SMTA International 2026: Full Schedule

8:30am CDT

Tuesday October 27, 2026 8:30am - 10:00am CDT

Session Chair:
Session Co-Chair:

8:30am-9:00am
The Effect of Component Construction and Microstructure on the Thermal Cycling Performance of Reverse Hybrid Ball Grid Array Assemblies
Presenter: Richard Coyle, Ph.D., Nokia Bell Labs
Co-Authors: See paper for full co-author listing

9:00am-9:30am
Microstructure Evolution and Failure Mechanisms in High Performance Solder Alloys During Harsh Thermal Cycling
Presenter: Chris Gourlay, Ph.D., Imperial College London

9:30am-10:00am
A New Approach to the Design of Lead-Free Solder Alloys
Presenter: Keith Sweatman, P.E., Nihon Superior Co., Ltd
Co-Authors: Kazuhiro Nogita, University of Queensland, Australia; Tetsuro Nishimura, Nihon Superior Co., Ltd

Speakers

Richard Coyle

Consulting Member of the Technical Staff, Nokia Bell Labs

Richard Coyle is a Consulting Member of the Technical Staff in the Reliability Engineering organization at Nokia in Murray Hill, NJ. He is responsible for evaluating the reliability and quality of electronic assemblies in the Bell Labs Interconnection Failure Analysis Lab. Richard... Read More →

Chris Gourlay

Professor of Physical Metallurgy, Imperial College London

Chris is a Professor of Physical Metallurgy in the Department of Materials at Imperial College London. His group studies the origins of microstructure in phase transformations and microstructure stability. In recent years, research in the group has targeted understanding and controlling... Read More →

Keith Sweatman

Senior Technical Advisor, Nihon Superior Co., Ltd

Australia-based Keith Sweatman is a graduate in metallurgical engineering who, in technical and management roles with the International Tin Research Institute, Multicore Solders, and most recently Nihon Superior Co. Ltd, has accumulated 50 years’ experience in the electronics manufacturing... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 8:30am - 10:00am CDT
RHE

Conference Session, RHE Track

10:30am CDT

RHE2: Alloying Effects on Performance

Tuesday October 27, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm CDT

RHE

Session Chair:
Session Co-Chair:

10:30am-11:00am
Revisiting Silver-Content in Lead-Free Alloys: Reliability of Low-Cost Alternatives to SAC305 in Modern Electronics Assembly
Presenter: Anna Lifton, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions
Co-Authors: Kennedy Fox, Suraj Saifullah, Ebad Rehman, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions

11:00am-11:30am
Effect of Bismuth and Antimony Additions on the Shear Properties of ENIG-Finished SAC Individual Solder Joints
Presenter: Waad Tarman, Auburn University
Co-Authors: John Evans, Ph.D., Auburn University; Sa'd Hamasha, Ph.D., Binghamton University

11:30am-12:00pm
A Comparative Study of Mechanical Behavior of Next Generation Lead-Free Solder Alloys
Presenter: Pritha Choudhury, Ph.D., MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.
Co-Authors: Anil Kumar, Lijia Xie, Sean Yenyu Lai, Ganesh Subbarayan, John Blendell, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions

Speakers

Anna Lifton

Director R&D Application -Circuit Board Assembly, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions

Anna Lifton is R&D Director at Macdermid Alpha Assembly Solutions, overseeing Application, Reliability, and Failure Analysis for the Circuit Board Assemblies business unit. With a Bachelor's degree from Moscow Steel and Alloys Institute, Russia, and a Master's degree in Material Science... Read More →

Waad Tarman

Ph.D. Candidate, Auburn University

Waad Tarman is a Ph.D. candidate in Industrial and Systems Engineering at Auburn University. Her research focuses on the mechanical and microstructural reliability of lead-free solder joints in electronic assemblies, with an emphasis on solder alloy composition, thermal aging, surface... Read More →

Pritha Choudhury

Principal R&D Scientist, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions India Pvt. Ltd.

