Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1493016
66 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2023 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE 66 I-CONNECT007 I REAL TIME WITH... IPC APEX EXPO 2023 SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE we designed a Martian habitat, which led to a summer internship at NASA Langley. For my master's work, I worked in a lab that was performing mechanical and fatigue testing on surface mount solder joints. This was in the '80s, and at that time there were many unknowns about the strength and reliability of those solder joints and structures because all past history was on through-hole joints. My knowledge of the work in that lab is what really got me hired with IBM and initially working with qualifying new surface mount package technologies, which is still part of my job description today. That's interesting how we kind of fall into our careers and then we're off and running. I guess if it fits, it fits. What's kind of funny, though, is that in some of my standards work today, I work with peo- ple from NASA. Do you feel like you made the right choice? Yes, I have enjoyed my 30+ years. That's one thing about this industry—there's always something new and different. It's never the same old thing. What advice would you give to someone starting out? I would say to get your hands dirty and be an expert in something for your company. Then start to build your network and interact with other experts both in and outside your company. Those connec- tions could be with sup- pliers, customers, anyone like that. Share that knowledge; learn more by interacting, writing papers, working on standards, mentoring, or even teaching, sharing the knowledge that you've learned. From there, just continue to grow; start looking into new areas, new responsibilities, and before you know it, you have a career. Any other thoughts you'd like to share? A couple of years ago, when we had the SummerCom committee meetings in Raleigh, I was part of a panel discussion and was asked why standards are important. My response was that the standards and working on these committees are important because, as more companies merge and engineering teams are slimming down, to do your job you need the standards to help move things along and allow your business to run better. If there's anything I'd like to ask people to do, it's to get involved, because we need those standards. That's great. Thank you so much for your time and congratulations again. S&T Dieter Bergman IPC Fellowship Award