February_EDFA_Digital

34 / 58

edfas.org
ELECTRONIC DEVICE FAILURE ANALYSIS | VOLUME 19 NO. 1
34
the keynote presentation, “How to Educate the Next
Generation ICDebug/FA Engineer at Academia,” Christian
Boit mentioned that the educational concept begins
with standard lectures on electronic circuitry, IC design,
and semiconductor devices, followed by design verifica-
tion and debug/FA. This educational concept is mature,
proven, and ready to be integrated into electrical engi-
neering curricula worldwide. Furthermore, he pointed
out that an FA engineer has an exciting job and is in good
hands within a great FA community. He said, “Being an FA
engineer is like entering ‘Hotel California’: You can check
in but cannot check out,”meaning that one stays in touch
with this topic over the long term, because the knowledge
to make a quality FA engineer grows over many years.
James Cargo pointed out that FA labsmust deal with a
wide range of issues over the course of a year; as such, they
must be staffed appropriately to handle the variation of
work and the ever-shifting workload. The FA labmanager
must allocate and balance the workload such that some
time is set aside for training, which requires a long-term
plan. An FA lab manager should continuously monitor
the team’s work and promote and encourage each FA
engineer, considering his personal skills and personality.
One attendee also commented that spending money
for continuous training and networking at conferences is
important, while another mentioned that soft skills for
communication and capacity for teamwork should be
promoted.
The end of the session brought an in-depth discus-
sion with a broad variety of perspectives and multiple
contributions fromFA engineers, labmanagers, industrial
customers, andmembers fromacademia. All reached the
same conclusion: An FA engineer requires a high level of
technical knowledge as well as high flexibility and com-
munication skills.
SEEKING NOMINATIONS FOR NEW EDFAS AWARDS
EDFAS is pleased to announce two new awards to recognize the accomplishments of its members. The awards will be
given annually, with the inaugural EDFAS Lifetime Achievement Award and the EDFAS President’s Award being presented
at ISTFA 2017. Nominate a worthy colleague today!
EDFAS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The EDFAS Lifetime Achievement Award was established by the EDFAS Board of Directors in 2015 to recognize leaders
in the EDFAS community who have devoted their time, knowledge, and abilities to the advancement of the electronic
device failure analysis industry.
EDFAS PRESIDENT’S AWARD
The EDFAS President’s Award shall recognize exceptional service to EDFAS and the electronic device failure analysis
community. Examples of such service include but are not limited to committee service, service on the Board of Directors,
organization of conferences or symposia, development of education courses, and student and general public outreach.
While any member of EDFAS is expected to further the Society’s goals through service, this award shall recognize those
who provided an exceptional amount of effort in their service to the Society.
Nomination deadline for both awards is March 1, 2017. For rules and nomination forms, visit the EDFAS website at
edfas.org and click on Membership & Networking and then Society Awards, or contact Joanne Miller at 440.338.5151, ext.
5513, .
To learn more, visit asminternational.org/web/edfas/societyawards.
EDFAS AWARDS