CEI sees the new office as an opportunity to expand its business in industries that have a growing need for software used to analyze, visualize and communicate critical data for oil and gas, aerospace, construction, medical, and other industries prominent in Houston and the surrounding region. The company’s existing customers in the region include Bechtel, ExxonMobil, Lockheed, NASA, Shell, the Texas Advanced Computing Center, and University of Texas, Texas A&M and Rice University.

“Our line of simulation products and services, forged through our own development and close partnerships, gives us solutions that are ideally focused for key industries in the Houston area,” says McKinnis. “Companies in the region are using our products in critical areas such as managing oil reservoirs, analyzing complex flow physics for the space shuttle, and driving virtual reality displays that enable engineers and scientists to see data in new and enlightening ways.”

Among the Houston-area organizations that use CEI’s software is the NASA Johnson Space Center. NASA Johnson uses CEI’s EnSight software to visually simulate complex solid-fluid interaction within real-life mission scenarios for the space shuttle and the Constellation Program. NASA’s Constellation Program is developing the next generation of spacecraft designed to return humans to the moon by the end of next decade, paving the way for eventual journeys to Mars and beyond.