DesignCon Crowns 2026 Winners for Best Paper Awards and Engineer of the Year

Recognizing outstanding contributions to the educational goals of the DesignCon program and best of the best in engineering and new product advancements at the chip, board, or system level.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --  DesignCon, the leading event for high-speed communications and system design, announces the 2026 Engineer of the Year, honoring excellence in engineering and new product advancements at the chip, board, or systems level, and the winners of the prestigious 2026 Best Paper Award, recognizing exceptional contributions to the educational goals of the DesignCon program.

The 2026 DesignCon Engineer of the Year is Bert Simonovich, recognized for his pioneering work in signal integrity and notable contributions to DesignCon. Simonovich spent three decades at Bell Northern Research advancing surface-mount technology applications. Leveraging his knowledge of PCB materials and electronics, Simonovich developed the Cannonball model, a simplified version of the Huray roughness model that made it easier for design engineers to characterize surface roughness using datasheet information. Since 2009, Simonovich has mentored young engineers while consulting and presenting at industry conferences.

"DesignCon is proud to serve as a hub for innovation, bringing together leaders in chip, board, and systems design who rely on us for the latest technologies and industry developments," says Suzanne Deffree, VP and Group Portfolio Leader, Manufacturing by Informa. "Today's award recipients embody the pioneering spirit upon which DesignCon was founded – a spirit that continues to drive our industry forward."

DesignCon Best Paper Awards honor outstanding contributions to the educational goals of the DesignCon program and acknowledge the authors as leading practitioners in semiconductor and electronics design.

The 2026 Best Paper winners are:

400G Channels for AI Applications: Passive & Active Copper Cable Assemblies to Enable Scale Up/Scale Out, authors from TE Connectivity and Semtech

448Gbps: Challenges for Scale-Up & Scale Out Applications, authors from Meta, Arista Networks, and Molex

Analytical Derivation of P/N Skews in Coupled Channels: Impact on 400G PAM6 SerDes, authors from CISCO Systems

Breakthroughs in PCB Technology for PCIe 7.0 Interconnects, authors from Alibaba Group, Alibaba Cloud, Synopsys, Shennan Circuit Co. Ltd, New H3C Technologies Co. Ltd.

Targeted EMI Mitigation Using Emission Source Imaging & 3D-Printed Absorbers, authors from Missouri University of Science and Technology, Molex, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and Juniper Networks

Top Side Interconnect Enabling for PCIe 7.0 & Beyond, authors from Alibaba Group, IEEE, Synopsys, and Luxshare Technology

Via & Fan-Out Designs for 448Gbps: SI vs Technology, Mike Tucker, Shennan Circuits Co. Ltd

DesignCon will return to the Santa Clara Convention Center February 2-4, 2027. For the latest news and information on the DesignCon 2027 program, please visit designcon.com.

About DesignCon

DesignCon is the world's premier conference for chip, board, and systems design engineers in the high-speed communications and semiconductor communities. DesignCon, created by engineers for engineers, takes place annually in Silicon Valley and remains the largest annual gathering of chip, board, and systems designers in the country. DesignCon is organized by Informa, a leading B2B information services group and the largest B2B events and exhibitions organizer in the world. To learn more and for the latest news and information, visit www.informa.com. Design News and Battery Technology Online are the official publications of DesignCon. Connect with DesignCon and join the conversation on Facebook and LinkedIn.

About Manufacturing by Informa

Manufacturing by Informa, a subsidiary of Informa plc (LON:INF), is the leading B2B event producer, publisher, and digital media business for the world's $3-trillion advanced, technology-based manufacturing industry. Our print and electronic products deliver trusted information to the engineering market and leverage our proprietary 1.3-million-name database to connect suppliers with buyers and purchase influencers. We produce more than 50 events and conferences in a dozen countries, connecting manufacturing professionals from around the globe. The Manufacturing portfolio is organized by Informa, the world's leading exhibition organizer that brings a diverse range of specialist markets to life, unlocking opportunities and helping them to thrive 365 days of the year. For more information, please visit www.informamarkets.com.

Media Contact
Informa Markets Manufacturing
pr.ime@informa.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/aab9edde-e182-4923-a616-2396a553d136 

Bert Simonovich

Bert Simonovich, Engineer of the Year 2026.

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