Week 52: It’s Show Time

We made it. This is blog No. 52 on our joint journey to DAC. Part of me can’t believe that Monday I will be opening the 52nd Design Automation Conference. It’s been a roller-coaster year of ups and downs, and I know for sure that without my amazing peers on the DAC executive committee, the conference never would have come together. Thank you guys – you have been great to work with. Let’s dazzle everyone with a stellar performance on the final stretch!

Pre-registration for DAC is up by more than 15%, and I can’t wait for you all to be part of our industry’s largest event. I have blogged about most of the highlights so I decided to just pick two topics today: DAC Pavilion and Designer/IP Track reception.

On Monday at 2 p.m. we are hosting two tear-downs in the DAC Pavilion, located on the exhibit floor. Michelle Clancy, our PR and marketing chair, worked with the iFixit tear-down experts and they are giving us an in-depth tour inside DJI’s Phantom Drone as well as the Apple Watch. Don’t tell the WWDC crowd; they may crash our party just to see this live instead of the one that’s been viewed more than 500,000 times on YouTube.

In addition, Michelle arranged a special session on Wednesday morning. Corey Clothier of Local Motors will provide a glimpse into the future of co-created, 3D-printed mobility systems. I’m talking about a car that can be printed in about two days and should be available next year, pending regulatory approval. It’s pretty cool.

And then there is the Designer and IP Track. Our chairs for the tracks – Dan, Debashis and Mac – want to create a true community feel for designers attending DAC on Tuesday afternoon. I have talked about the tracks enough and you all know that these offer a wonderful chance to learn from your peers. But if you really can’t afford the $95 registration fee, then at least attend the poster session and reception at 4:30 p.m. on the show floor. No matter how you are registered for DAC or one the collocated events, you are welcome to this Tuesday afternoon event.

As for me, I will spend the remainder of this week trying to not freak out about being on stage in the general session. I have terrible stage fright, my biggest fear being that I will only remember how to speak German when I’m in front of a large international audience. Should that happen, pretend not to notice. Just nod your heads politely, cut me some slack and remember I wrote 52 blog entries for you in English. Now I’m very much looking forward to greeting you in either language next week at #52DAC in San Francisco.