Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1519075
28 PCB007 MAGAZINE I APRIL 2024 Feature Interview by Marcy LaRont I-CONNECT007 e U.S. Partnership for Assured Electronics (USPAE) was launched as a nonprofit subsid- iary of IPC in 2020 specifically to manage the DoD relationship and access to funding and to develop a cooperative facility to develop ultra HDI capabilities in the U.S., not only for the defense sector but for the whole of the U.S. electronics industry. ough a multifaceted initiative, its primary objective is to bring very high-tech manufactur- ing capability to the U.S. to lessen reliance on foreign sources for critical parts of our supply chain. It carries a great hope that we will never allow ourselves to fall behind technologically as we have over the past three decades and, moreover, that we will, once again, become global technology leaders in this space. Marcy LaRont: Joe, would you explain the Printed Circuit Board Market Catalyst (PCBMC)? Joe O'Neil: Formerly referred to as NewCo, the proposed Printed Circuit Board Market Cat- alyst is a unique public-private partnership (PPP) that will be designed to deliver five core benefits to the U.S. industry and government. e first core benefit is to quickly bring ultra high density interconnect (UHDI) capabil-