IPC Community

IPC COMMUNITY 48 SPRING 2024 ties it offered. He quickly learned that partici- pating in standards development committees allowed him to "be at the forefront of standards and technology development, trying to push things forward, and make things better from a technical point of view," he says. Phil appreciates the broad network he's built as an IPC member. "I wouldn't have met half the people I've met, and my network would not have been anywhere near as good if I hadn't got- ten involved in IPC," he says. "It's like the 'phone a friend' concept on television quizzes—when you need help with electronics questions, you can always find someone in your network to reach out to." He believes involvement in IPC standards development committees creates significant input for global standards. "If you don't have any involvement, you can't complain about the out- comes," Phil says. Laced Up and Moving On STANDARDS Engineers break things on purpose. They like the challenge of putting things back together and making them stronger and more resilient. The skills engineers use to build products can also be used to rebuild their lives after a per- sonal loss, something Phil Kinner learned when he laced up his running shoes after many years of a sedentary lifestyle. As an IPC standards development committee member, Phil finds community, connection, and challenges in his work and his hobby of long-dis- tance running. As head of research and develop- ment at MacDermid Alpha Polymer Protection and Re-enforcement, Phil oversees polymer product development and R&D to make elec- tronics more reliable. Meeting Professional Challenges Phil attended his first IPC APEX EXPO in 1999, sent by his boss for the networking opportuni- By Linda Stepanich, Contributing Editor, IPC Community "I like finding the limits and testing stuff to destruction, and I guess I was doing the same thing to myself in trying to find my limits."

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