46th DAC Announces Technical Program

54 Research Paper Sessions, User Track, Panels, Management Day Address Latest Design Challenges

LOUISVILLE, Colo - The 46th Design Automation Conference (DAC) today announced its technical program, which includes 54 research paper sessions, featuring 156 talks selected from 733 submissions from around the globe. A new highlight of the technical program this year is the User Track, with more than 80 papers and posters focused on the latest in tool use and methodologies. The 46th DAC will also feature nine special sessions, six full-day tutorials and eight technical panels, along with 19 Pavilion panels on the exhibit floor. This program is complemented by activities in the Exhibition and Suite area, which showcases the leading and emerging EDA, silicon, IP and design services providers. The complete program is now available online at www.dac.com. DAC will take place July 26 – 31, 2009 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.

“The DAC program is different this year in three major ways,” said Andrew B. Kahng, General Chair of the 46th DAC Executive Committee. “First, the new User Track adds the voice of the tool user to those of the design technologist-researcher and the EDA vendor at DAC. The overwhelming number of submissions from around the world and the enthusiasm of our 20-member industry user committee have been very encouraging. Second, in this economy there is a tremendous hunger for insight and a competitive edge. We open the conference with the top EDA CEOs in a panel on the future of the industry. The program is packed with learning opportunities – from the Management Day track to the full-day tutorials and special sessions – that pay off immediately back at the office. And by emphasizing multicore, system-level design, manufacturability and low power, this year’s technical program committee addresses the key challenges in electronic design today. Third, this is the year when the pervasive challenge of low power expands to more global consciousness of ‘green’ and ‘clean.’ A highlight of this year’s program is a plenary panel moderated by Dr. Wally Rhines – chair of the EDA Consortium – that will explore what ‘green’ means for EDA.”

The 54 research paper sessions are arranged in six parallel tracks, and broadly capture the leading edge of design and design automation technology. The popular Wild and Crazy Ideas (WACI) session returns for its third year, highlighting forward-looking innovative ideas. Special session topics include how to prepare for design at 22nm, designing circuits in the face of uncertainty, verification of large systems on chip, bug-tracking in complex designs, and multicore computing. Other special session topics are alternative methods of computing, emerging innovations in nanotechnology, and green data centers. The User Track will run in parallel as a seventh track for the duration of the conference. In addition to valuable insights and experiences with in-house or commercial EDA tool flows, the User Track provides educational benefits and a networking forum specifically for EDA end-users.

The 46th DAC program also features eight panels focused on the hottest issues of the industry, including technical discussions on system prototyping, embedded software design, mixed signal verification, system-level power challenges, design for manufacturability, emerging applications of EDA technology, and the previously noted plenary panel, “How Green is My Silicon Valley.”

Continuing an annual tradition at DAC, the Management Day track on Tuesday, July 28 will showcase senior managers from leading-edge SOC design companies, offering insights into such topics as the costs of scaling, careers paths in EDA, and management of IP, silicon, test, and software supply chains during SOC development. This track sits at the intersection of business and technology, and is a unique forum where managers meet, network, and feel the pulse of the latest SOC design challenges and solutions.

Finally, six Full-Day Tutorials will be given on Monday, July 27 and Friday, July 31, covering multicore, low-power SoC design, post-silicon validation and runtime verification, functional verification planning and management, and the challenges of IC design with nanomaterials. For the first time this year, leading university extension programs will award credits to DAC tutorial attendees.

Registration

Advance conference registration opens today. To register for DAC, visit www.dac.com or call 1-800-321-4573 in the U.S. to request registration materials. The advance conference registration discount deadline is June 29, 2009.