=============================================================================== SIGDA -- The Resource for EDA Professionals http://www.sigda.org This newsletter is a free service for current SIGDA members and is added automatically with a new SIGDA membersip. Circulation: 2,700 =============================================================================== 1 January 2008 ACM/SIGDA E-NEWSLETTER Vol. 38, No. 1 Online archive: http://www.sigda.org/newsletter =============================================================================== Contents of this E-NEWSLETTER: (1) SIGDA News Contributing author: Lin Yuan Contributing author: Matthew Guthaus Contributing author: Marc Riedel Contributing author: Qing Wu (2) What is I-Snake? From: BBC News (3) Paper Submission Deadlines From: Hai Zhou (4) Upcoming Conferences and Symposia From: Hai Zhou (5) Upcoming Funding Opportunities From: Qinru Qiu =============================================================================== Dear ACM/SIGDA members, Happy New Year! In this issue, we have included a new "What Is I-Snake?" column, published on BBS News. In addition, "SIGDA News" column contains a number of fresh headlines. We have also updated the contents of other regular columns. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions. If you would like to participate or contribute to the content of the E-Newsletter, please feel free to contact any of us. Qing Wu, E-Newsletter Editor; Matthew Guthaus, E-Newsletter Associate Editor; Marc Riedel, E-Newsletter Associate Editor; Qinru Qiu, E-Newsletter Associate Editor; Lin Yuan, E-Newsletter Associate Editor; Hai Zhou, E-Newsletter Associate Editor; =============================================================================== SIGDA News ----------------------- "Analog Cell Phone Network Going Off-Air Feb 18, 2008" http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/12/24/cellular.sunset.ap/ The FCC voted in 2002 to allow cell phone carriers to begin allowing their analog networks to go offline beginning February 18, 2008. As this date is fast approaching, as many as 500,000 OnStar users will no longer have access to emergency services. It is believed as many as one million cell phone users will be shut out, as will about 400,000 wireless home security systems. Many people are also completely unaware this shutdown is coming. "Top 10 'How-To' Design Stories of 2007" http://eetimes.com/news/design/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205200707 From MOSFETs to hybrid car systems--and back to MOSFETs--here's what Automotive DesignLine readers found most interesting during the year, as voted by their page views. "2008 Economic Forecast: Fairly Unpredictable" http://www.semiconductor.net/article/CA6515393.html 2008 will be a year when the industry's hopes and realities clash. Hopes are for a strengthening expansion in 2008, a year that should have history, speaking a lot of momentum, given the U.S. presidential election and Olympic Games. However, these hopes are confronted by the market realities of oversupply in the memory sector and the risk of slower end-user electronics sales caused by a rising U.S. recession risk and macroeconomic woes in many parts of the world. "Top 10 Chip Stories to Watch in 2008" http://eetimes.com/news/design/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205205933 This past year was an exciting one for processors and platforms. Next year looks to be another one filled with technological innovation and oversold hype, business rumors that don't pan out and surprises that shock us all, and as always, winners and losers in the big game of chips. ChannelWeb assembled a panel of industry experts comprising vendors, analysts and solution providers to discuss what they think will be the most important chip stories to watch in 2008. "Nanotechnology Aids Large-Area Solar Cell" http://www.eetimes.com/news/design/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205205758 A scientist at Israel's Bar-Ilan University claims that he has managed to create a solar cell 100 times bigger than a typical solar cell, using nanotechnology methods. Professor Arie Zaban, head of Bar-Ilan University's Nanotechnology Institute, is an expert in photovoltaics. In a recently patented technique, Professor Zaban demonstrated how metallic wires mounted on conductive glass can form the basis of solar cells with efficiency similar to that of conventional, silicon-based cells, but that are much cheaper to produce. "Microfuel Cell Enables Ubiquitous Computing" http://www.edn.com/article/CA6512155.html This fall.s Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco included a section on technologies that will help extend the computing time of laptop computers. Medis Technologies demonstrated its fuel-cell-based, $19.95, 1W 24/7 Power Pack for handheld devices, such as cell phones and MP3 players. The 3.8 x 2.7 x 1.4-in. device provides approximately 20 Whrs of energy.enough to power an iPod for at