-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueComing to Terms With AI
In this issue, we examine the profound effect artificial intelligence and machine learning are having on manufacturing and business processes. We follow technology, innovation, and money as automation becomes the new key indicator of growth in our industry.
Box Build
One trend is to add box build and final assembly to your product offering. In this issue, we explore the opportunities and risks of adding system assembly to your service portfolio.
IPC APEX EXPO 2024 Pre-show
This month’s issue devotes its pages to a comprehensive preview of the IPC APEX EXPO 2024 event. Whether your role is technical or business, if you're new-to-the-industry or seasoned veteran, you'll find value throughout this program.
- Articles
- Columns
Search Console
- Links
- Events
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
IMS and STEM: Building a Stronger Future
August 17, 2016 | Barry Matties, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Every year, the International Microwave Symposium (IMS) show hosts a STEM program and invites young students to take in the sights and sounds of the microwave symposium. At this year’s show, I met with IEEE MTT Education Committee STEM Lead Steven Lardizabal to learn more about the show’s STEM outreach.
Barry Matties: Steven, you're a part of the educational program, and today the kids are here attending the STEM program. Tell me a little bit about the educational program and what that means.
Steven Lardizabal: The student education program for IMS is actually something that's envisioned by the MTT Education Committee. It's a way to not only get graduate students involved in actually being researchers and not just reviewing what's going on, but getting actively involved and talking to other researchers and getting that all the way down to the STEM area, which is down to middle schools and elementary schools.
Matties: A very critical part of our future, right?
Lardizabal: Yes. The national focus on STEM is really middle schools. In middle school, students start getting distracted. They get history class and civics, so they start learning about their world, and they start doing a lot of different things, like studying literature, and math is only one piece of that. Science actually doesn't come until high school, so if the students don't pick up those abstract concepts early, you lose them. It's really hard beyond eighth grade to get focused. It's not to say that they're not going to become great writers or even doctors, but they're probably not going to design integrated circuits. That's where we're really focused.
Matties: How long have you been part of the educational program?
Lardizabal: I've been part of the educational program within my company for almost a decade, and with IMS and the IEEE for the last three years.
Matties: We have what looks like maybe 75–100 kids here today, right in that area. I'm curious. Out of the past kids who attended, how many have you followed that have gone on into the programs? Do you have any of that data?
Lardizabal: We have a lot of data on the graduate students and how they follow through. Last year, we had over 150 middle school and high school students, because there’s a very active IEEE-supported STEM education group there in the Phoenix area.
Matties: Yeah, I was quite impressed with that. It was a large group. Of the graduates, what sort of people come out? Of the 75–100, would you expect five to ten percent to go on into the technology field from this?
Lardizabal: I would like to get one. It's becoming rich by making a penny. We know we'll touch more, but if I can get one of these kids really inspired to say, "You know what? I want to invent the next iPhone. I want to save the environment, and technology is the way I'm going to do it." It's that gem of knowledge that gets them going. In truth, that one is every one of them is how I like to say it. One at a time, but all of them.
Matties: One can be a lofty goal.
Lardizabal: Exactly.
Matties: It sounds counterintuitive with 100 kids here, but you keyed in on it earlier. There's a lot of distractions in a child's life.
Lardizabal: Yes. There are a lot of other things to do.
To read this entire article, which appeared in the August 2016 issue of SMT Magazine, click here.
Suggested Items
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/03/2024 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007This week’s most important news is strategic—and telling. When one puts together the IPC industry reports, we simply have to include the recent conversation with Shawn DuBravac and Tom Kastner. On the design side, check out the latest “On The Line With…” podcast featuring Brad Griffin from Cadence Design Systems, discussing SI and PI in the realm of intelligent system design.
Industrial PC Market Size to Record $1.75 Billion Growth from 2023-2027
05/03/2024 | PRNewswireThe global industrial pc market size is estimated to grow by USD 1.75 billion from 2023 to 2027, according to Technavio. This growth is expected to occur at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of almost 6.29% during the forecast period.
Real Time with… IPC APEX EXPO 2024: Sigma Engineering's Recycling and Regeneration Systems for PCB Etching
05/02/2024 | Real Time with...IPC APEX EXPOEvan Howard of Schmoll America interviews Kristoffer Bjorklund, Sigma Engineering's supply chain manager. We learn about Sigma's recycling and regeneration systems for PCB industry etching and the benefits and challenges of implementing these systems in existing factories.
Boeing T-7A Red Hawk Triples Progress
05/01/2024 | BoeingThe Boeing T-7A Red Hawk achieved three recent milestones, propelling the advanced pilot trainer for the U.S. Air Force forward.
Merlin Flex invests in New Schmoll Direct Imaging System
04/30/2024 | Merlin Flex LtdMerlin Flex has fully installed and commissioned its 2nd Schmoll MDI Direct Imaging system. This new machine includes a twin bed, 4 head system which enhances Merlin Flex’s direct imaging capability for its 1.4M long flexible circuits.