Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/1533085
64 DESIGN007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2025 for Bob Scully, and when he heard that I had a bachelor's degree in physics and a master's in electrical engineering, he said, "You need to come over here," which turned out to be just a fantastic combination. It really helped me to get into some of the weird interactions that you see in electronics systems and the things that cause problems. What are those "weird things," and what was the weirdest? Tell me some of your stellar accomplishments as well—some things you have been able solve. e number one thing that just drives people nuts about EMC is failing FCC testing. Every consumer electronics device has to meet either FCC in the United States or CISPR for the rest of the world. ey go in thinking, "I've got the best elec- tronics unit ever." en they throw it in the lab, and it fails one of the tests. It's frustrating for everybody. So, one of my goals in life is to teach people the basic EMC principles even though they're not comprehensive. It's one of those things where 20% of the issues cause 80% of the problems. If I can get people to understand that 20%, to really "get it," then hopefully we can prevent many of those headaches. The key words I'm taking away are compat- ibility and frequency. We have frequencies that, if there's interference, nobody plays well together. Please tell us how important that is. Yes, it is so important because the interference interactions can be extreme. I've also worked in the automotive industry. ere was one time that the hazard lights on a vehicle broadcast so much noise in part of the spectrum that it would be a problem for first responder radios. Oh wow, that is not good. Right. You would hate to be the company that has an SUV that rolls up on a crime or acci- dent scene, suddenly turns on its hazard lights, and jams all emergency communication. We tracked that down, and we fixed it. What is the typical scenario when a product gets through prototype? Is FCC compatibility part of the game right away, or are they just trying to get something working and solve the EMC issue? I think I know which is the smarter approach. I've worked with so many people whose approach is, "Yeah, we just budget an extra five to six weeks for failing EMC testing and redesign," and I know there must be a better way for these companies. Again, we're really trying to get the word out that if you put some effort into the design up front and have a high- level review looking just for those big red flags, maybe you won't have to go through lab testing two, three, or even six times. at is a lot of time and expense. So, for new professionals in a design career, what do they need to be concerned about as we evolve in our design practice? I love this question because it is the core of what I try to communicate, and it's a shame because most engineering programs don't teach this. So, if I were a civil engineer, I wouldn't have one mandatory class in building bridges, and another optional class on building bridges that don't fall down. So, why do we have classes in Karen Burnham