Chinese Engineering Students Benefit from Semiconductor Company's Gift; Actel Corporation Donates Software and Hardware to Teach Advanced Logic Design at Peking University.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 2, 1997--While giant U.S. corporations grab headlines by creating new industrial jobs in China, a relatively small Silicon Valley-based semiconductor company is quietly making a significant investment in China's electronic future.

Actel Corporation (NASDAQ:ACTL) this week contributed chip-designing software and hardware to China's prestigious Peking University to train Chinese engineering students to design electronic equipment of the future.

The gift, valued at $150,000 was formerly presented by Patrick Ellington, Actel's Director Pan Asia Sales and Marketing, to Peking University Vice Provost Qiang Di, Vice President and Professor of Electronics Huisheng Chi, and Xiang Haige, Professor of Electronics during ceremonies at the University's Engineering School on Monday. The ceremonies were covered by leading technical trade publication and Beijing electronic media.

According to Ellington, the computer equipment and software is sufficient to start an Advanced Logic Design class that will train as many as 70 advanced level and graduate engineers.

"While the numbers may not seem immediately overwhelming, the software and equipment will be used by China's best and brightest engineering students. Peking University has the same status in China as Harvard does in the US. Only the top two percent of the country's high school graduates are eligible to apply to Peking University, which has traditionally served as the academic training ground for that country's political and technical leadership," Ellington explained.

The first Advanced Logic Design class will begin this September with Actel Asian personnel participating in a review of projects and class papers.

"To date, Chinese engineering students throughout Asia's universities have been limited in their education because programmable logic designs could only be simulated. No one knew if their designs really worked. With the software and hardware we've donated to Peking University, students will get instantaneous feedback on actual board design techniques. It will give them `hands-on' experience solving real world design problems," Ellington explained.

About Actel

Actel is dedicated to providing the best programmable logic solutions, giving logic designers the capability and confidence to move to high complexity designs with success. The company is the world's leading supplier of antifuse-based field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and associated software development tools. FPGAs are used by designers of communications, computer, medical, military/aerospace, industrial control, and other electronic systems to differentiate their products and get them to market faster. Actel introduced the first programmable systems-on-silicon, based on SRAM technology, which inaugurated a new class of PLDs: SPGAs or system programmable gate arrays. Actel is traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol ACTL and is located at 955 East Arques Avenue, Sunnyvale, California 94086-4533. Telephone: [phone]. Internet: http://www.actel.com -0-

Note to Editors: Actel is a registered trademark of Actel Corporation. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

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