least 60 hours or provide approximately 30 hours of cell-phone talk time. It comes with a standard connector and multiple adapter tips. It complies with ROHS (restriction-of-hazardous-substances) directives, and you can recycle; just mail it back in its original box to the manufacturer. The company's next-generation product will be a 20W device capable of powering a laptop. "Palm-Sized 'Pico-Projector' Enabled by MEMS" http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205205958 Digital projectors revolutionized mobile presentations by harnessing mass- produced liquid-crystal display (LCD) technology to stand-in for viewgraphs- enabling high-output light bulbs to shine through the LCD instead of through plastic sheets. While digital-projector companies progressively downsize their LCDs, making units smaller and lower power, digital micro-mirror technology stands poised to leap-frog digital projectors down to cell-phone size. "Micromem Readies MRAM Cell Designs" http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=205200307 Micromem Technologies Inc (Toronto, Canada) together with development partner Strategic Solutions and foundry Global Communication Services (GCS) has manufactured foundry grade fully functioning MRAM cells. The three year R&D project has now concluded the proof of concept phase followed by a foundry phase, to be finished next month, focused on manufacturability and scalability of MRAMs that are targeted at the fast growing sensitive magnetic sensors sector. "ICs Address Speedy Ethernet Devices. Need for EMI, ESD Protection" http://www.edn.com/article/CA6512570.html?industryid=47042 The Ethernet communication standard is morphing into 10/100/1000-Mbps versions and gaining inherent power-delivery capability in POE (power-over-Ethernet) designs. System designers are responding with feature-packed products, such as VOIP (voice-over-Internet Protocol) phones and IP cameras. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to protect these devices from EMI (electromagnetic-interference) noise and ESD (electrostatic discharge) without degrading system performance. Passive devices, including TVS (transient-voltage-suppression) diodes for ESD protection and external chokes for EMI, offer some protection but often at the expense of system performance. Addressing these problems, Akros Silicon has introduced two devices that it claims are the first active devices for suppressing EMI and ESD and promoting EMC (electromagnetic compatibility). "Hybrid ASIC Claimed to Slash Cost of SoCs" http://www.eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204806042 Hybrid ASIC from ChipX is said to combine the performance and cost benefits of standard cell devices with the NRE and time-to-market benefits of Structured ASICs. The folks at mixed-signal ASIC company ChipX have just introduced a new class of device that they refer to as a Hybrid ASIC, which involves the implementation of a structured ASIC as IP on a Standard Cell device. This development approach is claimed to facilitate rapid and economical product line development, saving companies an average of three-to-five hundred thousand dollars in non-recurring engineering (NRE) and tooling costs and enabling them to introduce derivative products two-to-three months faster than today's methodologies allow. "Scientists Model a Genome's Every Move" http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/12/scientists-crea.html Programmers have long known that with computers, garbage in equals garbage out, but predicting life's responses to inputs has remained far less certain. Now, scientists working to improve toxic waste eating microbes have taken one more step towards understanding how to program cells into biological machines. Researchers have created a model for an organism that accurately predicts the bacterium's genetic responses to environmental stresses like radiation and heat, or garbage. "New Computational Technique Can Predict Drug Side Effects" http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071211232919.htm Early identification of adverse effects of drugs before they are tested in humans is crucial in developing new therapeutics, as unexpected effects account for a third of all drug failures during the development process. Now researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have developed a novel technique using computer modeling to identify potential side effects of pharmaceuticals, and have used the technique to study a class of drugs that includes tamoxifen, the most prescribed drug in the treatment of breast cancer. Their study is currently available on line at PLoS Computational Biology. "Electronics Manufacturing Capacity to See Global Rebalancing" http://www.edn.com/article/CA6515027.html?industryid=47037 Electronics contract manufacturers will begin focusing on other factors beyond labor cost when it comes to selecting a location for production in the coming years, iSuppli Corp. has reported. The firm reminded that in the early parts of this decade, manufacturing capacity shifted from high-cost regions in North America and Western Europe to the low-cost nation of mainland China. However, in the second half of the decade, iSuppli believes contract manufacturing will undergo a global rebalancing that will more lead to a more distributed market. "Hybrid Hard Drives Stalled by Software, Firm Says" http://www.edn.com/article/CA6514932.html?industryid=47037 The highly-promoted hybrid hard drive will not make a big splash in 2008, according to Los Gatos, Calif.