Pritha Choudhury is a Principal R&D Scientist with MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions (MAES), Bangalore, India. She has a Ph.D. in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, India. She has been working for MAES since 2011. Her... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 10:30am - 12:00pm CDT
RHE

Conference Session, RHE Track

1:00pm CDT

RHE3: Conformal Coating and Reliability 1

Tuesday October 27, 2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm CDT

RHE

Session Chair:
Session Co-Chair:

1:00pm-1:30pm
Effect of Standoff Height, Pitch, and Component Type on Conformal Coating Ingress and Solder Joint Reliability in BGA and BTC Assemblies
Presenter: Suraj Saifullah, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions
Co-Authors: Kennedy Fox, Anna Lifton, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions

1:30pm-2:00pm
Conformal Coating Reliability for Harsh Environments
Presenter: Jayse McLean, John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group

2:00pm-2:30pm
Active Condensation Exposure and the Reliability of Solvent-Free Conformal Coatings
Presenter: Andrea Charif, Ph.D., Henkel Corporation
Co-Authors: Rita Mohanty, Alejandro Sanchez, Henkel Corporation

2:30pm-3:00pm
The Impact of Conformal Coating on the Reliability of Solder Interconnects
Presenter: Michael Osterman, Ph.D., CALCE/University of Maryland

Speakers

Jayse McLean

Senior Engineer, John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group

Jayse is a senior engineer in the advanced engineering group as a part of the overall John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group. He has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from North Dakota State University. He has worked at Deere for 7 years and during... Read More →

Suraj Saifullah

Application Engineer, MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions

Suraj Saifullah has worked at MacDermid Alpha Electronics Solutions for two years as an application engineer. He holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Columbia University and a bachelor’s in chemistry from Case Western Reserve University. His research focuses on... Read More →

Andrea Charif

Lead Application Engineer, Henkel Corporation

Andrea Charif, Ph.D., is a polymer scientist with over 10 years of experience delivering high-performance solutions in application development for materials across the automotive and electronics industries. Her expertise centers on material selection, testing, and implementation to... Read More →

Michael Osterman

Research Scientist, CALCE/University of Maryland

Michael Osterman is a Research Scientist and the Operations Director for the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) at the University of Maryland. In addition, he leads the development of the calceSARA software for printed-board assembly-level reliability assessment... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 1:00pm - 3:00pm CDT
RHE

Conference Session, RHE Track

3:30pm CDT

RHE4: Conformal Coating and Reliability 2

Tuesday October 27, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm CDT

RHE

Session Chair:
Session Co-Chair:

3:30pm-4:00pm
How to Know If Your Conformal Coating Process is Good or Not
Presenter: Jason Keeping, P.E., Celestica

4:00pm-4:30pm
Defects in Conformal Coating
Presenter: Doug Pauls, ItDepends Electronics LLC
Co-Author: Deb Vorwald, Collins Aerospace

4:30pm-5:00pm
BGA Solder Joint Solder Joint Reliability Degradation From Incorrect Conformal Coating Processes
Presenter: David Hillman, Hillman EAS LLC
Co-Author: Ross Wilcoxon, Collins Aerospace

Speakers

Jason Keeping

Staff Engineer, Celestica Inc.

Jason Keeping is the Global Process Subject Matter Expert for Ruggedized Electronics at Celestica. He holds a B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, is a Six Sigma/Lean Professional, and a licensed professional engineer. With more than 15 years of experience, Jason specializes in conformal... Read More →

Doug Pauls

Sr. Technical Fellow, ItDepends Electronics LLC

Doug is a Material Scientist with degrees in Chemistry, Physics and Electrical Engineering.He worked 9 years for the Navy, 8 years as Technical Director of Contamination Studies Labs, and 24 years at Rockwell Collins (now Collins Aerospace), in the Advanced Operations Engineering... Read More →

David Hillman

Founder / CEO, Hillman EAS LLC

David D. Hillman was a Metallurgical Engineer in the Advanced Operations Engineering Department of Rockwell Collins/Collins Aerospace in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Mr. Hillman graduated from Iowa State University with a B.S. (1984) and M.S. (2001) in Material Science & Engineering. In his... Read More →

Tuesday October 27, 2026 3:30pm - 5:00pm CDT
RHE

Conference Session, RHE Track

5:00pm CDT

RHE Town Hall: The Impact of Conformal Coating on Reliability

Tuesday October 27, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT

RHE

Join SMTA for a Town Hall open to all attendees, featuring an engaging and interactive discussion on conformal coating and its impact on solder joint reliability.

