IPC International Community magazine an association member publication
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IPC COMMUNITY 49 FALL 2024 Kris can do this because he actually lives full- time in his travel-trailer at this campground. He's now a permanent camper, taking him anywhere the winds blow—and where there's strong internet service—so he can teach his PCB design classes, offer expert interviews, and live off the land. "I'm passionate about this lifestyle," Kris says. "It's about being sustainable, being more consci- entious of your impact on the environment and the world. It's also about being in the moment. You see things from a different point of view." It's not how he grew up, and it's not for every- one. But Kris has made several mindset shifts in the past several years, moving from corpo- rate work at Blue Origin, Williams International, Aerojet, and Northrop Grumman, to becoming a contract instructor for IPC and Sacramento State. He also let go of carrying a home mort- gage, enduring subzero temperatures, and just having too much stuff. He can just as easily rattle off facts about the tallest mountains and hiking trails in Califor- nia as he can talk about high-precision sensors, advanced concepts in signal integrity, or micro- vias. Personally, he fights for animal welfare, civil rights, and science and technology—and he can do so in both English and Japanese. So, how did Kris go from average college stu- dent to a John Muir disciple who's just as happy shopping at the local farmers market as he is teaching the traces and spaces of a PCB? At this point, our interview has shifted to a video conferencing call. Kris turns on his camera to first show me his tattoos, which he says help tell his story. On his left arm, his "nerd" tattoos reveal jokes about PCBs. His forearm looks like a bear has torn into the flesh and exposed the cir- cuit traces and spaces of a PCB. On his right arm is a half-sleeve tattoo that starts with the Muir quote inside a diamond. At each corner of the diamond are wildlife—a wolf, a salmon, a bear, and an owl. It's a constant reminder of his personality, and love for the out- doors. Kris is a graduate of California State Univer- sity-Sacramento, where he earned an electrical engineering degree and, with already 25 years of experience behind him, immediately began teaching at the school. "I had more experience in the industry than most of the faculty," he says. He's always loved teaching because it feels like an opportunity to instantly solve a problem while helping the next generation of designers—a group he has seen dwindle in numbers over the past two decades. "As I was working for these other companies, I started realizing there were no younger engi- neers coming in and doing what I did," he says. "So, I approached Sac-State in 2013 and devel- oped a course in printed board design. Rather than just teaching one guy on the job, I can get a classroom full of students and give them my experience, expertise, and passion for designing boards." As we chatted, he got up from the camp chair and turned the camera around to the 16-foot travel trailer behind him. "I've got everything here that I need to live where I want," he says. "I've got a bed, a kitchen, a pantry, a wardrobe, a bathroom with a shower. What else do I need?"