Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1083315
50 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2019 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE might know how to answer it. It's the engi- neering building, so you can go from floor to floor and pretty much see any type of industry that you want. One day, I was trying to bother a professor, but he didn't show up. By chance, another professor felt bad for me and let me come and sit in his office, and it turned out to be Professor Heedley at Sacramento State who does IC design. We started talking, and I told him I like PCB design, so he connected me with Professor Moyer who is very active in the IPC. So, I got connected by randomly trying to bug a professor, and Professor Moyer intro- duced me to all of this. Goldman: That's great. Are you walking around with the students today? O'Hair: I'm not, but I was on the panel this morning. As far as I know, I think I can do what I want (laughs). Hand soldering sounds the most fun, so I think I'm going to hang out at the soldering station. Goldman: Still, that was an interesting story of how you came to be here today. O'Hair: It was a long-winded story, but yes, that's what happened. I don't know if any of your readers are students, but my advice is to bug professors. They like when people are motivated and want to learn, and they're not as annoyed as you think they are. Sometimes they might be, but you have to read them. Goldman: If somebody says no, you don't run and hide and never talk to anybody again. O'Hair: Right. I've probably knocked on 100 doors, and that has maybe only happened once. Goldman: And I take it that you learn some- thing from every door you've knocked on and every person you've talked to? O'Hair: Yes. You learn and become friends with them. It's a really good way to meet people. Goldman: So, it serves as networking. O'Hair: It was very uncomfortable for me at first, and I did it out of necessity, but now, I do it for fun. Just to talk to people and pick their brains; it gets easier. Goldman: So, you're going to be graduating this year, and then you're going to work on your company. What is it called? O'Hair: Irijule. Goldman: So, you're making one product right now. What's your next product going to be? O'Hair: We have other things in the pipeline. Goldman: What are you thinking about? O'Hair: We developed a good stack of intellectual property, and now we're asked, "Where can we make a differ- ent version of this control- ler?" by which I mean essen- tially write little to no software. We have one where I have the board layout almost done, so we'll start prototyping it soon.