I-Connect007 Editor’s Picks: Five Must-Reads for the Week
August 20, 2021 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

I’m at DesignCon as I start to pen this week’s must-reads. It’s good to be back in the convention centers, I have to say. In my last installment, I expressed the anticipation; I can now confirm that taking the pulse of our industry is so much easier when one is nearer the heartbeat. Some of our most-read news in the last week probably cannot, technically, be added to this list. This is because show announcements all trended to the top of our read lists–show announcements for shows and conferences that will be over by the time this list goes to publication. So, those I’m stripping off the list this week.
Not to worry, there’s still news aplenty this week: lessons learned in onboarding new designers; new Europe/UK distribution agreements; U.S. military veteran transition programs for electronics manufacturing jobs; a company acquisition; and a technical paper on soldering. These news items round out this week’s must- reads.
My Road to Becoming a Great Designer
Published August 15
This article, in our Education issue of Design007 Magazine, Chester shares his experiences entering the PCB industry just as the 2008 financial crisis washed over us all. Chester has some great insights and makes a great read in learning, growing, and moving on in our careers.
Ventec, Taiyo America Sign Exclusive Distribution Agreement for Mainland Europe, UK
Published August 16
Effective October 1, 2021, customers in Europe will immediately benefit from this agreement for Ventec to take over the exclusive distribution of Taiyo products in mainland Europe, the UK and Ireland.
SEMI Teams with Manufacturing Institute to Help U.S. Military Veterans
Published August 16
From the press release, “About 200,000 men and women transition out of the military each year, and many of them have the skills and experience that would position them to excel in our industry,” said Ajit Manocha, SEMI president and CEO. “These highly trained, team-focused, disciplined and talented individuals have the opportunity to be successful in challenging and mutually rewarding careers with SEMI member companies. Our industry has not been very visible to them, but our participation in the Heroes MAKE America Initiative will bring more awareness to the ecosystem around the production of the chips that are enabling innovations across our lives.”
Factors Affecting Quality of Solder Joints in Multi-Busbar Interconnection
Published August 17
Narahari S. Pujari, from MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions, shares the latest research in soldering for reliable interconnections.
Quantic Electronics Acquires BEI Precision
Published August 19
Quantic Electronics, a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management, announced the acquisition of BEI Precision Systems & Space Company, Inc. from J.F. Lehman & Company. BEI Precision designs, engineers, and manufactures highly accurate, resilient, and reliable position feedback sensors and frequency reference technologies for mission-critical space, land, air, and sea applications. Quantic Electronics holdings also include Ohmega and Ticer.
Suggested Items
Building on DesignCon’s 30th Anniversary Momentum
02/04/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007With three decades of technological advancements, DesignCon has established itself as a premier conference for electronics design. Susan Deffree, the group event coordinator, reflects on the event's rich history and the exciting developments for its 30th anniversary.
DesignCon 2025: Looking Great at 30
01/30/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007DesignCon may be turning 30 this year, but the Silicon Valley staple doesn’t look a day over 25. Attendees turned out for this celebratory bash, many of them reminiscing about their first DesignCon event 20 or 30 years ago. The Tuesday night welcome reception was basically a 30th birthday bash, sponsored by Mouser. Show managers went all out, with strobe lights and a DJ blasting a mix of old and new dance tunes. That was fitting, because I spoke with engineers from ages 21 to 81 at DesignCon this year. Nice to see more younger folks each year.
Istvan Novak Looks Back on History of DesignCon
01/29/2025 | Andy Shaughnessy, Design007 MagazineMany of us have been attending DesignCon for a long time, but Samtec’s Istvan Novak has been attending DesignCon even before it was called DesignCon. A veteran signal and power integrity engineer, Istvan has been on the Technical Program Committee for over two decades, and he’s authored and co-authored a variety of award-winning conference papers. In honor of the show’s 30th anniversary, I asked Istvan to share a little about the early years of DesignCon, and how he got involved with the event.
DesignCon: Suzanne Deffree Feeling Positive Energy
02/06/2024 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineOn Tuesday, January 30, considered “day zero” of DesignCon 2024, I caught up with Suzanne Deffree, group event director, during the Samtec welcome reception. She gave me an update on the event, particularly the launch of an initiative called 40 Under 40, a years-long effort to enable the next generation of engineers, and their interest in sustainability. We also talked about Drive World, and the important new focus on electric vehicles.
I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
02/02/2024 | Andy Shaughnessy, I-Connect007I’m writing this in Santa Clara, California on the last day of DesignCon. It was nice to get out of Atlanta, which was 28 degrees when I left. It’s a little rainy here, but it’s been in the 60s all week, and I’ll take that kind of weather any day. In this week’s must-reads, we have a little bit of everything, including sad news about the passing of our columnist Michael Ford. Everyone who knew him just loved the guy.