Design Automation Conference expected to set records

The 22nd Design Automation Conference, to be held June 23-26 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas is likely to set several records. According to Larry Dunn, publicity chairman, more than 284 papers were submitted from authors in 18 countries. The program committee has accepted 126 of these papers for presentation in technical sessions and tutorials. About 80 companies will be showing their products, many of them new, at the exhibition that complements the technical sessions. Almost all the well-known names in the design automation field will be represented, as well as some intriguing newcomers. Program chairman Larry O'Neill said, "The primary goal of the DAC is to provide a high-quality technical program that meets the needs of the engineering community. To remain current, an engineer must be aware of both technical innovation and commercially available systems to perform the operations. Thus, exhibits have become an integral part of the DAC, but they are controlled to be in balance with, and augment, the technical program." O'Neill pointed to session 27 in the technical program (on Tuesday afternoon) as an example of the unity of the program and exhibits. In that session, representatives of various design-automation equipment manufacturers will present short papers on technical aspects of their systems. O'Neill expects Monday afternoon's panel session "Computer-Aided Tools Integration and Related Standards Development in a Multivendor Universe" will be particularly useful and interesting. This panel gets people who are involved in a variety of design-automation programs "all in one place at one time. " The panelists will discuss their experiences in integrating design-automation tools from various manufacturers into working systems. Fifteen papers have been nominated for Best Paper at this year's conference. The winners will be announced at a press conference on Sunday, between 1 and 3 p.m., in the exhibit area. The papers were nominated in three categories: Layout, Verification and Silicon Compilation; Design Simulation and Test; and Systems, Languages and Software. The nominated papers, by category, are: