> Intel started using automated place and route techniques for the 386 processor, since it was much faster than manual layout and dramatically reduced the number of errors. Placement was done with a program called Timberwolf, developed by a Berkeley grad student. As one member of the 386 team said, "If management had known that we were using a tool by some grad student as a key part of the methodology, they would never have let us use it."
The grad student was Carl Sechen, advised by Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli.
The grad student was Carl Sechen, advised by Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli.
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1052337