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22 I-CONNECT007 MAGAZINE I FEBRUARY 2026 tion in the setup of sessions and the topics covered. That doesn't mean we are throwing overboard what has always been the conference's strength. The topics that have been going strong for many years are preserved. What was the quality of abstracts received this year and what is the acceptance rate for the ones that become conference presenta- tions? Rak: We received over 100 abstracts, with an acceptance rate of about 70%. The quality of the abstracts was excellent, cover- ing design, materials, assembly, and test domains. The most significant process change we instituted was the Early Indication of Interest by participants to submit an abstract that fit best into the session topics. This provided the TPC early insight into the abstracts well before the deadline. Devan, you were instrumental in securing new con- tributions and new contributors. Tell us about that. Iyer: We have about 21 invited speakers lined up across the three special sessions on Monday and Thursday, and for the regular sessions on Tues- day and Wednesday. We tried to identify and solicit speakers who bring expertise into the six founda- tional blocks under the advanced electronic pack- aging strategy: design, materials, assembly, reliabil- ity and metrology, test, and manufacturing. Each session has a theme. The theme for Monday afternoon is advanced electronic packaging for next- generation compute, with a mix of speakers across the ecosys- tem. The same methodology— inviting speakers based on their market domain and expertise—is applied to automotive and indus- trial sessions and the aerospace and defense sessions. Special thanks to Jim Will (USPAE) for his excellent support with the Aerospace & Defense session. For traditionalists—printed circuit board fabrica- tion, design, assembly, solder and metallurgy— does this signal a move away from those sorts of traditional topics? Rak: No, it doesn't. Topics like solder joint reliability, materials, and protective materials are still very important and foundational. But the components are also evolving. HI packages can be rela- tively large and quite heavy, and it makes the interconnect process more challenging just to manufac- ture the assembly, let alone meet the reliability and environmental test- ing requirements. We're definitely not backtracking on the reliability aspects that bring a lot of attention to our technical program. We're just making it more inclusive to the component world, because how the components are made and designed, and the materials they use, all affect overall reliability once that component is attached to a circuit board. What if someone wants to attend but doesn't feel that their business touches advanced packaging or advanced electronics? Welzel: That's the misunderstanding or the narrow view that we would like to break up. This packag- ing influences what you are doing in your daily life. I agree with Stan: Reliability is one of the most impor- tant aspects, and we have always been very strong in reliability topics, harsh environments, automo- tive, defense, and aerospace. These sectors are looking very deeply into reliability. Attendees definitely appreciate that we are looking beyond traditional topic boundar- ies. Advanced electronic packag- ing also affects thermal design in particular. Because that is a very important aspect, there are dedi- cated sessions on thermal design, as well as general electrical design. In many cases, you must strike a balance between reliability and design aspects. Some- times you design for reliability, but you also design U d o We l ze l S t a n R a k