The Town Hall will immediately follow the Reliability, Harsh Environment (RHE) technical session on conformal coating, which provides important background and context for the discussion.

This attendee-driven forum welcomes a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and opinions. Audience questions and comments will shape the discussion, creating a dynamic exchange of ideas on one of the industry's most relevant and debated topics.

Please submit questions in advance to: [email protected]

Speakers

Richard Coyle

Consulting Member of the Technical Staff, Nokia Bell Labs

David Hillman

Founder / CEO, Hillman EAS LLC

Tuesday October 27, 2026 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
RHE

Conference Session, RHE Track

11:00am CDT

RHE5: Mechanical Testing and Interconnect Reliability

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm CDT

RHE

Session Chair:
Session Co-Chair:

11:00am-11:30am
Sinusoidal Vibration Testing of Wafer Level Chip Scale Packages
Presenter: Jayse McLean, John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group

11:30am-12:00pm
High Density Connector Solder Joint Producibility and Reliability Evaluation for Military & Aerospace Environments
Presenter: Jacob Weber & Daphne Gates, Collins Aerospace
Co-Authors: Kimera Cho, Colette Anctil, John Halverson, Tim Pearson, Ross Wilcoxon, Collins Aerospace

12:00pm-12:30pm
Improving the Mechanical Reliability of a SAC305 Solder Joint by Using Different SAC Solder Pastes and Additional Doping Elements
Presenter: George Winstead, Ph.D., Technology Service Corporation
Co-Authors: Sa’d Hamasha, Ph.D., John Evans, Ph.D., Auburn University

Speakers

Jayse McLean

Senior Engineer, John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group

Jacob Weber

Senior Mechanical Engineer, Collins Aerospace

Jacob is a Senior Mechanical Engineer in the Microelectronics Department of Applied Research & Technology at Collins Aerospace (An RTX Company) in Cedar Rapids, IA. He is involved with evaluating commercial off the shelf (COTS) and custom components for thermal cycle reliability and... Read More →

Daphne Gates

Mechanical Engineer, Collins Aerospace

Daphne Gates is a Mechanical Engineer in the Microelectronics Department of Applied Research & Technology at Collins Aerospace (An RTX Company) in Cedar Rapids, IA. She has a B.S. in Materials Engineering from Iowa State University and has been in her current position for 6 years... Read More →

George Winstead

Senior Systems Engineer, Technology Service Corporation

George K. Winstead serves as a Senior Systems Engineer at Leidos at Huntsville, AL. He spent the last 22+ years working in military defense as a mechanical engineer, systems engineer, IPT lead, and chief engineer for Leidos and Northrop Grumman. His work covers designing and developing... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 11:00am - 12:30pm CDT
RHE

Conference Session, RHE Track

2:00pm CDT

RHE6: Predictive Modeling

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:00pm - 4:00pm CDT

RHE

Session Chair:
Session Co-Chair:

2:00pm-2:30pm
A Metamodel for Screening Solder Fatigue Life of BGA Joints with Voids
Presenter: Arvind Purushotaman, Synopsys
Co-Author: Josh Akman, Synopsys

2:30pm-3:00pm
Comparison of Analytical Thermomechanical Modeling and Finite Element Analysis for Lead-Free Wafer-Level Packages Subjected to Temperature Cycling
Presenter: Jean-Baptiste Libot, Ph.D., Hooke Electronics
Co-Author: Philippe Milesi, Hooke Electronics

