Mentor Graphics’ Wally Rhines Recognized with 2015 Phil Kaufman Award

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Dr. Walden (Wally) C. Rhines, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mentor Graphics Corporation, has been selected to be the recipient of the 2015 Phil Kaufman Award for Distinguished Contributions to Electronic Design Automation (EDA) by the EDA Consortium (EDAC) and the IEEE Council on EDA (CEDA).

Dr. Rhines is being recognized for growing the EDA and integrated circuit (IC) design industries through his efforts as a leading voice of EDA and for pioneering the evolution of IC design to system-on-chip (SoC) design. He will be presented with the prestigious, yearly award during a dinner ceremony Thursday, November 12, in San Jose, Calif.

A member of the EDAC Board of Directors since 1994, Dr. Rhines served an unprecedented five two-year terms as EDAC’s chairman over a 16-year period from 1996 to 2012. “Dr. Rhines has helped drive EDAC to a position of leadership, creating a mechanism for the EDA industry to grow and address common issues,” remarks Robert P. Smith, executive director of EDAC. “He has worked tirelessly to promote EDA as a key enabler, driving the growth of the worldwide semiconductor industry as well.”

One of EDAC’s more popular and enduring programs is the Market Statistics Service (MSS), an initiative driven by Dr. Rhines. “Wally was involved from the beginning of the quarterly EDAC MSS, based on detailed revenue numbers voluntarily reported in confidence by public and private EDA, semiconductor intellectual property and design service companies,” reports Paul Cohen, EDAC’s member of the technical staff and chair of the MSS Committee. “He remains a strong advocate of the program as it approaches its 20th year.”

“Dr. Rhines has been a stalwart supporter of the EDA industry and presenting him with this year’s Kaufman Award is a tribute to his efforts,” states Sani Nassif, president of CEDA. “He has successfully bridged his career as a researcher into an exceptionally effective business leader.”

Adds Gregory Hinckley, president of Mentor Graphics: “EDA is a different business today, and is perceived differently, as a result of the changes that Wally has driven through his leadership. He has elevated the EDA industry’s status within the high-tech community by presenting hundreds of keynote speeches and articles related to business and technology trends in semiconductor, electronic design and EDA.”

“Dr. Rhines has taken the high ground when speaking for the EDA industry and maintained a separation between industry positions and the specific needs of Mentor Graphics,” notes Keith Barnes, member of the Mentor Graphics Board of Directors and former chairman and CEO of Verigy, Ltd. “I knew Phil Kaufman well, and I am sure he would be proud to see Wally receive this award in his name.”

Dr. Rhines is chairman and CEO of Mentor Graphics, a leader in worldwide EDA with revenue of $1.24 billion in 2014. During his tenure at Mentor Graphics, revenue has nearly quadrupled and Mentor has grown to achieve the industry’s number one market share solution in three of the 10 largest product segments of the EDA industry.

Prior to joining Mentor Graphics, Dr. Rhines was executive vice president of the Semiconductor Group at Texas Instruments (TI), sharing responsibility for TI’s Components Sector, and having direct responsibility for the entire semiconductor business with more than $5 billion of revenue and over 30,000 people.

At Texas Instruments, Dr. Rhines initiated the development of the TMS320 family of digital signal processors (DSPs) and managed the evolution of DSP-based products which ultimately became more than one-third of TI’s revenue. At Mentor Graphics, he encouraged investment in areas outside of traditional EDA, including system design, embedded software, automotive and hardware emulation, leading to innovation and growth of the entire EDA industry.

Dr. Rhines also served as a member of the Board of the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). “As an SRC Board member, Dr. Rhines acted as the key communications link between the EDA industry and EDA users in the semiconductor and embedded systems industry,” says Dr. Georges G. E. Gielen, professor at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. “He also provided motivational insights for students, professors and researchers into how EDA is impacting and changing the world.”

Dr. Rhines holds a Bachelor of Science degree in metallurgical engineering from the University of Michigan, a Master of Science and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Stanford University, a master of business administration from Southern Methodist University and an Honorary Doctor of Technology degree from Nottingham Trent University.

About the Phil Kaufman Award

The Phil Kaufman Award honors individuals who have had demonstrable impact on the field of EDA through technology innovations, education/mentoring, or business or industry leadership. The award was established as a tribute to Phil Kaufman, the late industry pioneer who turned innovative technologies into commercial businesses that have benefited electronic designers. Last year’s recipient, Dr. Lucio Lanza, managing director of Lanza techVentures, LLC, was honored for his substantial impact on EDA through his strategic and financial assistance to innovative EDA companies.

About the EDA Consortium

The Electronic Design Automation Consortium, EDAC, is the international association representing companies that develop and provide software tools, services, intellectual property and hardware that make it possible for hardware and software engineers to create the world's electronic products. EDAC’s member companies deliver the critical technology and solutions needed to design and verify the semiconductors and associated software, packaging and interconnect technologies that enable the manufacturing of these products. Our member companies impact every conceivable segment of the electronics market, from communications, computers, networking, space technology, medical and industrial equipment to consumer electronics and the emerging IoT (Internet of Things) markets.

About the IEEE Council on Electronic Design Automation (CEDA)

The IEEE Council on Electronic Design Automation (CEDA) provides a focal point for EDA activities spread across six IEEE societies (Antennas and Propagation, Circuits and Systems, Computer, Electron Devices, Microwave Theory and Techniques, and Solid-State Circuits). The Council sponsors or co-sponsors over a dozen key EDA conferences including: the Design Automation Conference (DAC), Asia and South Pacific Design Automation Conference (ASP-DAC), International Conference on Computer Aided Design (ICCAD), Design Automation and Test in Europe (DATE), and events at Embedded Systems Week (ESWeek). The Council also publishes IEEE Transactions on Computer Aided Design of Integrated Circuits & Systems (TCAD), IEEE Design & Test (D&T), and IEEE Embedded Systems Letters (ESL). In order to promote the recognition of leading EDA professionals, the Council sponsors the A. Richard Newton, Phil Kaufman, and Early Career Awards. The Council welcomes new volunteers and local chapters.