Highlights of EDAS 2020

The first IEEE CASS/CEDA Seasonal School on Electronic Design Automation - EDAS 2020 occurred as a virtual event from December 7-11.  It was organized by researchers from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), members of the CEDA Brazil Chapter and CASS Rio Grande do Sul Chapter.

EDAS 2020 program offered 21 talks, a hands-on tutorial, 3 poster sessions, and three panels, comprising a total of 40 hours of activities. The talks covered the VLSI design flow in 30 hours, from logic synthesis to placement and routing, with special attention to optimization techniques and challenges for advanced CMOS technology nodes. Disruptive technologies such as Quantum circuits and NML circuits and Machine Learning applications to EDA tools were also addressed. Most of the talks were given by young researchers formed in Brazilian Universities who are currently working for EDA companies such as Cadence, Synopsys, Silvaco, and Mentor. The hands-on tutorial covered the design flow using the OpenRoad tools. The panels focused on topics that could motivate the participants, mostly undergraduate and graduate students, to target their future careers in the EDA area. Therefore, the first panel counted with the participation of young researchers who reported their trajectories in EDA companies. In the second panel, the various Brazilian students who have participated in EDA contests reported how those experiences have leveraged their research and increased their skills in the area. Finally, the third panel of professionals from IC Design and EDA companies talked about challenges and opportunities in next-generation EDA tools, including career perspectives. Eleven posters were presented in the three poster sessions.

A total of 215 people participated in EDAS 2020. The audience was composed mainly of undergraduate and graduate students from Brazil and other Latin American countries. Along this intense week of activities, the speakers reported their enthusiasm for reaching students from Brazil and Latin America to transmit their knowledge and experiences, while many attendees revealed their contentment in discovering the exciting area of EDA.

The EDAS 2020 organizers greatly thank the support of CASS and CEDA, the sponsor societies, SBMicro (Brazilian Microelectronics Society), SBC (Brazilian Computer Society), and the corporate sponsors Cadence, Synopys, and Chipus Microelectronics.