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From the Editor:
Earth Day Everyday
December 31, 1969 |
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Yesterday, I rambled out of bed to look out a back window at the porch below. A Christmas-red cardinal perched on the bird feeder surveying the trees and taking his time during breakfast. "Happy Earth Day to you," I thought, then carried the Earth Day theme with me into work. My hybrid car didn't consume too much gas, but I did carry my lunch in a plastic container inside a plastic bag. I stopped by Starbucks to pick up iced tea for the day more plastic. How far have we come with environmental issues?, I wonder.
Earth Day is right up there with Valentine's Day in my book. It's a time when people throughout the globe, regardless of faith, nationality, politics, and position, can celebrate being a responsible part of the environment. I remember when my children were young, and how they tried to dig up trees at home to bring to school and replant them for their Earth Day celebration. "Wait that tree really struggled to make it in this dense forest. Are you certain that exposing the roots and then planting this tree in a really sunny area is best?," I'd ask. Then they'd look at me with a "and what do you think is the answer to my Earth Day homework dilemma, Hippy Chick Mom?" expression.
The world gets smaller every day. While visiting SEMICON China in Shanghai, you couldn't miss the problems of air pollution, as eyes watered and the ability to see distant buildings diminished. Uncontrolled growth can cause problems long-term. Those of you who look for ways to comply with RoHS may dislike the way that control of lead and other hazardous substances in surface mount board assembly eats into profitability and requires new equipment and materials, let alone all sorts of education for those involved. However, it doesn't matter who determines the rules as much as it matters just what is best for living things. It stretches beyond Kyoto Protocols, RoHS, overpopulation, wastewater management, hazardous materials, and energy conservation. We can look for technology and innovation to help, but the spirit of environmental stewardship is both individual and cooperative. Discontinuities whether it is in systems design or in the way we conduct business, or live our lives create opportunities.
For instance, I just returned from visiting Mentor Graphics in Wilsonville, Ore., near Portland. There are 1,000 Mentor Graphics employees in Wilsonville, 4,350 worldwide. I came to look at their latest product portfolio and to see how they addressed system design for both surface mount boards and advanced packaging challenges. The company made approximately $800 million in 2006, claiming around 19% of the worldwide EDA market, ranking third in the industry, and focusing on growth through internal development. They look at the talent base more than low-cost labor. "India is not the latest area of growth any more. Now Moscow and parts of Egypt are areas of present growth for us," says David Wiens, business development director.Outside of Mentor Graphics in Ore.In a simplified view of the EDA market, Mentor handles functional verification, electronic system-level design, and platform-based design. In the PCB area, they cover board design; high-speed design and analysis; and integrated PCB/FPGA design. In the packaging area, a design-to-silicon platform and yield improvement remain their area of expertise. Mixed-signal and analog environments along with MCMM place-and-route are what they typically control. For Mentor employees working in the PCB design environment, their knowledge base and skill level includes lots of things: library and design data management, electrical design, PCB layout, manufacturing optimization, collaboration and mechanical design. These are highly trained engineers. If they can increase product functionality and performance, shrink form factor, decrease cost, and shorten design cycle time, then they're ahead of the game.
While walking around the Mentor Graphics campus, I saw the respect for the individual and for the environment that make for a great place to work, too. Each designer had their own office with a door. Walls in common areas displayed textured art. Services included a shop for computer supplies, a hair salon, an exercise gym, a pool game area, a cafeteria, and a childcare center. Outside, the putting green, soccer field, gazebo, and areas for walking also were enjoyed by local geese and nutria.
To draw the best employees requires more than providing a paycheck. Electronic product complexity requires multi-discipline collaboration to optimize performance. And to balance out complex work requires a peaceful setting.
My next stop is California. This will be a short vacation to help my child and her children plant a garden as part of our Mothers' Day celebration. It's amazing how just a few seeds in good soil can produce lifelong benefits.
Gail Flower, editor-in-chief