Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1522071
22 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I JUNE 2024 a process fails, why not PCB designers when a certain design feature cannot be built? Do you have any advice for designers who want to set up a collaborative environment at their company? As I said, the CID curriculum explains exactly what true collaboration looks like, and an understanding of the standards and the lan- guage used enables collaboration. Take the CID and CID+ exams, and you'll see what I mean. Reach out to your stakeholders if you know who they are, before you begin design- ing the board. Communicate early and oen. Thanks so much, Kelly. This was really good. ank you, Andy. It's always a pleasure. DESIGN007 Feature Q&A with Chris Mitchell What do you do when you don't know what to do? That is the conundrum facing U.S. government officials overseeing billions of dollars in strate- gic investments in the domestic microelectronics industry. Enormous grants are beginning to flow to the chips sector, and after years of IPC advocacy and education efforts, policymakers have gained a clearer picture of the rest of the electronics sup- ply chain, including everything chips depend on to function. But knowing what to do in a chips-centric world is proving more difficult than expected. In this inter- view, Chris Mitchell, IPC VP of global government relations, explains the range of challenges facing policymakers in the United States, Europe, and beyond, and IPC's policy agenda to tackle them. Over the past several years, IPC has worked to persuade government policymakers to support the entire electronics supply chain, not just semiconductor chips. How is that going? Chris Mitchell: In response to the COVID pandemic and geopolitical tensions in East Asia, many people thought there would be fundamental changes in how the United States sources electronics. Indeed, we have seen growth domestically in electronics manufacturing and even greater increases in Mex- ico and in U.S.-friendly countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia. But for all the concern about industrial resiliency and national security, the underlying realities of the global supply chain haven't really changed. Asia continues to have some of the most advanced elec- tronics manufacturing capabilities with abundant capacity and access to well-priced base materials. This makes Asia a prime desti- nation for investment in new manufactur- ing facilities. The key question for U.S. policymakers and the industry is which electronics tech- nologies and systems should be manu- factured in the U.S. given their strategic importance to national security, economic competitiveness, and/or technological leadership? What kind of investments are necessary to ensure such capabilities and capacities are put in place? Read the rest of this interview in the June 2024 issue of SMT007 Magazine. Governments Struggling With 'Silicon-to-Systems Approach'