Reading time ( words)

On November 18, the Orange County Chapter of the IPC Designers Council held a “Lunch ‘n’ Learn” event at the Harvard Park Community Center in Irvine, California. The meeting enjoyed record-breaking attendance for the Irvine-based meeting. Eighty-nine PCB designers and electronics industry professionals gathered to listen to a talk by Chris Heard, a signal integrity engineering consultant at CSH Consulting LLC.
The topic: PCB Routing Guidelines for Signal Integrity and Power Integrity, too. Due to increasing speed, complexity and miniaturization of circuits, this theme appealed to this broad group of design professionals. Heard offered very granular, detailed design guidelines based on his extensive work and exposure to signal integrity and power issues.
Scott McCurdy, the director of sales and marketing for Freedom CAD Services, has been the Orange County chapter president for 12 years, and in that time he’s created the largest Designer’s Council chapter in the country. Scott has been committed to supporting the design and electronics community in Orange County for over 40 years, and his tenure as Designers Council president has been an important part of his role in our local marketplace.
After the meeting, I spent some time with McCurdy and learned more about his career path and journey within the industry. I also had the privilege to listen (and take notes) as he openly shared his “playbook” on how to build a successful Designers Council chapter.
“It’s a simple recipe that is easy to emulate—and one that I am eager to share,” said McCurdy. “You just need the right person who will implement it, and be willing and able to invest a little bit of time. I promise, it’s not rocket science!”
Watch for my full-length article in the December issue of The PCB Design Magazine in which I share all I learned about Scott McCurdy and the full details of his Designers Council “playbook.”
For more information about the IPC Designers Council, including guidelines for starting your own chapter, click here.
Judy Warner is director of business development for the Western Region and RF/microwave markets for Zentech Manufacturing.