Bentley Announces First Research Fellow; Bentley Education Network and Drexel University Combine Efforts to Promote Research.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech & Education Writers

EXTON, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 12, 2001

Bentley Systems, Incorporated today announced the Bentley Education Network's first Bentley Research Fellowship recipient at Drexel University, Aparna Nanjappa.

Nanjappa is a third-year student majoring in Computer Science.

Nanjappa was chosen as the first Bentley Research Fellow due to her strong academic performance. Since she came to Drexel in 1998 to pursue a BS in Computer Science, Nanjappa has achieved a GPA of 3.96 overall and a GPA of 4.0 in her major.

Through the fellowship, Nanjappa will have the opportunity to work with other team members on collaborative engineering projects being pursued at both the Geometric and Intelligent Computing Laboratory (GICL) and Bentley. With MicroStation(R) training, she will help integrate these tools into the research program, making them an integral part of the research process.

As a recipient, Nanjappa will also have the opportunity to work on-site at Bentley during her next cooperative education (co-op) period. Through co-op, Drexel students alternate their academic studies with periods of full-time, professional work in industry, government or non-profit organizations.

The $25,000 fellowship, which was established in 2000, was created in response to the growing demand for computer science professionals in the job market. The collaboration with Drexel University allows Bentley to establish a productive and long-term relationship with Drexel's premier mathematics and computer science students. It will also help to increase the research capacity of the GICL.

Subject to renewal on a year-to-year basis, a new student will be chosen each year the fellowship is funded. Fellowship monies are used for a number of different things, including a student's tuition, travel and technical books and a stipend to work in the GICL.

"We are very excited to establish this relationship with Bentley. We hope that the Bentley Fellowship Program grows to provide great synergy between Bentley's technology, Bentley's research and development teams, and the fine students here at Drexel University's Computer Science program," said Dr. William Regli, Assistant Professor, Drexel University Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. "The exchange of ideas will lead to richer academic experiences, better research projects and lots of opportunity for technology transfer between Drexel and Bentley. We, of course, hope that some of our best and brightest move on to become Bentley's best and brightest."

"The Bentley Research Fellowship is one of several contributions the Bentley Education Network is making to academia," said Bill Weber, director of the Bentley Education Network. "It is our hope that by establishing this fellowship we are creating a vehicle through which the company may regularly interact with the top students in Drexel's Computer Science and other associated fields."

About Bentley

Founded in 1984, Bentley Systems, Incorporated is a premier technology supplier dedicated to improving the process of designing, building and operating permanent assets such as buildings, roadways, manufacturing facilities and utility and telecommunications networks. The professionals who use Bentley technology include architects, engineers, constructors and owner/operators.

Bentley's MicroStation, ProjectBank(TM) and Viecon(TM) technology and services make Bentley the leader in the Engineering, Construction and Operations (E/C/O) market.

Bentley's annual revenues exceed $190 million, and its reach spans the globe, serving more than 300,000 professionals and over 20,000 companies and organizations. Bentley is the second-largest privately held PC software company in the United States. More than 200,000 Bentley users participate in the Bentley SELECT(R) technology and service subscription program.

For more information on Bentley, please contact the company at 800/BENTLEY, 610/458-5000 (Americas), [phone] (Europe, Middle East, Africa), [phone] (Asia/Pacific), through E-mail at [e-mail] or by visiting www.bentley.com. The Bentley Wire automatically delivers company press releases through E-mail within minutes of being issued. To subscribe, go to: www.bentley.com/news/bwire.

Bentley, the "B" Bentley logo and MicroStation are registered trademarks; ProjectBank and Viecon are trademarks; and Bentley SELECT is a registered service mark of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or Bentley Software, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.