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A Fresh Perspective: Checking in With IPC Student Board Member Waad Tarman
February 17, 2025 | Charlene Gunter du Plessis, IPC Education FoundationEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Waad Tarman is the current IPC Student Board Member and incoming president of the IPC Student Chapter at Auburn University. She has an impressive background as a second-year Ph.D. student and dedicated research assistant at Auburn University’s Electronics Manufacturing and Reliability Laboratory within the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department.
As a Student Board Member, Waad has full voting rights and attends all Board meetings. Her role is focused on bringing a fresh perspective to the table, based on students’ needs and aspirations, as a representative of her fellow IPC student members. Her journey has been defined by a determined pursuit of leadership and a passion for making a positive impact. She possesses strong knowledge of various microelectronics manufacturing, including PCB fabrication and assembly (PCBA), package mounting and assembling (SMT and THMT) technologies, inspection and quality control, and design for manufacturing (DFM).
I visited with Waad last fall after she returned from attending an IPC Board meeting in Munich.
What does it mean to you to serve on the IPC Board of Directors?
Waad Tarman: It is an incredible honor and responsibility to serve on the IPC Board of Directors as the student member. Being the voice of students means ensuring that, in a field that is always changing, our needs and goals are considered. It’s also a unique opportunity to witness how decisions are made at the highest levels of leadership in electronics manufacturing. I have developed a deep understanding for the breadth of knowledge and teamwork needed to overcome industry concerns, and I feel privileged to contribute to these discussions from a student perspective.
Continue reading this article in the Winter 2025 issue of IPC Community.
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I-Connect007 Editor’s Choice: Five Must-Reads for the Week
05/08/2026 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007This week, I’ve selected some outstanding interviews that you’ll want to take note of. First, is a roundtable discussion featuring three dynamic industry cybersecurity experts. Please watch this important discussion that affects us all. Following that, I spotlight the IPC-2581 Consortium, which explains why IPC-2581 is the standard to replace Gerber data for manufacturing. Next, I am including my interview with PCBAA and AAM, who collaborated to release a short documentary on U.S. PCB manufacturing.
Global Electronics Association to Testify at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative Panel on Section 301 Structural Excess Capacity
05/08/2026 | Global Electronics AssociationChris Mitchell, Vice President for Global Government Relations at the Global Electronics Association, will testify before the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Panel on Section 301 Structural Excess Capacity on Friday, May 8.
Hall of Fame Spotlight Series: Highlighting Karen McConnell
05/07/2026 | Dan Feinberg, I-Connect007In 2021, Karen McConnell was awarded the Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame award in recognition of her contributions to the Association and the electronics industry. As a senior staff member and CAD/CAM engineer at Northrop Grumman Enterprise Services, her primary responsibility was to develop a common, shared EDM (Electronic Document Management) library to support the electrical and PCB design tool initiatives across Northrop Grumman Mission Systems.
A Necessary Shift From Gerber to IPC-2581
05/07/2026 | Tracy Riggan, Global Electronics AssociationIPC-2581 is an open, vendor-neutral data exchange standard developed by the Global Electronics Association to streamline the exchange of PCB design information across fabrication, assembly, and test. It replaces multiple legacy formats—including industry standards, Gerber, and ODB++—with a single, comprehensive, XML-based dataset that captures all manufacturing details.
TTC-LLC and TTCI: Smarter Training, Stronger Test at PCB East 2026
04/27/2026 | The Test Connection Inc.The Training Connection LLC (TTC-LLC) and The Test Connection, Inc. (TTCI) will be exhibiting together at PCB East 2026, taking place April 28–May 1 at the DCU Convention Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. Attendees can find both teams at Booth #103 during the main exhibition day on Wednesday, April 29.