Intel, Microsoft, IBM Technologists Elected to Si2 OpenAccess Coalition Leadership Posts

Raymond Rodriguez, director of Strategic CAD Capabilities at Intel, has been elected to a one-year term as
chair of the Silicon Integration Initiative OpenAccess Coalition board of directors. Ben Bowers, principal
design engineer at Microsoft, was elected OAC vice-chair. Gregory Schaeffer, senior software engineer at IBM,
was reelected as the OpenAccess Change Team co-architect.

The board manages operational decisions for OpenAccess, the world’s most widely used open reference
database for IC design. The Change Team manages OpenAccess API modifications and database implementation.

Marshall Tiner, Si2 director of Production Standards, said “Continuing engagement of industry leaders Intel,
Microsoft and IBM bodes well for the coalition’s ongoing role in advancing semiconductor design.
Ray, Ben, and Gregory each bring years of experience and expertise to the OpenAccess board and Change Team.”

Raymond Rodriguez

A 20-year Intel veteran, Rodriguez directs a team that oversees electronic design automation,
intellectual property, test and measurement, and security assurance supplier engagements.
He has been an OAC board member since 2012. His volunteer industry experience includes
general chair of the IEEE Electronic Design Process Symposium (2019-2021) and executive
committee member of the Design Automation Conference (2015-2017). Rodriguez has a BSEE
from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MBA, Executive Program, from the
W.P. Carey School of Business, Arizona State University.

 

Ben Bowers

Bowers joined Microsoft in 2018 after 11 years at Qualcomm. He is a technical lead on a
Microsoft custom circuit CAD team that focuses on all aspects of the design flow, including
PDKs, circuit design, and simulation to physical design. He earned a BSEE from Louisiana
State University and an MSEE from Mississippi State University. He also holds 25 patents
in circuit design and methodology.

 

 

Gregory Schaeffer

In his time at IBM, Schaeffer has held various development and leadership roles in
timing/noise/electrical analysis and physical design tools and holds 21 patents in
these areas. He is the architect of IBM’s Microprocessor back-end construction methodology
and has been involved with Si2 initiatives since 2009. Schaeffer earned a BS and
MS in Computer Science from Case Western Reserve University in 2002.

 

 

About Si2

Founded in 1988, Si2 is a leading research and development joint venture that provides standard
interoperability solutions for integrated circuit design tools. All Si2 activities are carried out under
the auspices of The National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, the fundamental
law that defines R&D joint ventures and offers them a large measure of protection against federal
antitrust laws. The Si2 international membership includes semiconductor foundries, fabless
manufacturers, and EDA companies.

Dr. Leigh Anne Clevenger Named Si2 Director, OpenStandards

Silicon Integration Initiative has selected Dr. Leigh Anne Clevenger as director of OpenStandards, effective January 1, 2021. She will replace Jerry Frenkil, who has served in this role since 2015. Frenkil will remain with Si2 as an advisor to staff, board, and member companies on adoption of the IEEE 2416 Unified Power Modeling Standard.

Since joining Si2 in 2018, Clevenger has been the lead developer of the Si2 prototype power calculator, demonstrating the UPM/IEEE-2416 standard. She will continue to drive the UPM working group toward its goals of developing and adopting the standard. Additionally, leveraging her doctorate in Software She will continue to drive the UPM working group toward its goals of enhancement and adoption of the standard. and Machine Learning, Clevenger is currently spearheading the effort to identify and solve industry needs in applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to electronic design automation tools.

With this promotion, Clevenger will continue working directly with Si2 members and industry leaders to identify and solve issues in semiconductor design flow interoperability. As an R&D Joint Venture providing antitrust protection for its members, Si2 is uniquely positioned to organize collaborative efforts, with the ultimate goal of widespread adoption of standards providing EDA tool interoperability and customer data access.

“Starting the Special Interest Group on AI/ML in EDA served as Leigh Anne’s introduction to the role Si2 has as an R&D Joint Venture,” said John Ellis, president and CEO. “Through a series of interviews with Si2 member companies, she established a vision of the technical collaboration needed and the highest priority issues for the SIG to tackle.

“Leigh Anne has been a vital addition to our team. She added value to our operations from day one, applying her semiconductor experience to UPM coding. Following Si2’s growth path, we soon put her advanced AI/ML degree to use,” Ellis added. “The SIG she formed with industry experts is well on its way to closing some serious gaps found for effectively applying AI/ML to EDA. I look forward to what’s next for Leigh Anne. With her skills and drive, I expect great things.”

Clevenger, who earned her doctorate at Pace University, has published and presented research on data science including big data analytics, machine learning algorithms, and wearable computing. She brings to Si2 extensive experience in semiconductor design automation at IBM and semiconductor processing technology at GLOBALFOUNDRIES.

About Si2

Founded in 1988, Si2 is a leading research and development joint venture that provides standard interoperability solutions for integrated circuit design tools. All Si2 activities are carried out under the auspices of The National Cooperative Research and Production Act of 1993, the fundamental law that defines R&D joint ventures and offers them a large measure of protection against federal antitrust laws.