Contact: Lisa Reyes
Phone: +1-312-559-3325
E-mail: lreyes@iec.org

CHICAGO – January 13, 2009 – The International Engineering Consortium (IEC) announced the finalists of its 2009 DesignVision Awards program naming the design tools and products judged as the most unique and beneficial to the semiconductor industry.

The finalists were selected by the DesignCon 2009 Technical Program Committee, consisting of industry experts in the semiconductor and electronic design engineering community. The IEC will announce winners on Tuesday, February 3 at 11:50am in the Main Theater.

"The interest surrounding the DesignVision Awards and DesignCon conveys the importance of electronic design innovations today. We are extremely proud to honor the individuals and companies committed to advancing the electronic design and semiconductor industry,” stated IEC President John Janowiak. “We must also thank the judges for analyzing the exemplary submissions received this year.”

The 2009 award finalists include the following companies and products in each of the eight categories respectively:

IC Design Tools

• ChipVision Design Systems for PowerOpt™
• Mentor Graphics for the Olympus-SoC Parallel Timing Analysis and Optimization
• Xilinx for Integrated Software Environment (ISE™) 10.1

Design Verification Tools

• Agilent Technologies for MIPI D-PHY Analysis/Stimulus Solution (N4851A)
• EVE for ZeBu-PersonalQualiSystems for TestShell
• Sequence Design for PowerArtist

Interconnect Technologies and Components

• FCI for ZipLine™ Connector System
• Molex Incorporated for the Impact Backplane Connector System
• Tyco Electronics for the Micro ACTION PIN PCB Interconnect
• Xilinx for the Virtex®-5 FXT and TXT FPGAs for PCI Express® version 2.0

PCB Design Tools and Technologies

• Mentor Graphics for the Mentor Graphics RF Design Solution with Agilent
• PCB Matrix for the Symbol Wizard
• Simberian Inc. for the Simbeor 2008

Semiconductor Components and ICs

• International Rectifier for the IR3720 and IR3721
• National Semiconductor for the ADC12EU050
• Xilinx for the Xilinx® Virtex®-5 TXT FPGA Platform

Semiconductor IP

• Cadence for the ChipEstimate.com IP Ecosystem
• IPextreme for CoReUse
• Virage Logic Corporation for the STAR Memory System 4.0

System Modeling and Simulation Tools

• National Semiconductor WEBENCH® Sensor Designer
• Virtutech for Simics Hybrid
• Signal Integrity Software (SiSoft) for the Quantum Channel Designer

Test and Measurement Equipment

• Agilent Technologies for the MIPI D-PHY Analysis/Stimulus Solution (N4851A)
• SyntheSys Research, Inc. for the DPP 12500A-4T
• Cascade Microtech for the EDGE™ Flicker Noise Measurement System

DesignVision Awards are judged according to the following criteria:

• Innovation
• Uniqueness
• Market Impact
• Customer Benefits
• Value to the Industry

The IEC is also pleased to introduce the DesignVision Awards Gala for 2010 to honor the achievements of the most innovative semiconductor companies, the most prominent visionaries, and the most successful design tools with an evening event. Sponsorship opportunities will become available during this year’s event and table reservations for the Gala will open following DesignCon 2009.

Visit www.designcon.com/2009/ for full information or contact Katie Post at kpost@iec.org or +1-312-559-3658.

About the IEC
A nonprofit organization, the IEC is dedicated to catalyzing technology and business progress worldwide in a range of high-technology industries and their university communities. Since 1944, the IEC has provided high-quality educational opportunities for industry professionals, academics, and students.

In conjunction with industry-leading companies, the IEC has developed an extensive, free, on-line educational program. The IEC conducts industry-university programs that have substantial impact on curricula. It also conducts research and develops publications, conferences, and technological exhibits that address major opportunities and challenges of the information age.

More than 70 leading high-technology universities are IEC affiliates, and the IEC handles the affairs of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association and Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society for electrical and computer engineers. Please visit www.iec.org.