-based market research firm Objective Analysis, but once all the kinks are ironed out, hybrid drives and their counterparts should sweep the market. "Semi Execs Expect Moderate Revenue Growth to Negatively Impact Profitability, KPMG Reports" http://www.edn.com/article/CA6515012.html?industryid=47037 Semiconductor executives anticipate moderate revenue growth, below historical averages, in the coming year with profitability expected to be volatile over the next 5 years, according to a recent global survey of semiconductor company executives conducted by Mountain View, Calif.-based U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm KPMG LLP. "Irradiated Carbon Makes for Better Electronics, Say Scientists" http://eetimes.com/news/design/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204805135 Scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science, together with colleagues from the U.S., have implemented doping using UV light and electron beams in the field of molecular electronics. The research was done with particular application to electronic devices made of single layers of organic (carbon-based) molecules. "Commentary: A Few Fabless Fables" http://www.us.design-reuse.com/news/17362/fabless-business-model.html This commentary was provided by Shankar Pennathur, vice president of operations and manufacturing at Oxford Semiconductor Inc. (Milpitas, Calif.). The semiconductor industry is commoditizing with opportunities to differentiate being few and far between. As the fabless companies jostle and compete for market positioning and market share, they are subject to the larger trends that transact in the fabless supply-chain world. "U.S. R&D Funding Faces Shortfall " http://eetimes.com/news/semi/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204806079 The U.S. Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) blasted the U.S. government over the lack of action taken to enhance America's competitiveness in the global economy. The SIA also warned that without action this week, funding for basic research at universities and the national laboratories will fall far short of the levels promised by President Bush and Congress. ============================================================================== What is I-Snake? ---------------------------- BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7155635.stm ============================================================================== Paper Submission Deadlines: ---------------------------- EWME'08 - European Workshop on Microelectronics Education Budapest, Hungary May 28-30, 2008 Deadline: Jan 10, 2008 (extended) http://www.eet.bme.hu/new/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=129&Itemid=160 ACSD'08 - Int'l Conference on Application of Concurrency to System Design (sponsored by SIGDA) Xi.an, China June 23-27, 2008 Deadline: Jan 4, 2008 http://ictt.xidian.edu.cn/acsd2008/Pages/ACSD_main.jsp RSP'08 - Int'l Workshop on Rapid System Prototyping Monterey, CA Jun 2-5, 2008 Deadline: Jan 5, 2008 http://www.rsp-workshop.org/ CAV'08 - Int'l Conference on Computer Aided Verification Princeton, PA Jul 7-14, 2007 Deadline: Jan 28, 2008 http://www.princeton.edu/cav2008/ MEMOCODE'08 - Int'l Conference on Formal Methods and Models for Codesign (sponsored by SIGDA) Anaheim, CA Jun 5-7, 2008 Deadline: Feb 1, 2008 http://svl1.cs.pdx.edu/memocode08/ ICICDT'08 - Int'l Conference on IC Design & Technology Minatec in Grenoble, France Jun 2-4, 2008 Deadline: Feb 29, 2008 http://www.icicdt.org/ MWSCAS'08 - Int'l Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems Knoxville, TN Aug 10-13, 2008 Deadline: Mar 12, 2008 http://www.eecs.utk.edu/mwscas/ PACT'08 - Int'l Conference on Parallel Architectures and Compilation Techniques Toronto, Canada Oct 25-29, 2008 Deadline: Mar 28, 2008 http://www.pactconf.org/ ============================================================================== Upcoming Symposia, Conferences and Workshops: --------------------------------------------- VLSI'08 - Int'l Conference on VLSI Design (sponsored by SIGDA) ES'08 - Int'l Conference on Embedded Systems Hyderabad, India Jan 4-8, 2008 http://vlsiconference.com/vlsi2008/ ASP-DAC'08 - Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference (sponsored by SIGDA) Seoul, Korea Jan 21-24, 2008 http://www.aspdac.com/aspdac2008/ HiPEAC'08: Int'l Conference on High Performance Embedded Architectures & Compilers