enterprises to capture, manage, and apply information about metals, ceramics, composites, and plastics.

The partners have collaborated on projects including the delivery of ASM's Materials Information Online service via the Internet and support for the Material Data Management Consortium (MDMC), an international project to develop best practice materials information management with leading aerospace, defense, and energy organizations.

The immediate focus of the new agreement is the Materials for Medical Devices database system, which will be the first comprehensive online database to support medical device design. The GRANTA MI software powers the database and an ASM committee of world-leading experts from the medical devices industry has supervised content development. Future projects will target materials for micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) and materials for alternatives to petroleum-based energy. The collaboration will also upgrade and evolve existing ASM Materials Information Online products. The partnership began in 2000 when ASM made a $1.6m investment in Granta, taking a seat on the Granta board. Stanley C. Theobald, ASM's Managing Director, says: "Over the past six years Granta has established itself as the global leader in materials information management, based on its innovation, on-time delivery, and listening carefully to the needs of its customers. We look forward to continuing our work together to enhance the value of ASM information resources and to develop new products that serve the materials engineering community."

Dr. David Cebon, managing director at Granta, comments: "We have made outstanding commercial and technological progress during the first phase of our partnership with ASM. ASM is a world leader in materials information, and we are delighted with their decision to extend and deepen the partnership for five more years. This agreement is a terrific validation of Granta's approach."

Granta Design Limited is the materials information technology expert. Granta develops the leading software for materials information management in engineering enterprises, and the leading teaching toolkit for materials engineering education. Granta serves sectors as diverse as aerospace, defense, energy, automotive, motorsports, electronic and electrical, medical devices, publishing, and material production. Granta was founded in 1994 as a spinout from the University of Cambridge and the work of Professor Mike Ashby and Dr. David Cebon.

ASM International, The Materials Information Society, benefits the materials community by providing scientific, engineering and technical knowledge, education, networking and professional development. Through its worldwide community of 38,000 research scientists, engineers, faculty, technicians and students, the society obtains reliable information from wherever in the world it is available, and distributes it to wherever it is needed, so that the materials can be applied in new products and systems that offer higher performance and lower cost.

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