Trouble in Your Tank: Metallizing Flexible Circuit Materials—Mitigating Deposit Stress
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘In Defense of a Liberal Education’
Imagine the Possibilities: Tech Conference 2025
March 5, 2025 | Marcy LaRont, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 1 minute
As we approach the 25th anniversary of IPC APEX EXPO, excitement buzzes around the annual Technical Program. Coming off a tremendously successful program in 2024—co-hosted with ECWC16 and with a significant global presence—organizers wanted to match that same level of engagement. In this interview, Stan Rak of SF Rak Company and Udo Welzel of Robert Bosch Mobility Electronics, co-chairs of the Technical Program Committee (TPC), highlight efforts of the volunteer committee to bring another quality technical program to life.
Marcy LaRont: We’re coming off a highly successful program in 2024. How has the TPC worked together this year and how are submissions of technical papers and posters for this year’s conference?
Stan Rak: I am happy to say we are well represented again this year with TPC members from seven countries and across all different industries. We have 25 members on the TPC, including Udo and myself, which nicely corresponds to the 25th anniversary of the conference. We have some additional expertise from the component manufacturing industry, representatives from Intel and NXP in the semiconductor space, and an EMS company, Flextronics, in the mix this year.
We added Palash Vyas, a recent PhD graduate from Auburn University who co-authored the Best Poster in the 2024 Technical Conference. He works in the automotive electronics industry now. We know he has a good connection with academia, and he was excited to be involved. We also have a returning member, Dr. Laura Cohen of Continental, who has valuable expertise in automotive, aerospace, and energy systems.
LaRont: Have you been receiving a steady flow of papers?
Welzel: It is a similar situation to most years: There is always a period of concern because most contributions tend to come in toward the end of the deadline, but this time, we were very positively surprised. We had anticipated some negative headwinds due to the overall slowing economy in several different countries and that it would cause submissions to be low, but we had about 100 abstract submissions, which is very good. Not all of them made it through, which is part of the normal reviewing process. Julia Flynn, Stan, and myself, as well as our IPC colleagues, were positively surprised when we had the final count.
To read the rest of this article, which originally published in the March 2025 SMT007 Magazine, click here.
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
Dan’s Biz Bookshelf: ‘In Defense of a Liberal Education’
07/31/2025 | Dan Beaulieu -- Column: Dan's Biz BookshelfWhile Fareed Zakaria’s "In Defense of a Liberal Education" isn’t technically a business book, it’s nevertheless one that any business leader developing a workforce should read. A powerful, thought-provoking treatise on why the liberal arts are crucial, "Liberal Education" challenges the growing emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) education at the expense of broader intellectual pursuits.
PARMI USA Expands Mexico Presence with the Addition of Omar Lopez as Sales Manager for Northern Region
07/29/2025 | PARMI USAPARMI USA, INC., a leader in advanced 3D inspection systems, is pleased to announce the hiring of Omar Lopez as Sales Manager for Northern Mexico.
The Chemical Connection: Sales Organization from a Capital Equipment Perspective
07/22/2025 | Don Ball -- Column: The Chemical ConnectionThe sales organization for a capital equipment supplier to the PCB industry tends to differ slightly from a supplier that manufactures and sells circuit boards to their customers. After all, our sales depend on the printed circuit board manufacturer’s sales. If business falls off, you tend to delay or reconsider the need for new or upgraded capital equipment, and then our sales fall off. If your sales go up and you need to increase capacity or replace old equipment, our sales also trend upwards.
Prague PEDC: Call for Abstracts Deadline July 31
07/16/2025 | Pan-European Electronics Design Conference (PEDC)The second Pan-European Electronics Design Conference (PEDC) will take place Jan. 21-22, 2026, in Prague, Czech Republic. The call for abstracts deadline is July 31. Organized jointly by the German Electronics Design and Manufacturing Association (FED) and the Global Electronics Association PEDC serves as a European platform for knowledge exchange, networking, and innovation in electronics design and development.
ViTrox Announces Strategic Partnership with Maxim SMT to Strengthen Presence in India
07/04/2025 | ViTroxViTrox, which aims to be the World’s Most Trusted Technology Company, is proud to announce the appointment of Maxim SMT as its new Sales Channel Partner in India, effective 1st June 2025.