Kirk Martini, associate professor of architecture, has won the National Science Foundation’s 2007 Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware for his ARCADE software, which uses a physics engine to model structural behavior.

It can model the motion generated by several potential sources of force, including gravity, viscous drag and springs connecting masses. Using computer game technology, ARCADE performs computations in real time, so models respond instantly to input from the keyboard and mouse with a game-like interface.