Deadline looming: EDA vendors get those EDN Innovation entries in ASAP

‘Tis the season for not only Eggnog, Santa Clause and Seasons greetings, here at EDN it’s time for nominations for our 2007 EDA Innovations of the year award, but the deadline is fast approaching.

A few years back when I joined EDN, I started work after the selections for the 2004 Innovation award had already been submitted and the finalists selected (I had no say in who made the finalists lists but did get to put my vote in for a winner). I have to say though the list was of finalists for the EDA category was pretty weak. One finalist was something like version 6.0 of a tool that had been out for a decade, the second was a two-year-old tool from a pretty interesting startup and the third was a part-procurement tool from a big chip vendor (in my book it wasn’t even an EDA tool—it was a chip sales tool for that vendor but with a hook that allowed folks to simulate the chip before they bought it—INNOVATIVE but not really EDA). Lo and behold, guess which one won? It certainly wasn’t the one I voted for. What was really sad was those were the finalists in a year that was cram-packed with real innovative EDA tools.

So, since then, I’ve made it a top priority to try to notify the various vendors that have introduced truly innovative tools over the course of year to nominate their respective new and INNOVATIVE tools for the award. I’m happy to say it’s been paying off.

For the 2005 Innovation awards, I was thrilled to see that IBM won not only one of two of the top EDA Innovation of year awards for their Einstimer statistical timing tool, but the development group also won the top award 2005 Innovator of the year.

Last year’s winner list, (that is for 2006) wasn’t a disappointment either. We had a strong field of finalists (and nominees) in two EDA categories. Cadence took one award for its new Space Based router and startup Berkeley Design Automation took home the award for the second category for its new speedy Spice simulator.

What’s really cool about our Innovation award process is that it is relatively balanced. 1/3 of the vote is decided by EDN’s editorial staff, 1/3 is decided by EDN’s editorial board (which largely consists of electronics industry veterans) and the final third is decided by you the reader. Sure folks can try to stack the ballot in that 1/3, but to be the winner a tool has to make it past the editorial board and our editors.

This year, I hear we have nomination flowing it but time’s almost up.

So listen up EDA vendors, if we did an interview on one of your new product this year and during the interview I suggested you submit for the Innovation award, be sure to get those nominations in ASAP. The original deadline for nomination was today but I hear tell you we’re extending it until December 7.