With DAC behind us, we can finally look out to some of the other conferences and conventions coming up in the months ahead.

SEMICON West 2004 takes place in two venues within the same week - Wafer Processing, July 12th to 14th, in San Francisco’s Moscone Center, and Final Manufacturing, July 14th to 16th, in the San Jose Convention Center. Organizers say that 1,500+ companies will be showcasing their latest products and services at this year’s event, and that the show will integrate exhibits, education, and information exchange between device manufacturers and semiconductor equipment and materials suppliers around four focused themes: Technology, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, and Markets. All that and San Francisco as well. This show is huge - how can you lose?

Wescon/2004 - This annual event will be taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center from September 21st to 23rd. The organizers say the show has been "re-engineered" to address the total design and supply chain, and broadened to "focus beyond Electronics OEM to focus on the needs of the total supply chain for the electronics design, manufacturing and distribution process. With the guidance of the IEEE, the Exhibit Hall and Conference Program will complement one another with tech-centric keynotes, panel discussions and workshop sessions that directly relate to the products and services featured in the various Pavilions." Wescon’s one of the stalwart shows in the industry. Better plan on going.

SAME 2004 - This year is the 7th annual Sophia Antipolis Forum on MicroElectronics, happening October 6th and 7th in Sophia Antipolis, France. Organizers say the event will be helping the industry "Face the Future of Microelectronics" by providing venues for discussions and demonstrations, and for exhibitors to display microelectronics related products. The emphasis, as always, will be on tutorials and technical papers, and a number of high-profile topics in and around the technology, economics, and politics of a global electronics industry. Next to San Francisco, tell me a better destination than Sophia Antipolis? You can’t? Fine, then plan on attending SAME 2004 in October.

IEEE ITC - the International Test Conference 2004 will be held in Charlotte, NC from October 26th to October 28th. ITC organizers say, "ITC is the world's premier conference dedicated to the electronic test of devices, boards and systems, covering the complete cycle from design verification, test, diagnosis, failure analysis and back to process and design improvement. At ITC, test and design professionals can confront the challenges the industry faces, and learn how these challenges are being addressed by the combined efforts of academia, design tool and equipment suppliers, designers, and test engineers." Sounds like you better plan on going to this one, as well.