Communications of the ACM
Iit Kharagpur Receives Charles Babbage Grant
Synopsys Inc., a world leader in software and IP for semiconductor design, verification and manufacturing, announced Wednesday (Sept. 9) that the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur is the first institution of higher education in India to receive the Charles Babbage Grant from Synopsys. Through the grant, IIT Kharagpur receives licenses of Synopsys' comprehensive electronic design automation (EDA) software and intellectual property. The grant also enables the Institute to purchase computer hardware for the planned Synopsys CAD Laboratory at IIT Kharagpur, which would focus exclusively on core EDA and CAD research. Although details are yet to be finalized, additional funding provided by Synopsys is planned to assist with the operational costs of the lab as Synopsys and IIT Kharagpur faculty collaborate on joint research goals and establish milestones to further expand VLSI education at the Institute. Synopsys also intends to provide support and training to the students working at the Synopsys CAD Laboratory to help them maximize their research efforts.
IIT Kharagpur and Synopsys have had strong and enriching research collaborations, especially related to verification methodologies, for close to a decade and a half. The two organizations have taken leading steps in fostering state-of-the-art education and research in the domain of VLSI and EDA. Synopsys was a co-founder in the Advanced VLSI (AVLSI) Design Laboratory at IIT Kharagpur and subsequently in the AVLSI Consortium, both being the first of their kind in India. The establishment of the Synopsys CAD Laboratory at IIT Kharagpur would further expand the collaboration between Synopsys and IIT Kharagpur, and extend the focus of their advanced and industry-relevant education and research beyond verification to other areas of core EDA.
"IIT Kharagpur and Synopsys have closely collaborated over the last decade to foster state-of-the-art research and education in the domains of VLSI and CAD," said Dr. Partha P. Chakrabarti, professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering and Dean of the Sponsored Research & Industrial Consultancy at IIT Kharagpur. "We are further expanding this relationship by working to establish the Synopsys CAD Laboratory at IIT Kharagpur, which will be utilized for advanced, leading-edge research in the EDA space, including CAD. The Laboratory would not only serve as a platform for the creation of new methodologies and tools, but also allow students the opportunity to use the latest EDA technologies, thus helping to develop the next generation of industry leaders."
Synopsys helps provide access to industrial design tools for advanced research and microelectronic design 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, North Carolina State University, Purdue University, San Jose State University, Southern Methodist University and Syracuse University. Other recipients include the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China, Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology in Russia and Southampton University in the United Kingdom.
"Many of the early EDA pioneering efforts in India were carried out by a handful of technologists, many of whom have their roots at IIT Kharagpur," commented Manoj Gandhi, senior vice president and general manager of the Verification Group at Synopsys. "Through the Charles Babbage Grant and our expanded scope of collaboration, Synopsys will help enable the university to further its reputation as a leading academic institution and give its students access to the latest EDA tools and equipment."
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