Archive for February, 2012

For the third (second consecutive) time, I’m honored to be the General Chair of the Design and Verification Conference. This year’s DVCon promises to bring you another valuable, technically-focused program that can help you with your complex design and verification projects.

DVCon is sponsored by Accellera Systems Initiative and has its roots in users’ groups for the Verilog and VHDL standards. Because standards continue to be vital (pun intended – first person to comment below on why it’s a pun will get a free coffee from me) to the IC design and verification process, the DVCon program includes sessions on key standards such as UVM, SystemC, UPF, and IP-XACT. Update: UCIS, too.

DVCon has continued to grow over the years, with its secret to success being its mission to bring the best technical papers and tutorials to its targeted audience: IC design and verification engineers. The Technical Program Chair, Ambar Sarkar, and Tutorials Chair, Stan Krolikoski – along with their qualified committee members – have worked hard to bring you the best content.

Keeping with tradition, this year’s keynote will be delivered by Dr. Aart de Geus, our fearless leader at Synopsys. If you’ve ever heard him speak, you know that he’s charismatic and inspiring. If you haven’t heard him speak, you’re in for a treat.

We made a positive change in the schedule so that the technical program and exhibits do not overlap. You’ll be able to visit the exhibits, see the vendors’ wares, and collect tchotchkes without missing a technical session. There will also be lunches, breakfast, and hors d’oeuvres & drinks to keep your stomach full and mind sharp (well, except for the drinks).

A unique activity at DVCon is when attendees get to vote for the best paper. Unlike other conferences where the best paper is chosen by committee, DVCon lets the audience decide. The voting system is automated (we used to tally paper ballots, believe it or not) and prevents stuffing the ballot box. Be sure to participate and let your opinion be counted.

You can test your knowledge with this clever quiz by Peggy Aycinena. Post your bragging rights on her article. Then, register for DVCon and enjoy the conference.

The IEEE Standards Association is always looking for interested people to participate in their working groups and governance committees. It can be an interesting and rewarding experience if you and your company are willing and able to invest a bit of time and money (not excessive amounts, in my experience). It’s a positive side of the standards game.

Presently, there’s a search underway for people who’d like to join the Corporate Advisory Group (CAG) in 2013-2014, which is all about IEEE’s entity-based standards. Examples of these standards in the electronic design automation industry are SystemVerilog, UPF, and SystemC. Clearly these are important standards that continue to benefit us broadly. I was a member of the CAG for several years and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Here’s more information about being a member of the CAG (copied from the IEEE-SA’s Call for Candidates). If you are interested, I’m happy to help you submit your information to the IEEE-SA. You can post a comment below, email me, send a message to me via LinkedIn, or send me a tweet. By now, I think it’s pretty easy to find me.

CAG responsibilities:

- Representing corporate member insight and guidance on needs, interest, vision, products, and services provided by the IEEE
- Establish the CAG as the recognized conduit for corporate perspectives
- Serves as advocate for IEEE
- Promotes and advocates new work in the IEEE-SA in all areas of the standards life cycle
- Promotes corporate representation, membership, and entity-based activities
- Facilitates industry feedback on present and proposed methods and tools provided for development of standards and related products
- Provides sponsorship, as appropriate, and sponsorship liaison for entity-based projects
- Advises on direction of IEEE-SA Corporate Program, including budget

Candidates must be interested in managing the development of industry standards and must hold strategic positions at corporations that are at least Basic Entity Members of the IEEE-SA (or that are willing to join).

If you would like to be considered for the 2013-2014 IEEE-SA Corporate Advisory Group, please note the following rules that apply to any potential candidate.

The deadline to respond is 15 May 2012.

The slate of candidates will be forwarded to the IEEE-SA Board of Governors Nominations and Appointments Committee (N&A) for its review later in the year, with a final decision on the candidate slate to be made by the IEEE-SA Board of Governors.

Rules for IEEE-SA CAG membership:

1. The time commitment is 3-6 meetings in 2013.
The 2012 calendar is located at http://standards.ieee.org/about/sasb/2012calendar.pdf. That will give you an idea of what to expect. The 2013 calendar has not been finalized yet.
Attendance is expected at all meetings.
2. This is a non-funded position.  You are expected to fund your own travel.
3. You must have an email address, web access, and a laptop computer to bring to the meeting.
Policies and Procedures related to the CAG are located at http://standards.ieee.org/develop/policies/sa_opman/sect5.html#5.3
Corporate Program information located at http://standards.ieee.org/develop/corpchan/index.html

I hope you’ll consider this opportunity. I think it would be great to work with you. BTW, “funding your own travel” usually means “your company funds your travel”. Let me know if you want more information. I’m happy to share my experiences with the IEEE Standards Association.