One World, One Industry: IPC APEX EXPO 2025 Marks a Special Anniversary Year
It’s Only Common Sense: Follow Through and Keep Your Promises
American Made Advocacy: Long-time Challenges Confront a New Administration
Electronics Industry Mourns Loss of Colleague and Visionary Michael Ford
January 31, 2024 | I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Longtime I-Connect007 columnist, industry visionary, and friend Michael Ford passed away Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024. “In this time of sorrow, we can take solace in the knowledge that Michael leaves a great legacy of contribution to the electronics industry,” according to a statement from Aegis Software.
Michael was senior director of emerging industry strategy at Aegis. He was a prolific writer and speaker whose work and ideas put him at the forefront of electronics manufacturing. Working for Aegis gave him the opportunity to apply his software for electronics manufacturing experience to further drive technology solution innovation.
In the statement from Aegis, Michael was described as “always envisioning what was needed to achieve an improved manufacturing future before others could see it. What new system, standard, or concept could help move things forward for the better? Michael could move those ideas to the forefront and was always seeking the views and ideas of others in the process. He had a singular gift in helping everyone he encountered see the future with him in his articulate and compelling way that brought everyone into the process, whether an individual or a full conference hall.”
He started his career with Sony, including eight years working in Japan. He was instrumental in creating and evolving software solutions for assembly manufacturing that meet the most demanding expectations. He was an established thought leader for Industry 4.0 and digital Smart factories, and an active contributor to industry standards.
In 2020, Michael was given the IPC President’s Award as recognition for contributions, including CFX, traceability, secure supply-chain and digital twin standards.
In 2021 Michael was awarded the Dieter Bergman IPC Fellowship Award and chose Villanova University’s engineering department as the recipient of the grant which in turn awards a scholarship to benefit the promotion of opportunities for women in the industry.
His column for I-Connect007 was titled Smart Factory Insights, and he frequently took commonly-held ideas and pushed the boundaries of current thinking. He often found ways to improve business operations or create new business models that built off current frameworks.
“Michael has been such a generous and knowledgeable columnist for so long,” says Pete Starkey, a technical editor for I-Connect007. “He was a genuinely lovely man and a worthy recipient of our ‘Good for the Industry’ award. I can’t believe he’s gone.”
One time we asked him for his sage advice and he said, "Always keep an open and progressive mind. Listen to and understand perspectives from all of those around you."
Share on:
Suggested Items
IMAPS’ Annual Conference Opener in Phoenix ‘Blew My Mind’
03/05/2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007It was a cool and sunny morning as I headed out to the IMAPS Device Packaging Conference 2025 in Arizona early Tuesday, which featured two compelling keynote speakers, and a day chocked full of technical sessions. IMAPS 2025 also hosted a sold-out exhibit hall with 65 exhibitors from IBM and Heraeus to Cadence and KYZEN, to name just a few. The technology and packaging discussions at this conference blew my mind last year, and it is clear this year would be no different.
Drip by Drip: Semiconductor Water Management Innovations
03/05/2025 | IDTechExNot only does semiconductor manufacturing require large volumes of energy, chemicals, and silicon wafers, it also requires vast volumes of water. IDTechEx’s latest report, “Sustainable Electronics and Semiconductor Manufacturing 2025-2035: Players, Markets, Forecasts”, forecasts water usage across semiconductor manufacturing to double by 2035, as demand for integrated circuits continues to rise.
VTT, IQM Launch First 50-qubit Quantum Computer Developed in Europe
03/04/2025 | VTT Technical Research Centre of FinlandVTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and IQM Quantum Computers, one of the global leaders in superconducting quantum computers, have completed and launched Europe’s first 50-qubit superconducting quantum computer, now open to researchers and companies through the VTT QX quantum computing service.
Target Condition: ‘Boomer to Zoomer: Do You Copy?’
03/04/2025 | Kelly Dack -- Column: Target ConditionLet’s just admit it. The baby boomer PCB designers are looking at retirement, but it’s been a good run. In the 1980s, many of us still “taped out” our PCB artwork layers and then drove them over to the graphic art service to be photo-reduced onto film positives and negatives. Then, almost overnight, the PCB design industry changed.
Wistron Announces 2024 Financials and BOD Results
02/27/2025 | WistronWistron Corp. held a Board of Directors meeting and announced its financial results for 2024. The company reported consolidated revenue of NTD 1,049 billion, operating income of NTD 38,980 million, profit before tax (PBT) of NTD 40,057 million, and profit after tax (PAT) of NTD 17,439 million, with earnings per share (EPS) of NTD 6.11.