CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
21 August 2009
Company News
University of Southampton Receives Charles Babbage Grant from Synopsys
Synopsys, Inc. announced that the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton is the first Western European university to receive the Charles Babbage Grant from Synopsys. Through the grant, ECS receives licenses of Synopsys' comprehensive electronic design automation (EDA) software and intellectual property. The grant also enabled the University to set up a brand new laboratory for virtual learning. The Virtual Learning Environment focuses on integrated circuit design and also involves a new range of courses on advanced system-on-chip (SoC) design, with support and faculty training from Synopsys. The grant has enabled ECS to install new computer hardware in the virtual learning laboratory to support up to 20 students.
Synopsys software provides students and researchers the opportunity to utilize industrial tools for logic and physical synthesis, circuit simulation, nanometer device modeling and fabrication process modeling. Synopsys software serves as the foundation for an industry design flow where students get real-world, hands-on experience building and testing their designs.
"The School of Electronics and Computer Science is the largest of its kind in the UK with a long tradition of research in electronic engineering and computer science. This grant enables us to continue that tradition with the latest leading-edge commercial tools," said Dr. Matt Swabey, electronics teaching fellow at ECS. "We can now give our students real quantitative experience in modeling SoCs, enabling them to modify and try out designs to achieve defined goals. This ability will be enormously valuable to our students."
Access to industrial design tools for advanced research and microelectronic design is a common challenge facing universities today. Synopsys helps resolve this issue through initiatives like the Charles Babbage Grant and its Worldwide University Program, which provide select universities with design software for modern electronic design flows and leading IC fabrication processes. Previous grant recipients in the USA include Case Western Reserve University, Purdue University and Syracuse University.
John Chilton, Senior Vice President of Marketing & Strategic Development at Synopsys, formally opened the lab during an August 17th ceremony at the University of Southampton attended by students and faculty.
"Synopsys selected the University of Southampton because of its global reputation for leading-edge research and its academic focus on engineering and computer science," commented Chilton. "Through this grant, Synopsys enables the University to further its reputation as a leading academic institution and to give its students access to the latest tools and equipment, supporting their educational experience and preparing them for future roles in industry, academia or government."
About the Charles Babbage Grant
The Charles Babbage Grant provides select universities worldwide with state-of-the-art EDA tools, training, support and technology. It enables institutions of higher education to enhance their expertise in microelectronics circuits and system design. Use of the Synopsys tools on modern, powerful computers from the grant helps universities to better prepare their graduates for the future by providing hands-on experience with current industry practices, modern design techniques, and actual design tools and hardware. This enhances their understanding of how learning applies to the real world of IC design. The grant is named after British mathematician and inventor Charles Babbage, who designed and built mechanical computing machines on principles that anticipated the modern electronic computers of today over 150 years ago.
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