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64 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2023 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE 64 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2023 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE Curtis Grosskopf, a senior engineer at IBM, reflects on the evolution of IPC committees and the vital importance of their work, espe- cially in collaboratively creating industry-wide standards to guide the work of professionals in every sector. This commitment to multidis- ciplinary cooperation is a mindset that should be fostered at the start of every career. Curt, congratulations on receiving the Dieter Bergman IPC Fellowship Award. This award is about collaboration. Why is that so important when working on a committee? Basically, no one person or company is all- knowing, and if you're on a committee work- ing on a standard, a test method, or other industry document, you will need multiple perspectives. You need suppliers, users, and OEMs. You also have to consider each per- son's background—is it in consumer products, IT, automotive, aerospace, military, etc.? Then you have to look at the people on the com- mittee: Are they designers? Are they from manufacturing, supply chain, life cycle man- agement, qualification, environmental com- pliance? For any standards work, you need Curtis Grosskopf Lasting Connections Fuel Progress Interview by Patty Goldman