46th DAC offers six workshops

Design Automation Conference 2009, LOUISVILLE, USA: Six workshops created to appeal to the interests of the entire DAC community will be offered at the 46th Design Automation Conference (DAC) July 26-31 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Attendees of the 46th DAC can learn about front- or back-end design issues, or participate in several special-interest workshops.

“This year’s workshop lineup will give attendees new insights and unforeseen knowledge,” said Diana Marculescu, 46th DAC Coordinator for Workshops and Colocated Events and ACM/SIGDA Representative. “Perhaps even more important, workshop participants will benefit from the opportunity for networking with their industry peers, which is one of the special benefits of DAC.”

Workshops on Front-End Tools and Methodologies
For designers working with multiprocessor designs, the workshop “MPSoC: Current Trends and the Future” on Sunday, July 26, will allow them to hear from an impressive list of speakers covering topics of interest in the design tools, methodologies, and programming of Multiprocessor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoCs).

The full-day “Virtual Platform Workshop” on Wednesday, July 29, strongly complements the new DAC User Track in addressing the latest SoC design challenges. This workshop is designed to bring together people interested in the use of Virtual Platforms (VPs) in SoC design validation and embedded software development.

Developing a Go-to-Market Strategy
The half-day workshop on “Marketing of Technology - the Last Critical Step” scheduled on Sunday, July 26, should appeal to the technically-trained professional charged with launching the company’s next big product. The workshop will cover product marketing from a semiconductor perspective and with an emphasis on new Web 2.0 tools. Participants will learn about hands-on tools they can use in their own work.

Emerging Applications for EDA
The International Workshop on Bio-Design Automation (IWBDA) on Monday, July 27, will be of interest for any DAC attendee who is following the emerging use of EDA in new areas.

It will feature invited talks by experts in the field of synthetic biology, contributed presentations, and an interactive poster session all focused on concepts, methodologies and software tools for the automated synthesis of novel biological functions.

Career Advice
Two workshops will focus on the unique challenges and opportunities of two very different stages of a career. The new full-day “Young Faculty Workshop” scheduled on Monday, July 27, will bring senior graduate students interested in academia, as well as EDA professionals ready for a career move, together with senior faculty, funding agency program managers, and senior industry professionals who will share their views and experiences on succeeding as a faculty member in EDA.

Also on Monday, July 27, the 10th annual “Workshop for Women in Design Automation” (WWINDA) will focus on issues surrounding the choice between a technical career path and the management track. Dr. Telle Whitney, president and CEO of the Anita Borg Institute, will give the workshop’s opening keynote address which will be followed by an interactive panel discussion on this year’s WWINDA theme, “Career Crossroads - Who Has the Map?”