The Phil Kaufman Award for Distinguished Contributions to EDA honors individuals for their impact on electronic design by their contributions to electronic design automation (EDA).[1][2] It was established in 1994 by the EDA Consortium (now the Electronic System Design Alliance, a SEMI Technology Community). The IEEE Council on Electronic Design Automation (CEDA) became a co-sponsor of the award.[2] The first Phil Kaufman Award was presented in 1994.[3]
The IEEE has a policy not to issue awards to deceased persons.[3] To honor individuals who made a significant impact on EDA, but died before the award was established the Phil Kaufman Hall of Fame was created by the ESDA in 2020. The first Hall of Fame honor was presented in June 2021.[1][3] Phil Kaufman awardees are included in the Phil Kaufman Hall of Fame.[2]
Contributions to qualify for the Phil Kaufman Award are evaluated in any of the following categories:[1][2]
The award was established to honor Phil Kaufman, the deceased former president of Quickturn Systems.[1][2]
The award is described as the "Nobel Prize of EDA".[4][5][6]