Thomas W. Williams (engineer)

Last updated
Thomas W. Williams
Born
Thomas W. Williams

(1943-08-03)August 3, 1943
U.S.
Education Clarkson University (BSE)
State University of New York at Binghamton (BA.Ma)
Colorado State University (PhD.)
Occupation(s)Scientist and engineer
Known for design for testability

Thomas W. Williams (born August 3, 1943) was an American engineer, Chief Scientist and fellow at Synopsys. He is known for his contributions to electronic design, automation and testing of electronic systems.

Contents

Education and career

Williams obtained a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Clarkson University, a master's degree in pure mathematics from the State University of New York at Binghamton, and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Colorado State University. [1] He worked as a manager of the VLSI Design for Testability group at the IBM Microelectronics Division in Boulder, Colorado. He then joined Synopsys where he became a fellow and Chief Scientist.

Williams was the founder and chair of the IEEE Computer Society workshop on design for testability, as well as the co-founder of the European workshop on design for testability. Williams chaired the IEEE technical subcommittee on design for testability and has been a keynote and invited speaker at international conferences. [2] Williams was honored as a Distinguished Visiting Speaker by the IEEE Computer Society from 1982 to 1985. He served as a special-issue editor for the IEEE Transactions on Computers and the IEEE Transactions on Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits and Systems.

Awards and accomplishments

Williams was named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 1988 “for leadership and contributions to the area of design for testability.” [3] In 1989 Williams shared with Edward B. Eichelberger the 1989 IEEE Computer Society W. Wallace McDowell Award [2] “for developing the level-sensitive scan technique of testing solid-state logic circuits and for leading, defining, and promoting design for testability concepts.”

In 2007, Williams received the European Design and Automation Association (EDAA) Lifetime Achievement Award [1] for outstanding contributions to the state of the art in electronic design, automation and testing of electronic systems. [4] This award was presented during the opening session of the Design Automation and Test in Europe conference.

In 2010, Williams was the recipient of the IEEE Test Technology Technical Council Lifetime Contribution Medal. [5] [6]

In 2018, the Electronic System Design Alliance honored Williams with the Phil Kaufman Award "for his outstanding contributions to test automation and his overall impact on the electronics industry". [7] [8]

Williams coauthored four books, 50 refereed publications and 20 patents. He received the following Outstanding Paper Awards: [2]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Synopsys Fellow Dr. Thomas W. Williams to Receive EDAA Lifetime Achievement Award". Synopsys. April 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 "Thomas Williams, Award Recipient". IEEE Computer Society. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Fellows directory". IEEE. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  4. ↑ "T.W. Williams Wins EDAA Lifetime Achievement Award". IEEE Design & Test of Computers: 200. March–April 2007.
  5. ↑ "IEEE TTTC Lifetime Contribution Medal". ieee-tttc.org. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  6. ↑ Ward, Bob (February 2011). "Tom Williams Wins TTTC Award". IEEE Computer. 44 (2): 74–76.
  7. ↑ "2018 ESD Alliance / CEDA Phil Kaufman Award". Electronic System Design Alliance. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  8. ↑ "Dr. Thomas W. Williams Honored with 2018 Phil Kaufman Award" (PDF). Electronic System Design Alliance. August 28, 2018. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
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