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74 PCB007 MAGAZINE I MAY 2025 involved and accomplished Hall of Famers on the roster. A recognized expert in the areas of testing, reliability, and failure analysis, he has been deeply involved in IPC task groups, standards, and technical committees since he began his IPC journey. He founded Microtek Laboratories, an independent test facility based in Califor- nia that now has offices in Jiangsu, China. He also serves as president of Integrated Reliabil- ity Test Systems (IRTS), which he founded in 2004 to manufacture the original HATS tes- ter. Bob is also chair and CTO of Reliabil- ity Assessment Solutions Inc., which cur- rently has offices in North America, Asia, and Europe. More recently, he is the creator and manufacturer of HATS², a via structure and solder joint reliability and robustness tester. For IPC, Bob has chaired all of the follow- ing committees: TAEC, Rigid Board General Committee, HDI General Committee, Rigid Board Test Method Task Group, and Labo- ratory Qualifications (IPC-QL-653) Com- mittee. He has participated in more than 50 IPC Technical Committees and chaired the IPC Board of Directors. Bob has received the President's Award and the Dieter Bergman IPC Fellowship Award in addition to his Hall of Fame honor. Beyond IPC, his contribution to the indus- try includes serving as chair of the California Circuit Association and helping facilitate its transition to IPC in 1999. He served on UL's STP Standard Committees for PCB and CCL documents. He has published over 60 articles and technical papers about reliability, test- ing, test methods, and failure analysis, and is the author of the PCB Acceptability section in Clyde Coombs' Printed Circuit Handbook Sixth Edition. He is also an instructor and professional consultant on the fundamentals of testing, reliability, and failure analysis of electronic systems. I asked Bob what he believes is most responsible for his induction into the Hall of Fame. He responded that there is no spe- cific single thing that gets you into the HOF, but rather the total of everything that one is involved in and achieves. Having sold Microtek and moved into semi-retirement, Bob looks for ward to realizing his vision of developing mod- ern test equipment that better addresses the needs and challenges of today's (and tomorrow's) advanced technologies. In his off time, he will continue to travel, some- thing he loves . PCB007 >> Read more about the HATS 2 tester here. 2025 2006 2011