DesignCon 2005 reports strong attendance at annual conference, technology exhibition in Santa Clara, Calif.

Contact: Cliff Ward
Phone: +1 312-559-3325
E-Mail: cward@iec.org

SANTA CLARA, Ca – Feb. 14, 2005 – DesignCon finished its 2005 edition with organizers saying the educational conference for electronic design and semiconductors engineers was the best attended ever.

The producers of DesignCon, the International Engineering Consortium, said initial counts of the event, which concluded on Feb. 3, showed more than 5,000 registrants -- a record.

Exhibitors at the trade exhibition reported strong traffic from the thousands of attendees.

"There's a real feeling that the industry is poised for a new period of growth. The confidence has returned and appears to be growing. The floor at the exhibition center was buzzing with a lot of activity,'' said Dr. Barry Sullivan, DesignCon program director at the IEC.

This year's technology exhibition drew 110 EDA companies and associations, including industry leaders like Agilent Technologies, the Official Sponsor, and Rambus, the Diamond Sponsor of DesignCon.

The educational conference presented scores of technical presentations and panels on solving the challenges faced by design engineers. The first three days were punctuated by speeches from three major industry executives - Synopsys Chairman and CEO Dr. Aart de Geus, Mentor Graphics Chairman of the Board and CEO Dr. Wally Rhines, and Cadence Design Systems Chief Technical Officer Ted Vucurevich.

All three spoke of both the technical and economic challenges - de Geuss called them "Techonomics" - facing the industry as it continues to innovate the next generation of chips and EDA tools. De Geuss challenged the engineers in the audience to take a systemic approach to designing semiconductors, and he also lauded them for their work, which he said is literally changing the world.

Rhines sounded similar themes in his speech, discussing how the industry faces challenges of increasing complexity. However, he predicted that the number of designers will continue to grow, and produce the next generation of technical advances. As for how the next generation might will develop, Rhines cited the Makimoto Wave in predicting that FPGAs will usher in a new cycle of standardization in electronic design.

In his keynote, Vucurevich demonstrated some of the newest technology - things like the Apple iPod and the digital satellite radio - that relies on advanced design. He said such devices will rely on "ecosystems" of companies working together. And success, he said, will be measured not when a semiconductor is manufactured, but when the product that utilizes the chip is in the marketplace and selling in volume.

"We were extremely pleased with this year's panels and speakers," said Sergio Camerlo, director of engineering at Cisco Systems and DesignCon 2005 Conference Chair. "DesignCon continues to be an important conference for the professional development of design engineers, and this year's edition extended that tradition."

Camerlo passed the gavel to Dr. Darlene Solomon, who will be the DesignCon 2006 conference chair. Solomon is vice president and director of Agilent Laboratories for Agilent Technologies.

The IEC unveiled a new DesignCon feature when it awarded its first-ever DesignVision awards on Tuesday, Feb. 1. The Consortium recognized innovative products and solutions from 19 companies in a crowded ceremony at the Convention Center

Between now and DesignCon 2006, which is again planned for Santa Clara, the IEC will present its two other conferences for electronic design engineers. DesignCon East takes place Sept. 19-21 at the DCU Center in Worcester, Mass. Euro DesignCon will be presented Oct. 24-27 in Munich, Germany.

The IEC (www.iec.org) is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Chicago. Since 1944, it has provided educational and networking opportunities in several high tech industries, and it also works with academia through an extensive university program.

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