Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1518649
APRIL 2024 I DESIGN007 MAGAZINE 9 Andy Shaughnessy is man- aging editor of Design007 Magazine. He has been covering PCB design for 23 years. To read past columns, click here. don't come to the conference, you're miss- ing out. In this issue, we start with a conversa- tion with IPC's Patrick Crawford and Kris Moyer, who discuss the IPC Design Com- petition, which takes place midweek dur- ing the show. en, Cory Blaylock explains how IPC has lobbied the Labor Depart- ment to designate PCB design engineer as an official career, which will allow ana- lysts to more accurately track data about this segment's demographics, salaries, etc. Kelly Allen outlines IPC's philosophy for PCB design training and education. Carlos Plaza explains what industry topics are hot in education, and why the hottest topic of all may be onboarding. Filbert Arzola walks us through his two Professional Development Courses—one focusing on constraining your board correctly and the other on mixed-signal wire-bond techniques. As Fil says, today's designers need to think like electrical engi- neers when setting up constraints. Graham Blacksmith discusses what he learned in Kris Moyer's PCB Design I and II classes, and how he was able to utilize his take- aways immediately on the job. IPC's Rob- ert Erickson updates us on IPC's courses for PCB designers and design engineers, at IPC APEX EXPO and year-round. We also bring you columns from Vern Solberg, Martyn Gaudion, and Matt Ste- venson, and part two of an article on heavy copper by Yash Sutariya. We'll be bringing you full coverage of IPC APEX EXPO through our Real Time with… video interview program. I hope to see you in Anaheim. DESIGN007 In a paper published in the journal Science, researchers at the University of Liverpool have dis- covered a solid material that rapidly conducts lith- ium ions. Consisting of non-toxic earth-abundant elements, the new material has high enough Li-ion conductivity to replace the liquid electrolytes in cur- rent Li-ion battery technology, improving safety and energy capacity. Using a transformative scientific approach to design the material, the interdisciplinary research team from the University synthesised the material in the laboratory, determined its structure (the arrange- ment of the atoms in space) and demonstrated it in a battery cell. The new material is one of a very small number of solid materials that achieve Li-ion conductivity high enough to replace liquid electrolytes, and operates in a new way because of its structure. Professor Matt Rosseinsky, from the University of Liverpool's Department of Chemistry, said, "This research demonstrates the design and discovery of a material that is both new and functional. The struc- ture of this material changes previous understanding of what a high-performance solid-state electrolyte looks like. Our disruptive design approach offers a new route to discovery of these and other high-per- formance materials that rely on the fast motion of ions in solids." (Source: University of Liverpool) Li-ion Conductor Discovery Unlocks New Direction for Sustainable Batteries