Electronic design automation (EDA) is considered the foundation of electronic design and the "mother of chips". [Photo/IC]

Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST) announced on Nov 4 that a young research team led by Lyu Zhipeng, director of the university's AI & Optimized Research Institute, won the first place at the routing with cell movement advanced competition in the CAD Contest of the 2021 International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD 2021).

Electronic design automation (EDA) is considered the foundation of electronic design and the "mother of chips". In terms of market scale, the EDA market has supported electronic businesses worth trillions of dollars. The possession of EDA has a significant role to play in chip research and manufacturing.

Since 1980, ICCAD has been one of the most significant international academic summits, and its routing with cell movement advanced competition in the CAD Contest is among the most influential competitions.

The contest this year featured 137 teams from 12 countries and regions, including teams from UC Berkeley, University of Tokyo, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and Fudan University.

The average age of members of the awarded research team from HUST is only 24, and most of them were born after 1990. "This result is hard-won, because we didn't pay much attention to such chip design competitions in the past. Most of our competitors were experienced and globally renowned," said Luo Hui, a member of the team.

The lab that led the team to victory was founded more than 40 years ago by Professor Huang Wenqi and has been focusing on giving the proper professional and psychological instructions to students.

"We know that if we want to achieve major scientific advancements, our research must be applicable to real technical problems," said Lyu.