Synopsys chairman de Geus chosen for EDAC's Phil Kaufman award

By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor -- 9/15/2008

Dr. Aart de Geus, co-founder, chairman and CEO of semiconductor design and manufacturing software giant Synopsys Inc is the recipient of this year’s Phil Kaufman Award for Distinguished Contributions to EDA as announced today by the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) Consortium and IEEE Council on EDA (CEDA).

Dr. de Geus (pictured left) will be presented with the award on October 29, at the 15th annual Kaufman Award ceremony, by the EDA Consortium and CEDA.

For more from EDN on Synopsys’ Dr. de Geus, see: Voices: Synopsys’ Aart de Geus on investing to win

Since 1986 when Dr. de Geus co-founded Synopsys, he is credited with expanding Synopsys from a start-up synthesis enterprise to a world leader in EDA and a major force in semiconductor IP, according to the EDA Consortium, and under his leadership, Synopsys instituted the ratable business model, leading the software industry to a more stable, predictable business model.

When asked what meaning this award holds for him Dr. de Geus, always the gentleman, told EDN humbly, “It’s almost a little embarrassing because I realize very well that everything I’ve had the opportunity to participate in has really been a team effort. So as much as one becomes a symbol for that, the reality is that everything we’ve built and done over the years has been on the basis of having some extraordinary people work together to make it happen.”

Wally Rhines, chairman of the EDA Consortium and chairman and CEO of Mentor Graphics, commented in a statement, “Aart has had major impacts on both the business, as well as the technology, of EDA. As a pioneer in logic synthesis, he found the path to commercialize one of EDA’s most important capabilities and, by building upon it, created the industry’s largest EDA company.”

Also, Kurt Keutzer, Professor of EECS at the University of California, Berkeley and former CTO of Synopsys, noted, “Aart’s research contributions formed a critical piece of the technical foundation of the Design Compiler tool, probably the most successful product in the history of the EDA industry. As founder of Synopsys in 1986 and CEO since 1994, Aart led Synopsys to preeminence in the industry. In today’s market, Synopsys’ market capitalization of close to $3B puts it head and shoulders above its competitors. This unique combination of technical and business impact makes Aart an ideal Kaufman Award recipient.”

Dr. de Geus has received other technology awards including being named a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in January 1999, and was honored for pioneering the commercial logic synthesis market with the IEEE Circuits and Systems Society Industrial Pioneer Award in 2001, as well as for his “contributions to, and leadership in, the technology and business development of Electronic Design Automation” with the 2007 IEEE Robert N. Noyce Medal.

Dr. de Geus has also been honored for his business leadership as well. In 2002, shortly after transacting the largest merger in EDA history, Dr. de Geus was named CEO of the Year by Electronic Business magazine, and in November 2005, Electronic Business magazine selected Dr. de Geus as one of “The 10 Most Influential Executives.”

Further, Dr. de Geus is active in the business community as a member of the board of Applied Materials, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, TechNet, the Global Semiconductor Alliance, and as Vice-Chairman of the EDA Consortium. He is also a very active leader in education and community support, having created the Synopsys Outreach Foundation, which has promoted project-based science and math learning throughout Silicon Valley since 1999. Dr. de Geus was former Chair and a current board member of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and was also the recipient of its prestigious “Spirit of Silicon Valley Lifetime Achievement Award”.

Dr. de Geus holds a master’s of science in electrical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

© 2009, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.