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NATICK, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 4, 2001-- The MathWorks, Inc., the leading supplier of technical computing software for engineers and scientists, today announced its support for the FutureTruck 2001 competition. Hosted by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and General Motors Corporation (GM), this year's FutureTruck program brings together students from 15 top North American universities charged during the past year with re-engineering one of GM's leading sport utility vehicles (SUVs) into a low emission, high efficiency truck that delivers for today's savvy customer, high-performance, safety, utility and affordability. In addition to providing financial support for the competition and donating its MATLAB® and Simulink® software, MathWorks representatives will serve as judges for multiple awards.

DOE and GM established the FutureTruck program two years ago as a joint government-industry project to make the increasingly popular SUV a ``greener'' mode of transportation. The program leverages technical expertise, material support, donated equipment and financial resources from government, industry players like The MathWorks and academia to solve the important environmental and technical problems generated by consumer demand for SUVs. The annual competition also instills in engineers soon entering the workforce a heightened awareness of the environmental benefits of developing energy-efficient automotive technologies.

Throughout this week, student vehicles will undergo extensive dynamic and static testing at GM's Proving Ground in Milford, Mich. On Thursday, June 7 the students will present their projects from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT. This event will be Webcast live at www.futuretruck.gm.com. Judging will commence in Detroit on June 11, at which time Andrew Herman, Dr. Joseph Mazur, and Paul Smith of The MathWorks will help determine the winner of The MathWorks' Vehicle Modeling Award. This award will be granted to the group of students most innovative in their application of PSAT, a Simulink-based product developed by engineers at Argonne National Labs, for the vehicle design process. Peter Maloney and Tom Priestley, also of The MathWorks, will be judges for the ``Consumer Acceptability'' and ``Vehicle Appearance'' phase of the competition.

The award winners in more than 25 categories will be honored Wednesday, June 13 from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. EDT at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C., which will also be Webcast live at www.futuretruck.gm.com. The MathWorks' Chairman and Chief Scientist, Cleve Moler, will present the The MathWorks' Vehicle Modeling Award at the event.

The MathWorks' MATLAB product integrates mathematical computing, visualization and a powerful language to provide a flexible environment for technical computing. The open architecture makes it easy to use MATLAB and its companion products to explore data, create algorithms and create custom tools that provide early insights and competitive advantages.

Widely used in the automotive industry, Simulink is The MathWorks' interactive tool for modeling, simulating and analyzing dynamic systems. It enables users to build graphical block diagrams, evaluate system performance and refine designs. Simulink integrates seamlessly with MATLAB and is tightly integrated with Stateflow® for modeling event-driven behavior. Simulink is the tool of choice for control system design, DSP design, communications system design and other simulation applications.

About The MathWorks

The MathWorks, www.mathworks.com, develops technical computing software for engineers and scientists in industry and education. An extensive family of products, based on MATLAB and Simulink, provides high-productivity tools for solving challenging mathematical, computational, controls, and DSP and communications problems. The MathWorks products serve those in education and the following industries: automotive, aerospace, telecommunications and datacommunications, government, process industries, electronics, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, finance and economics, earth and planetary sciences, and instrumentation. Employing more than 700 people worldwide, The MathWorks was founded in 1984.

     The MathWorks, Inc.
     Liz Callanan
     (508) 647-7417
     lcallanan@mathworks.com
     or
     Sterling Hager, Inc.
     Tracey Frederickson
     (617) 926-6665
     tfrederickson@sterlinghager.com