WILSONVILLE, OR -- Mentor Graphics today announced a call for entries in its 25th annual Technology Leadership Awards competition, which recognizes excellence in printed circuit board design.

Started in 1988, the program recognizes engineers and CAD designers who use Mentor software to address today's complex PCB systems design challenges and produce industry-leading products.

The company named as judges Happy Holden, Gary Ferrari, Pete Waddell, Andy Kowalewski, Rick Hartley, Susy Webb, and Charles Pfeil. Waddell is president of UP Media Group, publisher of PCD&F.

"The TLA allow designers who are using innovative ideas and design practices to be rewarded for their outside-the-box thinking in a way that nothing else in the industry does," said Webb, a senior PCB designer at Fairfield Nodal. "These new practices will add to the general knowledge and creativity of the whole community of designers by leading them to try new and different concepts themselves."

This year, entrants will be able to submit their design accomplishments in any of six categories representing a wide variety of industries:

• Consumer electronics and handheld
• Industrial control, instrumentation, security and medical
• Military and aerospace
• Computers, blade and servers, memory systems
• Telecom, network controllers, line cards
• Transportation and automotive.

"Our annual PCB Technology Leadership Awards contest provides a worldwide opportunity for talented designers to showcase innovative designs.  Each year we see ever increasing challenges and the use of new technologies implemented," said Dan Boncella, director of marketing, Mentor Graphics Systems Design Division. "The submissions for this contest are really quite impressive. We are expecting this year's competition to be bigger than ever, with entries from many major electronics companies, as well as from smaller teams."

Winners will be named for each category, plus a "Best Overall Design" recipient. The timeframe for submitting entries is Aug. 19 to Sept. 26. Entrants can apply online at www.mentor.com/go/tla.