Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1276973
AUGUST 2020 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 87 The first event was a great webinar that PCEA hosted in part- nership with SMTA on July 9 titled "Cre- ating the Best Data Pa c ka g e. " I wa n t to personally thank SMTA for acknowl- e d g i n g P C E A a n d s e e i n g t h e v a l u e that PCEA brings to the industry as a professional industry asso- ciation. SMTA's eagerness to collaborate with PCEA showed in how professional, seamless, and positive the event turned out. We received awesome positive feedback from an interna- tional audience. The second outstanding global event was PCEA's virtual grand opening on July 14, which featured a presentation on PDNs by Rick Hart- ley. We had a great turn out with lots of posi- tive engagement and attendee feedback. Rick's presentation was just a small golden nugget of what PCEA has to offer to the industry. It was a successful launch with lots of knowledge- hungry attendees seeking advice and industry best practice information. The feedback from our grand opening has been overwhelmingly positive. That's two awesome events now under our belt, and there will be many more to follow. Stay tuned for more activities coming your way now that PCEA is official and extremely active. Our official website has been up and running since June 1 with a lot of activity and new members joining the PCEA collective, and we continue to gain industry sponsorship. Lastly, I'd like to give a very heartfelt and loud shout of "kudos" to the entire PCEA lead- ership team for successfully launching the PCEA to the world. All the hard work and extra effort have paid off in bringing PCEA from con- cept to reality. If you have not yet joined the PCEA collective, I highly encourage you to do so by visiting our website and becoming a PCEA member. I continue to wish everyone and their fami- lies to be healthy and safe. arrangement of the vias. Rick moved onto a discussion of the importance of closely-spaced power planes and the challenges to perfor- mance wrought by two-, four-, six-, and higher layer-count stackups, which fail to provide copper shaped and positioned to address low- ering inductance and improving impedance performance. There was an obvious air of excitement among the viewers as Rick's presentation pro- gressed. The more he presented, the more our web-host received queries regarding variables within which to apply the concepts. Polling showed that 78% of the audience had 11 or more years in the industry and were hungry for answers to questions they posed: "What about via-in-pad?" "Is it better to have lots of same- value caps or multiple-value caps?" "What is the best tool to simulate a power distribution network (PDN)?" Though the presentation was set for an hour, presenter Rick stayed on long after to answer the many questions that were posed. Many thanks to Rick Hartley and our audi- ence of viewers for making this educational experience a success! Next Month: Interview With the PCEA Educational Committee Recently, I had an opportunity to meet with our PCEA Educational Committee regarding their plans for the future. The educational committee consists of PCEA executive staff members Mike Creeden, Tara Dunn, Gary Ferrari, Rick Hartley, Susy Webb, and Steph Chavez. This team has a lot of power-packed ideas and curricula lined up for our members. Our new website is also being sprinkled with many informational links and resources. I look for- ward to my informative meeting discussion with this dynamic group of printed circuit engineering veterans. Stay tuned! Message From the Chairman by Stephen Chavez, MIT, CID+ Success! The PCEA has truly hit the ground running. We have now hosted two outstanding global events. Stephen Chavez