Knowledge Revolution

MSC.Working Knowledge, formerly known as Knowledge Revolution, was an American developer of educational physics and mechanical simulation software located in San Mateo, California. It developed four software products throughout its lifetime, those being Interactive Physics, Working Model, AutoCAD plugin AutoMotion, and visualNastran. It was founded by David Baszucki in 1989, and was acquired by MSC Software Corporation in 1998.
==History==
On June 19, 1989, David Baszucki founded Knowledge Revolution. There, he wrote a general-purpose physics simulator for the Macintosh Plus called Interactive Physics. Users of the software could drag parts, hinges, ropes, and springs to create and measure physics experiments. The simulator in Interactive Physics was one of the only engines at the time to be accurate enough that many problems in physics textbooks could be modeled such that the answers would compare with analytic solutions. Interactive Physics was translated into nine languages and sold millions of copies.Baszucki, David (December 14, 2011). "A Brief History of Physics in Video Games". It was especially popular among students. David Baszucki was the president of Knowledge Revolution until 1998, and, during this time, was first joined in June 1991 by his brother Greg Baszucki, followed shortly afterwards by Erik Cassel, then in January 1997 by Keith Lucas, who had initially applied for a part-time customer service engineer job, but eventually received a full-time offer. By this time, their primary audience was gradually shifting away from students and towards businesses such as Boeing, Lockheed, and Ford. By 1996, Knowledge Revolution had shipped its second product, Working Model, which was an improved version of Interactive Physics with some 3D components.Archive, Internet (November 9, 1996). “Working Model”.
On December 22, 1998, MSC Software (then known as MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation) acquired Knowledge Revolution for $19.2 million.Corporation, MacNeal-Schwendler (December 22, 1998). “MacNeal-Schwendler to Acquire Knowledge Revolution”.PitchBook. “Knowledge Revolution Overview”. In 1999, MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation rebranded to MSC.Software Corporation, and Knowledge Revolution was rebranded to MSC.Working Knowledge. Working Model 4D, a new fork of Working Model with enhanced 3D and extended “4D” functionality, started to ship to consumers on December 14, 1999 after being developed under MSC's leadership. The program was renamed visualNastran in 2000.
David Baszucki would go on to serve as Vice President and General Manager of MSC Software, where he was in charge of the desktop simulation division. He would maintain this role until leaving in 2002 to create an angel investment firm,Gatollari, Mustafa (March 6, 2020). "'Roblox' Has Been Captivating Players for Over 13 Years, and It All Started With Two Men". as well as hosting his own talk radio show for KSCO Radio Santa Cruz from February to July 2003.Orin, Andy (October 13, 2016). "I'm David Baszucki, CEO of Roblox, and This Is How I Work". Lifehacker. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.Blitzer, Carol (March 2, 2001). "Seeing the possibilities". Palaol Toonline. Archived from the original on September 5, 2004. Retrieved May 10, 2018. In the second half of 2003, he convinced Erik Cassel, who had also been holding a senior position at MSC, to leave the company to help work on a new three-dimensional physics engine. This eventually led to the founding of Roblox Corporation on March 23, 2004.Adams, Susan (June 10, 2016). "Why The Creator Of Roblox Thinks His Gaming Platform Will Top Minecraft". They were soon joined by other employees of MSC Software. By April 12, 2006, MSC Software had licensed some of their products to Design Simulation Technologies (DST), who still offer them to this day. However, they have completely refocused towards enterprise rather than students. On November 19, 2011, DST started working on a rebrand of visualNastran known as SimWise. It was released in February 2012.Design Simulation Technologies (Before November 20, 2011). SimWise 4D: Motion Simulation, Stress Analysis, and Optimization On February 2, 2017, Hexagon AB announced its intent to acquire MSC Software for $834 million. This transaction was completed in April of that year. MSC Software operated as an independent subsidiary of Hexagon AB until 2021, when the two companies fully merged.
==Trivia==
*MSC Software Corporation, the company that acquired Knowledge Revolution in 1998, was one of the first ten software companies in the world.
*The company that acquired MSC Software in 2017, Hexagon AB, is public on the OTC Markets as HXGB.
==Gallery==
Interactive Physics logo.png|The Interactive Physics logo.
Working Model logo.svg|The Working Model logo.
IPMacintosh.jpeg|Interactive Physics for the Macintosh Plus.
Interactive Physics.gif|Overlapping windows of the Windows 9x/NT version of Interactive Physics.
IP01.jpg|A setup in Interactive Physics designed for collision.
InteractivePhysicsXP.jpeg|Interactive Physics running on Windows XP.
MSCHexagon.png|MSC Software's logo since 2021.
==References==
Category:Companies