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Given a set of $n$ points $P$ in the plane, the first layer $L_1$ of $P$ is formed by the points that appear on $P$'s convex hull. In general, a point belongs to layer $L_i$, if it lies on the convex hull of the set $P \setminus \bigcup_{j

Designing a VLSI floorplan calls for arranging a given set of modules in the plane to minimize the weighted sum of area and wire-length measures. A method of solving the floorplan design problem using distributed genetic algorithms is presented. Distributed genetic algorithms, based on the paleontological theory of punctuated equilibria, offer a conceptual modification to the traditional genetic algorithms. Experimental results on several problem instances demonstrate the efficacy of this method and indicate the advantages of this method over other methods, such as simulated annealing. The method has performed better than the simulated annealing approach, both in terms of the average cost of the solutions found and the best-found solution, in almost all the problem instances tried.