SMTA International 2026: Full Schedule

arrow_back View All Dates

8:30am CDT

Thursday October 29, 2026 8:30am - 10:30am CDT

Session Chair:
Session Co-Chair:

8:30am-9:00am
A Study of How Nozzle Tip Diameter and PCB Copper Mass Impact the Transfer of Thermal Energy during Mini-Wave Selective Soldering
Presenter: Joseph Clure, KurtzERSA Inc
Co-Authors: Thomas Shoaf, David Miller, KurtzERSA Inc

9:00am-9:30am
Comparative Evaluation of Eutectic and Non-Eutectic Lead-Free Alloy Behavior in Hand Soldering Applications
Presenter: Gayle Towell, AIM Solder
Co-Authors: Kevin Pigeon, Lauren Porto, Leo Lambert, Marcia McLaughlin

9:30am-10:00am
Shelf-Life Study of Near-Chip Connectors on PCB and in Tape and Reel
Presenters: Christine Taylor, Ph.D., IBM Corporation & Tony Sass, IBM Corporation

10:00am-10:30am
Meeting the Challenges of Proper Tinning Today
Presenter: Brian Watson, Ph.D., HyRel Technologies
Co-Authors: John Kerr, Scott Baker, HyRel Technologies

Speakers

Joseph Clure

Head of Application and Demo Centers, KurtzERSA Inc

Joseph Clure is currently the Head of the Applications and Demo Center at KurtzERSA Inc. based at the company’s North American Head Quarters in Plymouth, Wisconsin. He has worked in the Soldering Industry for over 25 years holding the positions of Site Process Engineer, Regional... Read More →

Christine Taylor

Quality Engineer, IBM Corporation

Christine Taylor is an Interconnect Quality Engineer at IBM, supporting connector reliability for high‑performance computing system. She has experience spanning advanced packaging development, electronic materials characterization, and component qualification across research, development... Read More →

Tony Sass

Senior Technical Staff Member, IBM Corporation

Tony Sass is a Senior Technical Staff Member and interconnect qualification engineer based in North Carolina, with over two decades of experience in hardware engineering and product development. He has built a career specializing in interconnect technologies, reliability, and qualification... Read More →

Gayle Towell

Technical Marketing Lead, AIM Solder

As Technical Marketing Lead for AIM Solder, Gayle Towell serves as a critical bridge between the company’s technical, commercial, and industry engagement functions. She combines deep technical expertise with strategic communication and public-facing research initiatives to align... Read More →

Brian Watson

Managing Parter, HyRel Technologies

Brian has been involved in the Industry for over 30 years. He started MRB in 1998 as an electronic packaging recycler for all of Motorola Chicagoland facilities, selling that to ITW Electronics in 1999. He then founded TSR, doing Tape & Reel packaging for AVX. In 2001, he founded... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 8:30am - 10:30am CDT
MFX

Conference Session, MFX Track

9:00am CDT

RHE8: Harsh Use Conditions

Thursday October 29, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am CDT

RHE

Session Chair:
Session Co-Chair:

9:00am-9:30am
Electromigration Behavior of Solder Joints as a Function of Current Density and Joint Temperature
Presenter: Nithin Lakshminarayan, Universal Instruments Corporation
Co-Authors: Michael Meilunas, Universal Instruments Corporation; Martin Anselm, Ph.D., Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)

9:30am-10:00am
Advanced Packaging Qualification for Harsh Environments
Presenter: Gilad Nave, Ph.D., SLB
Co-Authors: Masahiro, Tsuriya, iNEMI; David Locker, US Army

10:00am-10:30am
Atomic Layer Deposition/Parylene Conformal Nanocoatings
Presenter: Rakesh Kumar, Ph.D., Specialty Coating Systems, Inc.

Speakers

Nithin Lakshminarayan

SMT Lab Engineer, Universal Instruments Corporation

Nithin Lakshminarayan is an SMT Lab Engineer II at Universal Instruments’ Advanced Process Lab, where he specializes in the process optimization, thermomechanical reliability, and failure analysis of advanced electronic interconnects. He holds an M.S. in Manufacturing and Mechanical... Read More →

Gilad Nave

Material and Process Engineer, SLB

Gilad holds a PhD from the University of Maryland, with research conducted at the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE), where his work focused on high‑temperature Pb‑free solder systems and transient liquid phase sintering (TLPS) materials, including microstructural... Read More →

Rakesh Kumar

Vice President of Technology, Specialty Coating Systems, Inc.

