Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley, was not only a founder of Cadence - he was a founder of the EDA industry as we know it today. And this year as we mark the 25th anniversary of Cadence, he is a visionary with bold ideas for the next 25 years of EDA.
Sangiovanni-Vincentelli has such a lengthy biography that it's hard to know where to begin. But let's start here. Today he holds the Edgar L. and Harold H. Buttner Chair of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California at Berkeley. He has been on the faculty of U.C. Berkeley since 1976. In 1982 he co-founded a new EDA company, SDA Systems. He helped bring SDA Systems and ECAD together to form Cadence in 1988, and has served on the Cadence Board of Directors since 1991.
Sangiovanni-Vincentelli pioneered such concepts as platform-based design and system-level design. He has consulted with a long list of companies, including many of the world's top automotive companies. His long list of awards includes the Kaufman award, the highest honor in the EDA industry. According to his U.C. Berkeley bio he has authored over 780 papers, 17 books, and 2 patents.
In the following four video clips, Sangiovanni-Vincentelli tells his story.
How Cadence Got Started
In the following video clip, Sangiovanni-Vincentelli tells the story of ECAD, SDA Systems, and Cadence, noting how a stock market crash in 1987 helped determine the formation of Cadence in 1988. If video does not open, click here.
Why Cadence is Different
In 1988, when Cadence was formed, there were three well-established leaders in the nascent EDA industry - Daisy Systems, Mentor Graphics, and Valid Logic. How was Cadence different, and how did it rise to prominence so quickly? What were some of the top Cadence contributions during the past 25 years? Sangiovanni-Vincentelli answers these questions in the following video clip. If video does not open, click here.
The Next 25 Years of EDA
In this video clip, Sangiovanni-Vincentelli takes EDA in directions you wouldn't have thought of -- cyber-physical systems, synthetic biology, and brain-machine interfaces. If he's right, the next 25 years will be even more exciting than the last 25. If video does not open, click here.
Beyond the Internet of Things
The "Internet of Things" as envisioned today doesn't go quite far enough for Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, who envisions a sensor-driven "sensory swarm" into which smartphones and laptops will eventually disappear. This video may provide a glimpse into our future. If video does not open, click here.
On to the next 25 years!
Richard Goering
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