Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1093246
28 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2019 Feature Interview I-CONNECT007 Some PCB designers warn their children never even to consider designing PCBs for a living, but some designers like to pass down their talents to their offspring. Nicole Pacino is one such offspring. Editor Andy Shaughnessy shared a flight with Nicole on the way to AltiumLive in Munich, and she mentioned that her father was speaking at the show. In Germany, Andy asked Nicole to tell us about how she got into this industry, and what we could do to draw more young people into this career. Andy Shaughnessy: I'm here at AltiumLive Munich with Nicole Pacino, a design team leader with Cobham, a defense contractor. She is also the daughter of one of our good friends and PCB design instructors, Mike Creeden, who is speaking at the show. Nicole, can you tell us about how you got involved in the industry? Nicole Pacino: Sure. Obviously, you know my father has been in the industry for a long time. And he actually started me out when I was really young. I was 11-years-old and had a knack for mastering those old school, clas- sic computer games like Tetris and Solitaire. I figured out in Tetris that at a certain point, the high score stops and starts counting backward, so my scoreboard in the game was actually all negative numbers. With Solitaire, I figured out the equation it uses to keep score and could win with any number someone requested before I started a new game. So, my dad noticed that I was showing an aptitude toward the type of skills that might translate to PCB design. The first time he pre- sented it to me to see what I would do with it, he explained it like it was another computer game because he knew I would want to try to master it like the others. Sure enough, challenging me to this new game worked, and I haven't stopped trying to master it to this day. Shaughnessy: Where are you working now and what kind of designs are you working on? Pacino: I've been with Cobham in Pennsylva- nia since last year. I work on defense contracts developing new technology in aerospace com- munications and electronic warfare systems for the U.S. government. Unfortunately, working PCB Design is All in the Family Nicole Pacino