Tom Williams is an impressive photographer. Don’t rely on my say so –– check out his website at: https://bit.ly/2Anv3zl

Dr. Thomas W. Williams, this year’s recipient of the Phil Kaufman Award.

That’s not why the selection committee from the ESD Alliance and IEEE CEDA chose him to be the recipient of the 2018 Phil Kaufman Award for Distinguished Contributions to Electronic System Design, however. Tom was selected because he is an extraordinary technologist in an industry composed of an exceptional number of extraordinary technologists.

Tom took an overlooked design area now known as Design for Testability and revolutionized chip testing, a significant and lasting achievement. Efficiently testing today’s chips would not be possible without his scan test techniques that both created a revenue stream for EDA suppliers and saved chip companies many millions of dollars over the last 40 years.

I’m looking forward to Tom Williams’ acceptance speech Wednesday, November 7, at The GlassHouse in San Jose. While he’s certain to talk about DFT, his slide presentation will include many of his striking photographs. The evening will be memorable and will include great food and plenty of networking. It starts at 6:30 p.m. Please join us. Attendance is open to member companies, though attendees don’t need to be members to attend. Registration information can be found at: http://bit.ly/2MwQdCN. Sponsorships for the evening are available as well. Julie Rogers, our director of marketing and operations, (jrogers@semi.org) has details.

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Anyone who read the recent profile of Dr. Thomas W. Williams by Cadence’s Paul McLellan knows attendees at the upcoming Phil Kaufman Award Ceremony and Dinner honoring Dr. Williams are in for a treat. 

Dr. Thomas W. Williams, this year’s recipient of the Phil Kaufman Award.

This year’s award recipient was kicked out of school in the third grade, became an Eastern US figure skating champion as a teenager and goes each fall to Hudson Bay to photograph polar bears. Oh, and he invented scan test, the reason why the ESD Alliance, a SEMI Strategic Association Partner, and the IEEE Council on Electronic Design Automation (CEDA) are feting him.

With a background as diverse and unique as Dr. Williams’, the dinner and award ceremony is certain to be filled with plenty of good cheer, stories and travel photos. Great food is a given because it will be held at The GlassHouse in San Jose. Please join us Wednesday, November 7, at 6 p.m. for a memorable evening.

Attendance is open to member companies at a substantial discount. Of course, you don’t need to be a member to attend. Registration information can be found at: http://bit.ly/2MwQdCN. Sponsorships for the evening are available as well. Julie Rogers, our director of marketing and operations, (jrogers@semi.org) has details.

Dr. Williams, who retired from Synopsys as a Synopsys Fellow in 2009, resides in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. Formerly, he was with the IBM Microelectronics Division and managed the VLSI Design for Testability group. Dr. Williams is known for the seminal paper co-authored with Dr. Ed Eichelberger describing Level Sensitive Scan Design (LSSD) presented at DAC in 1977. Since then, the concept has been adopted by major digital electronics manufacturers and EDA companies. He continued to enhance these and other Design-for-Testability techniques, laying the foundation for testing modern integrated circuits and systems.

The Phil Kaufman Award is our industry’s more prestigious award and honors individuals who have had a demonstrable impact on the field of electronic system design through technology innovations, education/mentoring, or business or industry leadership. The award was established as a tribute to the late Phil Kaufman (1942-1992), an industry pioneer who turned innovative technologies into commercial businesses that have benefited electronic designers. Last year’s recipient was Dr. Rob A. Rutenbar, senior vice chancellor for Research at the University of Pittsburgh, recognized for his pioneering contributions to algorithms and tools for analog and mixed-signal designs.

You or your company is welcome to join the ESD Alliance, SEMI’s newest Strategic Association Partner. Your voice is welcome as we address technical, marketing, economic and legislative issues affecting the electronic system design ecosystem and promote its value as a vital component of the global electronics industry.

Please visit the ESD Alliance website to read about our committees and other ongoing initiatives, including last week’s Digital Marketing Workshop 2.0, an informative evening where attendees had plenty of time to network with each other. Photos of the event can be found at: https://bit.ly/2LLg4S9

I’m always available to answer questions about the ESD Alliance and can be reached at bsmith@semi.org

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