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Have You Noticed a Difference in DAC? If Not, Read on... The DAC committee is changing the Design Automation Conference. by Thomas P. Pennino

If you have attended or exhibited at the Design Automation Conference (DAC) in the last few years, you may have noticed a subtle but evolutionary change occurring in the technical program and with the profile of conference participants.

The 33-year old annual event is a technical conference for the presentation of research and development work in the field of design automation. It is also a place where the electronic design automation (EDA) industry exhibits leading-edge technology that enables the design of integrated circuits and electronic systems. This, in turn, fuels the explosive growth in the information age.

DAC's Executive Committee concluded that technology and tools are not enough to meet today's increasingly complex design requirements. Instead, it is the innovative use of design automation tools, which we refer to as the design realization process, that leads to better products at lower costs, delivered faster.

To ensure DAC meets the needs of its constituency, its mission has evolved over the last several years. DAC has the mission to be a worldwide forum for engineers, researchers, and vendors in the area of design automation for electronic circuits and systems. The forum wishes to promote professional growth, provide a fertile ground for the interchange of ideas, advocate the importance of education, and facilitate the exhibition of design automation technology.

Accordingly, the conference program now includes two entire tracks devoted to presenting engineering solutions that implement EDA tools. These two "designer tracks" complement the three EDA development tracks, which are DAC's foundation.

This change has brought a new crop of attendees--the majority of whom are design engineers and their management. This new mix in both the technical program and attendees represents the changing focus in the electronics industry from heavy emphasis on CAD experts using EDA tools to a stronger emphasis on engineering productivity. The team member with the greatest influence is no longer a tool expert; rather, it is the designer whose primary concern is the product.

DAC's committees and program reflect this paradigm shift. DAC has increased the engineering solutions track with a goal of achieving parity between the development and engineering content of the conference.

DAC will continue to be a major conference for the presentation of research and development activities in EDA, and an exhibition of the EDA industry's best technologies. Our goals as an industry are similar: to encourage the ongoing growth, prosperity, and success of the electronics industries.

Please join us June 3-7 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas. As an attendee, you will see our efforts to promote excellence, creativity, and innovation in both development and application of design automation. The environment is set up to encourage an interchange of technology and information between design automation professionals and design engineers. Finally, you will see firsthand the Executive Committee's express intent to support the presentation of innovative design solutions and the growth of the EDA industry and profession.

I look forward to seeing you and getting your feedback at the 33rd Design Automation Conference. *

Thomas P. Pennino is head of CAD integration and engineering at Lucent Technologies (Holmdel, NJ) and is the general chairman for the 33rd Design Automation Conference.

To voice an opinion on this or any Integrated System Design article, please e-mail your message to: michael@asic.com.

integrated system design  June 1996