Agilent Technologies has agreed to provide Agilent EDA software, support and training, totaling $13 million, to a new hub of the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC) in Atlanta. The Agilent EDA Simulation Center will facilitate RF and microwave-system and circuit-design instruction and research for students, and serve as a catalyst for start-up companies involved in wireless communications design. The venture, sponsored by the Georgia Institute of Technology, is expected to be fully operational by year's end.

The agreement demonstrates an expansion of the long-standing relationship between Georgia Tech and Agilent. This agreement is part of the newly created Agilent EEsof EDA University Alliance program, which includes a three-year custom license program to provide access to the line of Agilent EEsof EDA tools to start-up companies. Agilent also plans to offer customer training at the GEDC's Agilent EDA Simulation Center.

Academic uses of the Agilent EEsof Simulation Center at GEDC will focus on EEsof's Advanced Design System (ADS), the 3-D Electromagnetic Design System (EMDS) 3-D EM simulator and the AMDS simulator that incorporates antenna EM simulation technology recently acquired by Agilent. The center will be the world's largest academic installation of Agilent's Golden Gate simulator in a parallel processor environment. Golden Gate offers the ability to simulate CMOS RFIC designs, including complete network parasitic elements, in production scale SOC implementations. Initial plans include a 60 parallel core configuration.

For more information, visit www.agilent.com/find/eesof.