ASCEND is a free,
open source,
mathematical modelling system developed at
Carnegie Mellon University since late 1978. ASCEND is an acronym which stands for Advanced System for Computations in Engineering Design. Its main uses have been in the field of
chemical process modelling although its capabilities are general. It was a pioneering piece of software in the chemical process modelling field, with its novel modelling language conventions and powerful solver, although it has never been commercialised and remains as an open source software project.