Mechanical Intelligence with Dr. Maor Farid

Jon Hirschtick, Chief Evangelist at PTC and co-founder of both SolidWorks and Onshape, joins Dr. Maor Farid to discuss the future of AI in engineering and product development. Jon shares his perspective on how AI will become embedded across engineering workflows, why engineers will increasingly work alongside AI agents, and how the role of engineers will evolve as AI takes over repetitive and low-...

Nico Haag, Simulation Engineering Director at PhysicsX, joins Dr. Maor Farid to unpack how AI is transforming engineering by turning complex physical problems into clear, real-time insights. Nico explains how large physics models enable engineers to map geometry directly to physical behavior, dramatically reducing simulation time while expanding the number of design possibilities teams can explore...

Peter Lyu, Field CTO & VP of Solutions at Luminary, joins Dr. Maor Farid to unpack how AI is actually transforming mechanical engineering workflows, without the hype. Peter explains how large physics models are enabling real-time simulation by mapping geometry directly to physical outcomes, reducing analysis time from hours or weeks to seconds. The conversation also gets practical about adopti...

Jon Hirschtick, Chief Evangelist at PTC and co-founder of SolidWorks and Onshape, joins the conversation to share his perspective on how AI is transforming product design and engineering. This time, instead of Dr. Maor Farid, the discussion is led by Sean Manzanares, bringing a slightly different angle to the conversation. Jon explains why we are still in the early days of AI in engineering, and w...

Moshe Baum, Founder of Wild West Systems and former engineer at SpaceX, Tesla, and Apple, joins Dr. Maor Farid to share lessons from some of the world’s most demanding engineering environments. Moshe explains why strong fundamentals and first-principles thinking remain the most critical skills for engineers, especially in an era where AI is rapidly changing how work gets done. The conversation div...

Yoni Nir, V12 Program Manager at HP, joins Dr. Maor Farid to share a practical, grounded perspective on how AI will impact mechanical engineering in real-world, high-complexity systems. Yoni explains why AI adoption in engineering depends on both risk and complexity, and why high-risk, multi-physics systems will take longer to fully transition to AI-first workflows. The conversation also explores...

Prof. Faez Ahmed, Head of MIT’s CAD & AI Lab (DeCoDE), joins Dr. Maor Farid to unpack how AI is reshaping the way engineers design, simulate, and bring products to market. Faez shares how his research tackles one of the biggest challenges in engineering today: reducing the time from concept to production, which has remained largely unchanged for decades. The conversation explores how AI can br...

Prof. Michael Beebe, veteran mechanical engineering leader and educator, joins Dr. Maor Farid to explore how AI is transforming engineering education — not in theory, but in real classrooms. Drawing on decades of experience in industry and academia, Prof. Beebe shares how he redesigned his curriculum to combine hands-on engineering fundamentals with real-world problem solving. He explains why comm...

Gregg Bennett, Director & Co-Founder of Sketch Design Consultancy , joins Dr. Maor Farid to unpack how AI is actually changing mechanical engineering teams in the real world — without the hype. Gregg explains how his consultancy used AI to take on a complex cryogenic engineering challenge outside their core expertise, and how the right tools reduced research time from weeks to hours while incr...

Ayora Berry, VP of AI Product Management at PTC, joins Dr. Maor Farid to unpack how AI will actually change mechanical engineering, without the hype. Ayora lays out a clear framework for the next decade in industrial software: three horizons. The conversation also gets practical about adoption: why data foundations matter, how to choose safe first use cases, and why “read” use cases build trust fa...

Dr. Roland Zelles shares his extensive experience in mechanical design and the impact of AI on the engineering industry. He discusses his career journey, the evolution of technology, and the importance of embracing AI as a tool for productivity and innovation. Dr. Zelles emphasizes the need for engineers to adapt to new technologies and offers valuable advice for engineering leaders on how to inte...

Maor Farid , CEO of Leo AI , discusses the integration of AI in mechanical engineering with guest John McEleney , co-founder of Onshape (PTC) and former CEO of SolidWorks. John shares his vision for how AI in CAD and AI tools for engineers are transforming product development and the future of design. The conversation explores the challenges engineers face, the role of AI in boosting productivity,...

In this first episode, Maor Farid hosts Bertrand Sicot and talks about how AI is improving CAD and PLM workflows and efficiency. Bertrand shares his experience from the early days of CAD and how he sees the future of our industry. Make sure to subscribe and share your thoughts.