Goteborg, Sweden Jan 27-29, 2008 http://www.hipeac.net/hipeac2008/ ISSCC'08 - Int'l Solid-State Circuits Conference San Francisco, CA Feb 3-7, 2008 http://isscc.org/isscc/ LATW'08 - Latin-American Test Workshop Puebla, Mexico Feb 17-20, 2008 http://www-elec.inaoep.mx/latw2008/ FPGA'08 Int'l Symposium on Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (sponsored by SIGDA) Monterey, California February 24-26, 2008 http://www.isfpga.org TAU'08 - Int'l Workshop on Timing Issues in the Specification and Synthesis of Digital Systems (Sponsored by SIGDA) Monterey, CA Feb 25-26, 2008 http://www.tauworkshop.com/ DATE'08 - Design Automation and Test in Europe (sponsored by SIGDA) Munich, Germany Mar 10-14, 2008 http://www.date-conference.com/ ISQED'08 - Int'l Symposium on Quality Electronic Design San Jose, CA Mar 17-19, 2008 http://www.isqed.org/ SPL'08 - Southern Conference on Programmable Logic Bariloche-Patagonia, Argentina Mar 26-28, 2008 http://www.splconf.org/ ASYNC'08: Int'l Symposium on Asynchronous Circuits and Systems Newcastle, UK Apr 7-11, 2008 http://async.org.uk/async2008/ NOCS'08 - Int'l Symposium on Networks-on-Chips Newcastle, UK Apr 7-11, 2008 http://async.org.uk/nocs2008/ RCE'08 - Reconfigurable Computing Education Montpellier, France Apr 10, 2008 http://helios.informatik.uni-kl.de/RCeducation08/ ISPD'08 - Int'l Symposium on Physical Design (sponsored by SIGDA) Portland, OR Apr 13-16, 2008 http://www.ispd.cc/ RAW'08 - Reconfigurable Architectures Workshop Miami, FL Apr 14-15, 2008 http://www.ece.lsu.edu/vaidy/raw/ RFID'08 - Conference on RFID Las Vegas, NV Apr 16-17, 2008 http://www.ieee-rfid.org/ GLSVLSI'08 - Great Lakes Symposium on VLSI (Sponsored by SIGDA) Orlando, FL May 4-6, 2008 http://www.glsvlsi.org/ SLIP'08 - Int'l Workshop on System Level Interconnect Prediction Newcastle, UK Apr 5-6, 2008 http://www.sliponline.org/ ISVLSI'08 - Annual Symposium on VLSI Montpellier, France Apr 7-9, 2008 http://www.lirmm.fr/isvlsi2008/ ISCAS'08 - Int'l Symposium on Circuits and Systems Seattle, WA May 18-21, 2008 http://iscas2008.org/ ICAC'08 - Int'l Conference on Autonomic Computing Chicago, IL Jun 2-6, 2008 http://www.acis.ufl.edu/~icac2008/ DAC'08 - Design Automation Conference (sponsored by SIGDA) Anaheim, CA Jun 9-13, 2008 http://www.dac.com/ ============================================================================== Upcoming Funding Opportunities ------------------------------- James S. McDonnell Foundation Studying Complex Systems - 21st Century Science Collaborative Activity Deadline: continuous http://www.jsmf.org/programs/cs/ ETS Postdoctoral Fellowship Award Program Deadline: February 1, 2008 http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid=a7d6d635e06ed010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=0d03d635e06ed010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD DOE Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) (DE-PS02-08ER08-01) Deadline: September 30, 2008 http://www.science.doe.gov/grants/FAPN08-01.html NIH NLM Knowledge Management & Applied Informatics Grants Deadline: January 25, 2008 http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-07-236.html Information Technologies and the Internet in Health Services and Intervention Delivery (R03) Deadline: February 16, 2008 June 16, 2008 October 16, 2008 http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-06-225.html DOD Young Investigator Program (YIP) January 12, 2008 http://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/3t/corporate/yip.asp Microsystems Technology Office-Wide BAA Deadline: January 14, 2008 http://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/BAA07%2D18/SynopsisP.html Homeland Security (2.2.1) - N61339-02-R-0071 Deadline: Continuous. This BAA expires on January 30, 2008 http://www1.fbo.gov/spg/DON/NAVAIR/N61339/N61339-02-R-0071/Attachments.html Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System (CT2WS) Deadline: April 11, 2008 http://fedbizopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=20070412a1 Modeling and Simulation for Information Systems Research Deadline: FY 09 should be submitted by June 1, 2008 FY 10 should be submitted by June 1, 2009 http://fedbizopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=20061030a9 Military Networking Technology for Global Information Exchange (GIE) Deadline: Continuous until September, 2008 http://fedbizopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=20040909a11 Enabling Technologies for Modeling and Simulation (BAA-03-12-IFKA) Deadline: September 30, 2008 http://www.fbo.gov/spg/USAF/AFMC/AFRLRRS/BAA-03-12-IFKA/Modification%2005.html SPINS in Semiconductors Deadline: December 31, 2008 http://fundingopps.cos.com/alerts/57993 Artificial Intelligence Technologies Deadline: December 31, 2008 http://heron.nrl.navy.mil/contracts/baa.htm Quantum Information Science and Technology Deadline: December 31, 2008 http://heron.nrl.navy.mil/contracts/0708baa/baa.htm Microsystems Technology Office-Wide Deadline: