With double-digit increases in pre-registrations, IPC APEX Expo™ will be bustling with more attendees, more than 300 exhibitors and more ways to discover the latest in electronics manufacturing, including six free educational forums taking place on the show floor. Panels of experts on topics from test and inspection to new opportunities in photovoltaics will share their insights into successfully navigating some of the industry's challenges, as well as burgeoning markets. The IPC Free Forums will be held April 6-8, 2010, at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

On Tuesday, April 6, the "Test & Inspection Summit" free forum, 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., will feature Heiko Ehrenberg, GOEPEL Electronics LLC; Chad Hankinson, Everett Charles Technologies; David Levine, Seica, Inc.; Jack Rozwat, Agilent Technologies; and Frank Silva, FocalSpot, Inc. This senior-level panel will discuss the latest test challenges, as well as the technologies that are emerging to deal with them, including JTAG/boundary-scan test and vectorless test techniques.

In the "Military Roadmap" forum, 3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m., members of the IPC Printed Circuit Board Executive Agent Task Force will provide PCB manufacturers will invaluable insight into the challenges that printed board designs and materials will need to overcome to meet future Department of Defense (DoD) and OEM needs. Task force members Steve Lach, Merix Corporation; Al Wasserzug, Vulcan Flex Circuit Corporation; George Trinite, Sanmina-SCI; and Rajesh Kumar, DDi Corporation will discuss how the roadmap will match technology capability with product performance requirements, and sustain and build upon a North American printed board industry capable of supporting DoD needs and ensuring national security. All attendees are invited to participate and provide their input.

On Wednesday, the free forums begin shortly after the show floor opens, kicking off at 10:30 with "Solar Panels: New Opportunities for Electronics." Dongkai Shangguan, Ph.D., Flextronics Corporate Technology Group, will join panelists Ryne Raffaelle, Ph.D., National Renewable Energy Lab; Bettina Weiss, SEMI International; and Alan Rae, Ph.D., TPF Enterprises LLC, to explain how electronics companies can ride the "green wave" to support solar power needs.

In the afternoon, Crystal Vanderpan and Greg Monty of Underwriters Laboratories Inc. will present "Changing Environment of Printed Circuit Board Technology and the Evolution of Safety," sharing details of UL's recent and ongoing PCB research, including possible changes in test methods, requirements and standards.

Wednesday will close with the "IPC Technology Roadmap" free forum, 3:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Jack Fisher, Interconnect Technology Analysis, Inc., Michael Weinhold, EIPC and Dieter Bergman, IPC, will discuss the critical information contained in the roadmap. Fisher will explain how the roadmap can be used to develop business and market strategies; Weinhold will discuss the use of the roadmap in Europe and the automotive industry; and Bergman will detail the new automated emulator tools provided with the roadmap to help in analyzing future product technical drivers.