Dr. Rakesh Kumar is currently the V.P. of Technology for Specialty Coating Systems, Inc., where he leads the R&D group and manages Parylene, Plasma CVD and ALD coatings R&D activities worldwide. He has more than 34 years of extensive experience in advanced polymeric materials and... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 9:00am - 10:30am CDT
RHE

Conference Session, RHE Track

11:00am CDT

RHE9: Factors Affected Thermal Cycling Performance

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm CDT

RHE

Session Chair:
Session Co-Chair:

11:00am-11:30am
Ball Grid Array Footprint Impacts on Reliability
Presenter: William Fox, Lockheed Martin
Co-Author: Ben Gumpert, Lockheed Martin

11:30am-12:00pm
Effects of Thermal Cycling on Electromigration Life of SnAgCu Solder Joints
Presenter: Anola Semndili, Binghamton University
Co-Authors: Sai Kiran Reddy Munnangi, Sitaram Panta, Eric Cotts, Ph.D., Peter Borgesen, Binghamton University

Speakers

William Fox

LM Fellow, Lockheed Martin

William Fox is a materials engineer specializing in failure analysis and laboratory operations. He earned a B.S. in Materials Science & Engineering from Purdue University and an M.S. in Materials Engineering from the University of Dayton. He has published papers in Journal of Nanomaterials... Read More →

Anola Semndili

Research Aide, Binghamton University

Anola Semndili is a third year Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering at Binghamton University., Hher current research is on solder joint reliability including regular, high reliability and low temperature alloys under accelerated testing conditions of electromigration... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:00am - 12:00pm CDT
RHE

Conference Session, RHE Track

11:00am CDT

MFX11: Unique Processes for Assembly 2

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm CDT

MFX

Session Chair:
Session Co-Chair:

11:00am-11:30am
SMT Defects Bringing you Down? We’ve Got Solution
Presenters: Tony Lentz, FCT Solder & Greg Smith, StenTech, Inc

11:30am-12:00pm
The challenge and solution for Automation of Straddle Mount Connector Assembly in Card Assembly
Presenter: Wayne Zhang, IBM Corporation
Co-Authors: Theron Lewis, Robin Hou, Andrew Chong, Alex Chan, Kenny Chew, Venothraaj Rajandran, Ridwan Muhamad, Chin Kar Heng, William Chong Sook Kean, Mustaza Abdul Malik, Muhammad Syahmi Shafidin, Mohd Nasrul Ismail, Thinagaran Selvan, Vijia Nant, IBM Corporation

12:00pm-12:30pm
How Heavy Copper Designs Influence Through‑Hole Barrel Fill
Presenter: Mei Ming Khaw, Keysight Technologies
Co-Author: Xi Lin, Por, Keysight Technologies

Speakers

Tony Lentz

Chemist & Field Application, FCT Solder

Tony Lentz worked as a PCB manufacturing engineer from 1994-1999, and a lab manager from 1999-2012. Since 2013, he has worked in R&D and field application for FCT Solder. Tony is the vice-chair of the IPC JSTD-005 task group and chair-emeritus of the IPC J-STD-004 task group. Tony... Read More →

Greg Smith

Technology Director, StenTech, Inc

Greg Smith has worked in the electronics industry since 1989. He owned a stencil manufacturing company for 23 years prior to joining BlueRing Stencils which has now merged with Stentech. He is currently the Technology Director for Stentech. Greg writes and presents white papers, works... Read More →

Wayne Zhang

Supply Chain Engineer, IBM Corporation

Wayne Zhang is a Supply Chain Engineer with ECAT Interconnect Technology at IBM Corporation. He currently works as a Qualification Engineer, focusing on reliability assessments for medium- to high-complexity server applications. In this role, Wayne ensures that server technologies... Read More →

Mei Ming Khaw

Material Reliability Program Manager, Keysight Technologies

Khaw Mei Ming holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Computer Engineering and has 29 years of experience in the EMS and OEM industries. She has presented several technical papers at international conferences on topics ranging from PCB materials to PCA manufacturing processes... Read More →

Thursday October 29, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm CDT
MFX

Conference Session, MFX Track

8:30am CDT

9:00am CDT

11:00am CDT

11:00am CDT

Get help with the event