January 14, 2009 http://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/BAA07-18/Attachments.html Warrior Systems Technologies - Body-Worn Systems, Hand Held Devices, and Smart-Lightweight Electronic Components/Modules for Soldier Protection, Knowledge Management and Cognitive Improvement Deadline: Continuous. (April 1, 2007 ~ March 31, 2009) https://www3.natick.army.mil/ssbaa.htm Joint National Training Capability Broad Agency Announcement Deadline: May 14, 2009 http://www.ntsc.navy.mil/Ebusiness/BusOps/Acquisitions/Index.cfm?RND=220990 TRADOC FOC-03-06: Situational Understanding Deadline: Continuous until August 26, 2009 https://abop.monmouth.army.mil/baas.nsf/1f6c118700adf19d85256d3d0051f9a2/31926e7d7d4b2e9285256f6d0056ce06?OpenDocument BAA for Simulation and Training Technology R&D Deadline: Continuous until December 31, 2010 http://www.ntsc.navy.mil/EBusiness/BusOps/Acquisitions/Index.cfm?RND=868451 Army Research Office (ARO) Broad Agency Announcement for Basic and Applied Scientific Research (W911NF-07-R-0003) Deadline: Continuous through September 30, 2011 http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?Action=6&Page=8 ARL/ARO Core Broad Agency Announcement for Basic and Applied Scientific Research for Fiscal Years 2007 through 2011 (W911NF-07-R-0001) Deadline: Continuous through September 30, 2011 http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?Action=6&Page=8 High Density Optical Memory Deadline: Continuous http://www.afosr.af.mil/pdfs/afosr_baa_2007_1.pdf Quantum Electronic Solids Deadline: Continuous http://www.afosr.af.mil/pdfs/afosr_baa_2007_1.pdf Distributed Intelligence Deadline: Continuous http://www.afosr.af.mil/pdfs/afosr_baa_2007_1.pdf NSF Software for Real-World Systems (SRS) - NSF 07-599 Deadline: January 17, 2008 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07599/nsf07599.htm Scientific Computing Research Environments for the Mathematical Sciences (SCREMS) - NSF 07-502 Deadline: January 24, 2008 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07502/nsf07502.htm Broadening Participation Research Initiation Grants in Engineering (BRIGE) - NSF 07-589 Deadline: February 8, 2008 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07589/nsf07589.htm Strategic Technologies for Cyberinfrastructure (STCI) Deadline : February 14, 2008 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=500066&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund Engineering Design (ED) Deadline : February 15, 2008 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13340 Emerging Models and Technologies for Computation (EMT) Deadline: March 13, 2008 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503220&org=CISE&from=home Assembling the Tree of Life (ATOL) Deadline: March 14, 2008 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5129&org=CISE&from=home Theoretical Foundations 2008 (TF08) Deadline: March 31, 2008 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=500026&org=CISE&from=home Expeditions in Computing Deadline: Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required): July 10, 2008 July 10, Annually Thereafter Preliminary Proposal Due Date(s) (required): September 10, 2008 September 10, Annually Thereafter http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/nsf07592/nsf07592.htm Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience (CRCNS) Deadline: February 26, 2008 October 30, 2008 http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5147&org=CISE&from=home High Performance Computing Acquisition: Towards a Petascale Computing Environment for Science and Engineering - NSF 05-625 Deadline: November 28, 2008 http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf05625/nsf05625.htm ============================================================================== Notice to Authors By submitting your contributions to ACM SIGDA, you acknowledge that they contain only your own work (minor edits by others are allowed) and are not subject to third-party licenses and copyrights. The contents of the ACM SIGDA newsletters are released by SIGDA into Public Domain, except when explicitly noted otherwise. SIGDA newsletters are routinely reproduced on the SIGDA Web site and the ACM Digital Library, may be reproduced in printed publications and appear on the Wikipedia Web site --- without express notice and royalties. If you wish to restrict the distribution of your work or retain copyright for your contribution, please contact the editors. Last revised by I. Markov - 05/21/06 ============================================================================== (This ACM/SIGDA E-NEWSLETTER is being sent to all persons on the ACM/SIGDA mailing list. To manage your subscription, go to "Subscriber's corner" on http://listserv.acm.org/ - you need to login using the email address where this newsletter is delivered. First time users will be required to choose a password.) ==============================================================================