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March 2015 • The PCB Design Magazine 9 Tom Hausherr of PCB Libraries focusing on IPC- 7351C requirements for surface mount design and land pattern standard. After lunch, Stephen V. Chavez of UTC Aerospace Systems discussed communication with cross-cultural teams, and Rick Hartley covered succeeding through con- trolling cost and quality. But conspicuous in his absence was Dieter Bergman. This marks the first Design Forum since Dieter's death last year, and he always kicked off the event. A tribute to Dieter was held on Wednesday night, with attendees swapping their favorite stories about Dieter. IPC announced the recipients of the First Annual Dieter Bergman IPC Fellowship Award: Don Dupriest of Lockheed Martin, Denny Fritz of SAIC, Dave Hillman of Rockwell Collins, Ber- nie Kessler of Bernard Kessler & Associates, Bob Neves of Microtek Laboratories, Ray Prasad of Ray Prasad Consultancy Group, Randy Reed of Viasystems, and Doug Sober of Shengyi Tech- nology. All recipients are longtime IPC mem- bers who have shown ongoing leadership. I also have to mention Gary Ferrari of FTG Corporation and Nilesh Naik, president of Ea- gle Circuits, for taking home the Raymond E. Pritchard Hall of Fame Award. Gary is the co- founder of the IPC Designers Council, creator of the CID courses, and a veteran PCB design instructor, just to name a few highlights. Nilesh Naik was active in the Designers Council na- tionally and regionally, and he has served as chairman of the PCB/IMS Presidents Manage- ment Council. He is a member of the Govern- ment Relations Steering Committee and was re- elected to the IPC Board of Directors. Let's give these guys a round of applause for being award- ed the highest level of recognition that IPC can grant to an individual. On the show floor, I found the mood to be more upbeat than last year; some companies are hiring right now, and there was no undercurrent of negativity that I've sensed at previous shows (for instance, at APEX two years ago, during the sequestration battle on Capitol Hill). Nearly ev- ery company seems to be growing steadily, if not in leaps and bounds. It's just a gut feeling, and not very scientific, but it feels like this is a good time to be in this industry. Next year, IPC APEX EXPO returns to Las Ve- gas, but this time it's in the Las Vegas Conven- tion Center, away from the Strip. That sounds like a good plan to me. I've had enough of Man- dalay Bay for a while. As the show season rolls along, look for our complete coverage of the CPCA Show in Shang- hai in March 17-19. If you can't make it, don't worry. We'll be there. PCBDESIGn Andy shaughnessy is manag- ing editor of The PCB Design Magazine. He has been cover- ing PCB design for 15 years. He can be reached by clicking here. the shaughnessy report GOOD VIBES AT IPC APEX EXPO 2015 continues