3:00pm-3:30pm
Simulating Reflow Deformation on Highly Complex Printed Circuit Board Designs
Presenter: Tyler Ferris, Ansys

3:30pm-4:00pm
Mission Planning and Digital Twin Workflow for Thermo-Mechanical Solder Fatigue Prediction of Electronics
Presenter: Josh Akman, Synopsis
Co-Authors: Mina Karimaghaei, Ian Pond, Synopsys

Speakers

Arvind Purushotaman

R&D Engineering, Staff Engineer, Synopsys

–R&D Engineer, Synopsys Inc.–Have been developing Ansys Sherlock™ since 2020.–Focus is on developing analytical and finite element models and workflows for predicting board level reliability for electronics.

Jean-Baptiste Libot

Electronic Assembly Expert, Hooke Electronics

Dr. Jean-Baptiste Libot is an Electronic Assembly Expert with over 12 years of experience in the aerospace and defense industry. He began his career at Airbus Group, where he worked as a visiting researcher at the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE). He then joined... Read More →

Tyler Ferris

Sr Staff Consultant, Ansys, Part of Synopsys

Tyler Ferris is a Senior Staff Consultant at Synopsys focusing on electronics reliability simulation. He is an expert in the use of reliability physics, finite element analysis and hands-on laboratory failure analysis. Tyler has consulted with customers in the aerospace, automotive... Read More →

Josh Akman

Senior Staff Engineer, Synopsys

Josh Akman is a Senior Application Engineer at Synopsys. His background is in electronics reliability with a focus on simulation and physics-of-failure methodologies. Josh also has experience with reliability testing and failure analysis of electronics. Josh holds a bachelor’s degree... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 2:00pm - 4:00pm CDT
RHE

Conference Session, RHE Track

4:30pm CDT

RHE7: Lead-Free Solder Evolution

Wednesday October 28, 2026 4:30pm - 6:00pm CDT

RHE

Session Chair:
Session Co-Chair:

4:30pm-5:00pm
RoHS: Twenty Years Later
Presenter: Ronald Lasky, Ph.D., P.E., Indium Corporation

5:00pm-5:30pm
A Review on Impact of Isothermal Aging on Thermal Cycling Reliability of Ball Grid Array Packages Assembled Using SAC Lead-Free Solder Alloy
Presenter: Anto Raj, Ph.D., Medtronic
Co-Author: Richard Coyle, Ph.D., Nokia Bell Labs

5:30pm-6:00pm
Impact of Surface Finish on Voiding in Mixed Alloy Solder Paste Systems
Presenter: Thuy Nguyen, Indium Corporation
Co-Authors: Hongwen Zhang, Ph.D., Adam Murling, Ronald Lasky, Ph.D., P.E.,Indium Corporation

Speakers

Ronald Lasky

Senior Technologist, Indium Corporation

Ronald C. Lasky, Ph.D., P.E. Ron is currently an Instructional Professor at Dartmouth College, a Senior Technologist at Indium Corporation and a Consultant with ITM. Prior to these assignments, he had over thirty years experience in electronic and optoelectronic packaging and assembly... Read More →

Anto Raj

Sr Reliability Engineer, Medtronic

Anto Raj received the B.Eng. degree in electronics and communications engineering from Anna University, Chennai, India, in 2011, and the M.I.S.E. and Ph.D. degrees in industrial and systems engineering from Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA, in 2015 and 2019, respectively. From 2020... Read More →

Thuy Nguyen

Technical Support Engineer II, Indium Corporation

Thuy Nguyen is a Technical Support Engineer II at Indium Corporation, where she provides advanced soldering process support to customers across the Southwest and Rocky Mountains region. With over a decade of experience spanning Quality, Research and Development, and Manufacturing... Read More →

Wednesday October 28, 2026 4:30pm - 6:00pm CDT
RHE

Conference Session, RHE 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

8:30am CDT

10:30am CDT

1:00pm CDT

3:30pm CDT

5:00pm CDT

11:00am CDT

2:00pm CDT

4:30pm CDT

9:00am CDT

11:00am CDT

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