The definitive analog design contest is back!

Nebula, the nation-wide analog design contest is back! The contest was
introduced in 2008 as Nebula'08 and the last two editions have received a In this edition :
deluging response from electronic hobbyists all over the country.
Planetary Stage

Enthused by the response, Cosmic Circuits is glad to announce the launch of Emission Stage
third edition of Nebula, Nebula'10. Like in its earlier editions, the contest will be Stellar Nursery
held in three rounds. Registration is free and open to all students studying in
Indian Universities.

Nebula'10 will see 20 finalists visiting our design centre in Bangalore to architect
and design a system based on a real-world design problem. Design engineers
Schedule :
from Cosmic will be available for discussion as the finalists try out various ideas.
27 Sep — 15 Oct : Planetary Stage
Following the contest, the finalists will also have the opportunity to interact with
Cosmic’s senior management to get a better sense of what it takes to build a 25 Oct — 15 Nov : Emission Stage
semiconductor company from India.
25 December : Stellar Nursery

Nebula'10 will test understanding of the basics and application of

• Circuit Theory
• Theory of Signals and systems
• Feedback Control Read more :
The Myth — Page 2
Registrations for Nebula'10 are open now! So why wait?
Nebula’09 — Page 3
Logon to http://nebulacontest.com and register yourself today!
Nebula’09 Finalists — Page 4

© Cosmic Circuits Pvt Ltd. Read Terms & Conditions before registering

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Nebula — Dispelling the analog myth

A common complaint among hiring managers looking for analog designers is

the paucity of talent in this niche area. It is not difficult to understand why. Unlike Planetary Stage
digital circuits that process information in the form of ones and zeros, analog cir-
cuits deal with continuous signals and are susceptible to phenomena such as A brief and comprehensive
noise and distortion. The budding analog designer needs strong fundamentals in quiz to evaluate your basics of
these areas and a novice is often left with the feeling that analog design is more circuit theory.
black magic than science. Students of electrical engineering also get misled by
proclamations of the digital age, not always aware that the digital age is enabled
by complex analog front-end circuits. They do not realize that the digital revolu-
tion has, in turn, fuelled an explosive market for high-end analog circuits. As a
company focused on analog design, it was imperative that we tried to address
some of these misconceptions. We wanted an event that would dispel some of
the myths about analog, excite the students and add confidence that they can Emission stage
design complex analog systems. Thus was born Nebula!
A tryst with real world prob-
Broadly speaking, the design cycle for any analog solution begins with acquiring lems. A test of your analytical
the base skills, which usually fall into circuit theory, theory of signals and systems mind.
and feedback control. These skills are then applied in identifying challenges for
realizing a system and translating them into well-defined quantities. Once the
challenges are identified and quantified, the designer calls on her synthetic skills
to overcome them to achieve an efficient solution.

Spread over three rounds and three months, Nebula provides every student with Stellar Nursery
a unique opportunity to explore each of these phases while competing with fel-
low electronic hobbyists from all over the country. The participant begins the The final Hurdle! Time to prove
journey at the fundamentals, and concludes it by designing an analog system to your solution in our design
address a complex, real-world challenge. We’ve tried to keep the progress environment. Discuss your
smooth and gradual, allowing the participants to identify that it only takes a design with our engineers to
strong understanding of fundamentals and their logical application to design a find a realistic solution.
complex analog system. It is our hope that through this event, we can succeed in
setting a perspective future electrical engineers will have on the area of analog
design.

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 Winners
Nebula’09 First Prize

The 2009 edition of Nebula, named Nebula’09, was a great success with over
1200 students registering from all over the country. The contest was held in
three rounds, the first round being an on-line quiz to test the contestants' hold of
fundamentals in EE. 80 participants successfully cleared the quiz, qualifying for
the second round.

In the second round, the contestants were introduced to the output path of an
Joyan Sanctis
Audio system. The task was to answer various questions that break the system NIT, Surathkal
down to individual components. Answering the questions, the contestants gath-
ered a feel of how the performance metrics for the system were tied to the com-
ponents used and their mutual trade-offs. The second round was also their first
Second Prize
taste of non-idealities in the real world and how they could affect performance.
18 participants qualified with successful entries, making it to our design centre in
Bangalore for the final round.

In the final round, the contestants were introduced to two specific challenges in
the Audio system they had analysed in the second round. With Audio engineers
from Cosmic available for discussion, the finalists were to try out their ideas and
put together solutions to address the challenges. Following the contest, the Au-
dio quest for the finalists was drawn to a conclusion with a lab demonstration of Srinivas K. Reddy
Cosmic's own Audio solution in action. Prize distribution was held in the evening, IISc, Bangalore.
the finalists getting an opportunity to interact with the founders and senior man-
agement of Cosmic over dinner.
Third Prize
Joyan Sanctis from NIT Surathkal won the first prize. Srinivas Kumar Reddy from
IISc Bangalore won the second prize and Santhosh Kumar G. from IIT-Bombay
won the third prize.

Santhosh Kumar G.
IIT, Bombay.

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 Nebula’09 Finalists

Vikram Chaturvedi Hariharan Srinivasan Sandeep Jhanwar Gaurav Sanjay Save

IISc, Bangalore IIT, Madras IIT, Madras NIT, Trichy

Krishanu Sadhu Timir Nandi Yogeshwar Narayanan Kunal S. Karanjkar,

IIT, Bombay IIT, Madras IIT, Madras IIT, Madras

Ganesh Raj Amrith Sukumaran Deepa Devendran Naveen Suda

BITS, Goa IIT, Madras IIT, Madras IIT, Guwahati

Supriyo Maji Sanyasi Rupiti Sabyasachi Deyati

IIT, Kharagpur IIT, Guwahati IIT, Kharagpur

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