Issue link: https://iconnect007.uberflip.com/i/960726
34 I-CONNECT007 I SHOW & TELL MAGAZINE 2018 Think of how much better things will be." I think collaboration and committee involve- ment that IPC brings together is huge. Goldman: Yes, and fostering the openness so that everybody really can work together for the common good, shall we say. Hillman: I've seen this change within the indus- try in that it's not what you know, it's when you know it. So the sooner you know some- thing, the more you can go implement it. Just because I know a company is using a specific underfill or certain solder paste, that doesn't mean it's correct for my product. I still have to go do that work. What we have viewed over the ages as "critical knowledge" is changing, and that allows for more collaboration. Most of us know the things that we should keep close to the vest and not talk about, but we have much more in common than not, and those common- alities can help us create specs that make all our products better; yet we're all competitive. Yes, there may be competitors in a committee but there are also collaborators. If one looks at those differences and stays on the right side of the line, huge benefits can come out of it, and that's changed over the years as to what people used to view as data that they should or should not talk about. Goldman: One of the things I was told by Don Dinella when I got the President's Award way back was, "Now they'll really put you to work." Do you feel an increased commitment to IPC since you heard you were getting this award? Hillman: I was working a 32-hour day anyway; it just means there is more I can do. I look at it the same as my responsibilities here at Rockwell Collins. What more can I do, what more can I work on? One of the things that John Hagge and John Mather had taught me was "What does it take to be a good engineer?" They said, "If you want to be a good engineer, you just have to work hard. If you want to be a great engineer, you need to figure out how your actions enable others to make their goals, and if you can do that you'll be a great engineer." And there are tons and tons of people in IPC whose assistance and knowledge have helped me make my goals, and without those people I wouldn't be successful. Participation in IPC has made me a better engineer, helped my career, and that's just one of those things that needs to be paid back. How can I help somebody else along their career path? Because if they're suc- cessful, the industry is successful. Goldman: Are you a mentor for an emerging engineer? I'm guessing so, because I know Rockwell Collins is involved in that program. Hillman: I am, and I think being a mentor is necessary duty of all engineers. We have had a co-op program within my group here at Rock- well Collins, so Doug Pauls and I have been the primary mentors for at least 125 kids over the last 30 years. Everyone should be a mentor. Yes, it takes a lot of time. Yes, it's a commit- ment. Yes, at times it seems like I'm not getting anything out of it. But when you step back and look at what a mentor can enable, amazing things happen. My career wouldn't be where it is today without our kids. We have a program where they come in not for just a semester but for eight months of the year. And the things they can accomplish; they are unpoisoned minds who are not biased by their past scars and battles, and sometimes the way they tackle things is because they're look- ing at it differently. And it makes you a better engineer, it opens your mind up, it makes you work harder. If you can't teach it, you don't know it, and so when they start asking ques- tions you have to teach it. So yes, I think men- torship is one of those critical things we need to do more of, and IPC is trying. IPC has the Emerging Engineer program, and now there's going to be the new IPC STEM activities, which is something that we're also very involved here at Rockwell Collins. It's good to see people try- ing to help that next generation of engineers and scientists be prepared. Goldman: And I understand not only do you guys co-op kids, but some end up working at Rockwell Collins.