The Marketing Minute: Staying Positive When the Market Isn’t
Marcy’s Musings: Continuing to Invent the Future With SEL
It’s Only Common Sense: Why Failure Is an Opportunity for Growth
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
November 22, 2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Well, we’re officially entering the silly season, i.e., the holidays. Where did the year go? I still have money left on the Starbuck’s gift card I received last Christmas.
In this week’s roundup, I’m highlighting a variety of articles. We have an interview with Jess Hollenbaugh, a recent graduate working for Polar Instruments. We also have an interview with IPC’s Matt Kelly and Devan Iyer, whose white paper may provide a way forward for companies dealing with complex advanced packages. Our newest columnist Tom Yang describes the U.S. PCB industry from the point of view of a technologist from another country, and Dan Beaulieu has a review of Malcolm Gladwell’s follow-up to The Tipping Point. Finally, we have my review of PCB Carolina, a one-day tabletop show that keeps expanding, much like my waistline after eating their catered food. Enjoy!
Meet Polar's New Engineer Jess Hollenbaugh
Published November 21
Jess Hollenbaugh recently joined Polar Instruments, and she was nice enough to sit down for an interview at PCB West. How did a physics major with a love of thermodynamics wind up in the signal integrity software business? It’s great to see young people coming into our segment again, but we need a few thousand more just like Jess.
Advanced Packaging: Preparation is Now
Published November 20
IPC has just released a white paper, “Advanced Packaging to Board Level Integration—Needs and Challenges,” written by Devan Iyer, chief strategist of advanced packaging, and Matt Kelly, chief technology officer for IPC. This paper fleshes out IPC’s silicon-to-systems concept, and Matt and Devan offer our industry a way forward as we face more complex advance packaging challenges.
Global Citizenship: What I’ve Learned About the American PCB Business
Published November 20
Did you ever wonder what our industry looks like to technologists from other countries? After all, we can be a hot mess, but we still manage to lead the way. And as columnist Tom Yang says, the U.S. PCB industry tends to “double down on innovation.” Check it out.
Dan's Biz Bookshelf: 'Revenge of the Tipping Point'
Published November 20
Dan Beaulieu writes a weekly column for us, as well as the occasional book review. I’m a big fan of Malcolm Gladwell (Are you a “connector,” a “maven,” or a “salesman”?), so I’ll have to check out Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering. If you haven’t already done so, read The Tipping Point and Outliers too.
PCB Carolina’s Formula: Industry Experts and Catered Food
Published November 18
Does the food selection at a trade show have any influence on our decision to attend said show? It does for me. I’ve attended PCB Carolina since 2016, and the catered food is always one of the high points of the event. This time we had barbecued brisket for lunch. It’s no wonder PCB Carolina keeps growing every year.
Share on:
Testimonial
"We’re proud to call I-Connect007 a trusted partner. Their innovative approach and industry insight made our podcast collaboration a success by connecting us with the right audience and delivering real results."
Julia McCaffrey - NCAB GroupSuggested Items
Polar Instruments Announces Additive Transmission Line Support for Si9000e
08/20/2025 | Polar InstrumentsTransmission lines embedded into the PCB surface are a feature of UHDI constructions. The 2025 fall release of Polar's Si9000e PCB impedance & insertion loss transmission line field solver incorporates eight new single ended, differential and coplanar transmission line structures.
Meet the Round 1 Winners of the Bright Manufacturing Student Challenge 2025
08/20/2025 | Tara Dunn, SMTAThe Bright Manufacturing Student Challenge is an opportunity for student teams to design and develop innovative solutions for real-world electronics manufacturing problems. The eight-week competition, sponsored by the Electronics Manufacturing & Assembly Collaborative (EMAC) through electronicsworkforce.com, allows students to showcase their technical skills, creativity, and problem-solving abilities.
Inventing the Future: An Interview with Dr. Ed Schweitzer
08/20/2025 | Barry Matties, I-Connect007Dr. Edmund O. Schweitzer III, founder of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL), has a corner office in the company’s world headquarters in Pullman, Washington. Forty-two years after his SEL-21—the first microprocessor-based digital protective relay—ushered in a new era of power-system protection, he has forever changed the way the world safeguards its electric grids. In this three-hour conversation, Dr. Schweitzer reveals that he remains excited to get to work each day, unpacking the “better, cheaper, faster, simpler” mantra that’s still driving SEL’s innovation, and the culture glue that keeps more than 7,000 employee-owners rowing in unison.
Amphenol to Acquire Trexon
08/19/2025 | BUSINESS WIREAmphenol Corporation announced a definitive agreement to acquire Trexon for approximately $1 billion in cash, subject to customary post-closing adjustments.
American Made Advocacy: Where’s the Budget for a Modern Military Run on Microelectronics?
08/19/2025 | Shane Whiteside -- Column: American Made AdvocacyIn a world of peer threats and urgent transformation, having secure, trusted, and reliable microelectronics is non-negotiable. While largely hidden, microelectronics are the ubiquitous enablers of modern defense platforms. Nothing in the current American arsenal flies, floats, or fights without a technology stack that includes a semiconductor, an integrated circuit substrate, and a printed circuit board.