Interview with Poster Presenter Winner - Palash Vyas
IPC and IPC Education Foundation invested in a selected group of students to participate in IPC APEX EXPO programming in-person. One of the students is Palash Vyas, a Ph.D. Industrial Engineering at Auburn University. His research focuses on Electronics Reliability and areas of expertise include Thermal cycling and Drop Shock Reliability and Vibration. He has authored and co-authored more than 11 conference and journal papers.
He presented a poster during the conference and alongside his fellow Soroosh Alavi, Ph.D. Industrial & Systems Engineering at Auburn University won the best poster category with an award of $750 and an IPC Scholarship of $2,000.
Charlene: “Share a little background on yourself.”
Palash: “I am a Ph.D. candidate at the Auburn University Department of Industrial Engineering. I have 3+ years of research experience in reliability testing of PCBs. I have a strong foundation in reliability testing techniques such as drop shock, thermal cycling, vibration, shear, and fatigue, and failure analysis, and reliability modeling. I have authored/co-authored over 12 publications in journals and conferences. I have previously worked with Brose Automotive (Tuscaloosa) and Auburn University RFID Lab. My leadership extends beyond the laboratory, as evidenced by my tenure as former President of the IPC Student Chapter at Auburn University.”
Charlene: “Briefly explain the topic of your research.”
Palash: “The topic of my research is Drop Shock Performance of Solder Alloys in BGA Assemblies under Different Thermal Conditions. I am involved in the testing of various new generation solder alloys in the form of PCB solder joints at room temperature and elevated temperature conditions and at different acceleration levels.”
Charlene: “Why is this important within our industry?”
Palash: “Traditionally, drop shock tests have predominantly been performed at room temperature, failing to accurately simulate real-world conditions where electronic circuits contend with operational or environmental thermal strains during normal operation. To address this knowledge gap, my study aims to conduct drop shock tests at elevated temperatures, ensuring the reliability of solder joints in practical applications.”
Charlene: “What’s your next steps in terms of professional growth and/or career aspirations?”
Palash: “I am currently close to graduation and aiming to get a full-time position in the electronics industry as a Reliability Engineer or a Failure Analysis Engineer where I can apply the skillsets I have learned during my PhD and also follow my passion.”
Charlene: “Why would you recommend students to consider career paths in electronics manufacturing?”
Palash: “The electronics industry is very versatile and constantly in demand for a variety of engineering major students such as Industrial, Mechanical, Electrical, Chemical, and Computer Science along with Chemistry major. Apart from this the industry is very niche in itself and requires specialized knowledge and has tremendous growth potential since the technology is constantly advancing as well as the number of users for electronic products and the number of products coming out are rapidly increasing around the world. For these reasons entering the electronics industry is a great option for students as it is a lucrative field with high growth prospects.”
Charlene: “What has been the highlight of the IPC APEX EXPO?”
Palash: “The highlight of the IPC APEX AXPO for me was presenting my poster on Drop shock test of PCB at elevated temperature and also winning the best poster award. It was a great experience interacting with the attendees at the poster session and explaining to them about my research.”
Charlene: “Please share three new things you’ve learned this past week during the show?”
Palash: “The three things I have learned are as follows:
- I attended the Professional development course ‘Introduction to Machine Data Analytics in the EMS Industry’ by Tim Burke. This course familiarized me with various aspects of machine data analytics such as the kinds of machine data available, relevant analytical tools etc. It also familiarized me with software such as Grafana and Kibana.
- I also attended the technical conference sessions on AI and Machine learning track. The presentations highlighted the use of AI and ML in X-ray inspection and void inspection in solder joints.
- I visited the OMRON booth at the EXPO and spent quite some time there. I was given an entire demo of their machines, and I learnt a lot about their latest SPI, AOI and AXI systems.”
Charlene: “How do you anticipate using the $2,000 IPC scholarship?”
Palash: “I anticipate to use the funds towards my college tuition. These funds will greatly reduce my financial burden as a student.”
Charlene: “Please share a few sentences what this award means to you personally?”
Palash: “I am deeply honored to have received the best poster award. Apart from alleviating the financial burden, the award will help strengthen my belief in my potential to make a difference in the electronics industry. It will greatly help boost my motivation as a researcher. Thank you IPC for the recognition!”
