DesignCon 2017 Announces Heidi Barnes as Winner of the Engineer of the Year Award
February 3, 2017 | DesignConEstimated reading time: 2 minutes

DesignCon today announced Heidi Barnes of Keysight Technologies as the recipient of the 2017 Engineer of the Year Award. Selected for her dedication to problem solving and enthusiasm for leading and collaborating with teams, Barnes was awarded earlier today at DesignCon. The conference took place this week, January 31 – February 2, at the Santa Clara Convention Center. For additional information please visit: designcon.com.
"I am thrilled to be named the recipient of the Engineer of the Year Award by DesignCon," said Heidi Barnes, senior applications engineer for high speed digital applications in the EEs of EDA Group, Keysight Technologies. "We've made tremendous strides in this space and it's an honor to receive an award where industry luminaries including Eric Bogatin and Michael Steinberger were also named winners."
This prestigious award recognizes professionals in the engineering community that lead, develop and contribute to the design and test of chips, boards or systems. Award nominees were put forth by peers, finalists were carefully selected by the Design News editorial staff and the winner was voted for by the DesignCon community. With this achievement, Barnes will be provided with a $10,000 grant or scholarship that she has chosen to present to Harvey Mudd College.
Barnes is known for her ability to solve problems in the signal integrity (SI) and power integrity (PI) field for Fortune 500 companies, serves on the DesignCon Technical Program committee and leads conference planning as a co-chairperson for the test and measurement track. At DesignCon 2017, Barnes presented in technical sessions and tutorials on SI and PI, and participated in various panels.
"Heidi continuously proves her commitment to SI and PI with her involvement in DesignCon planning and presenting, and received an impressive seven nominations for the 2017 Engineer of the Year award," said Naomi Price, conference content director, DesignCon. "Her colleagues hold her in the highest regard for her ability to lead teams and develop thoughtful, logical and technical ideas, as she designs and works with some of the most complex channels and tools in the industry. Given these characteristics, it's no surprise she was selected as the award winner. I'd like to congratulate Heidi on receiving this recognition, and also congratulate the other award finalists."
Finalists for the 2017 Engineer of the Year award include Istvan Novak, senior principal engineer at Oracle, Krishnaswamy Ramkumar, senior technical staff member at Cypress Semiconductor, Ransom Stephens, principal at Ransom's Notes, and Yuriy Shlepnev, CEO at Simberian Inc.
For more information on DesignCon 2017 Engineer of the Year Award, please click here.
DesignCon Media & Association Partners
DesignCon is proud to partner with the following publications: Aspencore, Chinese American Semiconductor Professional Association (CASPA), Chip Design Magazine, ConnectorSupplier.com, EDA Café, Electronic System Design Alliance, Embedded Systems Engineering, How2Power, IBIS Open Forum, Microwave Journal, Signal Integrity Journal.
About DesignCon
DesignCon is the world's premier conference for chip, board and systems design engineers in the high-speed communications and semiconductor communities. DesignCon, created by engineers for engineers, takes place annually in Silicon Valley and remains the largest gathering of chip, board and systems designers in the country. This three-day technical conference and expo combines technical paper sessions, tutorials, industry panels, product demos and exhibits from the industry's leading experts and solutions providers. More information is available at: designcon.com/santaclara. DesignCon is organized by UBM Americas, a part of UBM plc (UBM.L), an Events First marketing and communications services business. For more information, visit ubmamericas.com.
Suggested Items
DownStream Acquisition Fits Siemens’ ‘Left-Shift’ Model
06/26/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007I recently spoke to DownStream Technologies founder Joe Clark about the company’s acquisition by Siemens. We were later joined by A.J. Incorvaia, Siemens’ senior VP of electronic board systems. Joe discussed how he, Rick Almeida, and Ken Tepper launched the company in the months after 9/11 and how the acquisition came about. A.J. provides some background on the acquisition and explains why the companies’ tools are complementary.
Elementary Mr. Watson: Retro Routers vs. Modern Boards—The Silent Struggle on Your Screen
06/26/2025 | John Watson -- Column: Elementary, Mr. WatsonThere's a story about a young woman preparing a holiday ham. Before putting it in the pan, she cuts off the ends. When asked why, she shrugs and says, "That's how my mom always did it." She asks her mother, who gives the same answer. Eventually, the question reaches Grandma, who laughs and says, "Oh, I only cut the ends off because my pan was too small." This story is a powerful analogy for how many PCB designers approach routing today.
Siemens Turbocharges Semiconductor and PCB Design Portfolio with Generative and Agentic AI
06/24/2025 | SiemensAt the 2025 Design Automation Conference, Siemens Digital Industries Software today unveiled its AI-enhanced toolset for the EDA design flow.
Cadence AI Autorouter May Transform the Landscape
06/19/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazinePatrick Davis, product management director with Cadence Design Systems, discusses advancements in autorouting technology, including AI. He emphasizes a holistic approach that enhances placement and power distribution before routing. He points out that younger engineers seem more likely to embrace autorouting, while the veteran designers are still wary of giving up too much control. Will AI help autorouters finally gain industry-wide acceptance?
Beyond Design: The Metamorphosis of the PCB Router
06/18/2025 | Barry Olney -- Column: Beyond DesignThe traditional PCB design process is often time-consuming and labor-intensive. Routing a complex PCB layout can consume up to 30% of a designer’s time, and addressing this issue is not straightforward. We have all encountered this scenario: You spend hours setting the constraints and finally hit the Go button, only to be surprised by the lack of visual appeal and the obvious flaws in the result.