Expanding Your Garden
Welcome to our spring 2001 issue of Advancing Microelectronics. This issue's topic is High Density Interconnects, and is themed to tie in with the HDI Conference being held in Santa Clara, CA, April 17-20, 2001. The articles are topical and interesting, and as always, we have news from local and international chapters as well as the European perspective on our industry. I hope you enjoy this issue.
Spring is typically a time where we plant new seeds/seedlings in our garden, in the hopes that they will flourish and produce a good harvest/show of color later in the year. When moving from upstate New York to Austin, Texas, several years ago, I had to change the way I thought about gardening, and what my resulting expectations would be. My beloved bulbs (tulips, crocus, snowdrops, iris) would not readily bloom in the warmer Texas climate (without some extraordinary measures); and since I am a recreational gardener at best, I chose to modify my goals for the new climate, and "bloom where you are planted." (I now grow herbs instead of flowers...) The goal of gardeners, I was taught, is to 'swap seeds' or bulbs; once your plant has matured and sent off new seeds or bulbs, the gardener would take these new pieces of life and give them freely to others without cost. That is how gardeners expand their garden, diversify their beds, and keep the costs down. Several of my neighbors now have rosemary and mint growing in their gardens, courtesy of my garden's bounty...
Technical vitality is somewhat like expanding your garden, or moving into a different climate. You may have been doing the same thing for years to get your brain jump started on new ideas; but is there something else you can consider that can augment your pattern? Is there a way for you to 'swap seeds' with someone else?
Local chapters are a great way to get some new ideas introduced, as well as introducing yourself to new acquaintances and renewing old friendships. Most chapters run meetings with a technical speaker or presentation and some opportunity for fellowship (food, networking, etc.), making them the ideal local place for idea generation and trading. If you need to find your local chapter, you can contact IMAPS National or flip to the "Chapter Contacts" page of this magazine!
Travel is a big part of my job, and unfortunately I am out of town when our local chapter meets. What's an engineer to do? Since my time is at a premium, I can choose to attend a regional meeting, an Advanced Technology Workshop on a topic of choice, or the International Symposium. When I first started going to the conferences, I was awed by the number of folks who were renewing old friendships - it's a social gathering as much as a technical exchange! I was also pleasantly surprised to find people of my own age at the conference (young engineers); many of these 'young people' are still my good friends, as we have shared fellowship and common interest for 15 years (as well as our share of jokes over the Internet!).
If local meetings conflict with your schedule, look at the listing of upcoming events and select one that interests you. Once there, make it a goal to meet three new people who share a common interest (and break the stereotype of an engineer - you know, the one where 'a social engineer is the one staring at YOUR shoes while talking to you, instead of his own'?). See if you can't 'swap seeds' to get a fresh perspective on what you are doing...
Another good way for technical sales and marketing folks to cross-pollinate is by attending the MMRC (Microelectronics Marketing Research Council) meeting. Contact for MMRC is Ann Bell, 202-548-8717, or e-mail at abell@imaps.org, who can provide more detailed information on upcoming meetings and benefits of belonging.
No matter which method you choose, technical vitality is critical for our long term success. If you find a method that works for you, drop me a note at Mary.McDonald@Motorola.com and let me know about it!
