Friday Invited Speakers

Lee Hughes is an assistant professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of North Texas.  He earned his Ph.D. in 1998 from UNT and has been employed by the department since 2000.  Dr. Hughes conducts research in microbiology and undergraduate science education.  He co-directs the HHMI-sponsored phage hunter laboratory course for freshman biology majors.

TITLE: Freshman Phage Hunters: Integrating a Research-based Experience into Freshman Biology for Majors

BRIEF ABSTRACT: The National Genomics Research Initiative (NGRI) is year-long, classroom-based research experience for university freshmen. The NGRI is the first initiative of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) Science Education Alliance (SEA). The University of North Texas (UNT) is one of 12 universities that joined the SEA in 2009. Students in the course each isolate and characterize a novel mycobacteriophage, as well as participate in the annotation of one student’s phage genome.

Dr. Puligandla Viswanadham recently retired from Nokia Research Center, Irving Texas as Principal Scientist and was involved in second level electronic packaging that included reworkable underfills, chip scale packaging, lead(Pb)- free solders and reliability investigations.  His current institutional affiliation is Mechanical and Aerospace engineering, University of Texas at ArlingtonTexas as an adjunct staff teaching Failure Modes and Mechanisms in Electronic Packages and Chip Scale packaging. He is also currently involved in the preparation of a book on the fundamentals and essentials of electronic packaging.

TITLE: Failure Analysis Strategies in Electronics Industry - Past, Present and Future

 Prior to joining Nokia he worked as Senior Member of the Technical Staff at Raytheon TI Systems and Texas Instruments and was involved in the Ball Grid Array and Chip Scale Package technology assembly development and implementation, and at IBM as an Advisory Scientist in Rochester MN, Endicott N.Y. and Austin Texas facilities. At IBM Viswanadham was involved in the process development and qualification of Surface laminar Circuitry, Assembly and Reliability of Fine Pitch Quad Flat Packs, Thin Small Outline Packages, Tape Automated Bonding, and Area Array technologies. Also, while at IBM Austin he was manager of site Analytical Laboratories during 1989-90. As a member of the Materials and Process Engineering group at IBM Rochester Viswanadham was involved in corrosion studies, analytical methods development, plating studies and contamination control. Prior to joining IBM, his research activities included high temperature chemistry and thermodynamics of binary and ternary chalcogenides, atomic absorption, slag-seed eqilibria in coal fired magneto-hydrodynamics energy generation, and astrophysics. During 1959-68 he worked as Senior Research Assistant at the Astrophysical Observatory and India Meteorological Department.

Viswanadham authored or co-authored well over 130 technical publications in journals, symposium proceedings and trade magazines. He is the co-author of the book titled Failure Modes and Mechanisms in Electronic Packages published by Chapman and Hall in 1998. He also authored or coauthored nine book chapters in the areas of microelectronic packaging, fine pitch surface mount technology, ball grid array technology, chip scale packaging, corrosion in microelectronics, reliability of portable electronics, etc. He received the First, Second and Third plateau IBM invention achievement awards for several of his patents and invention disclosures, and an IBM excellence award. He also received fourth level IBM Technical Author Recognition Award for his publications. During 1974-78 he was on the faculty of Ohio Dominican College Columbus, OH as Assistant Professor and taught chemistry, and physics.

Puligandla Viswanadham has a PhD degree in Chemistry from University of Toledo, Toledo,OH, an M.Sc., degree in chemistry from Saugor University, Saugor,India, and a B.Sc., degree in chemistry from Sri Venkateswara University,India.

He is a member of the Surface Mount Technology association and served as a member of Board of Directors, Technical Committee, and is currently on the journal review committee. He has given several professional development courses and tutorials at SMTA, IPC, and IMAPS technical conferences

Invited Speaker - Dr. Chris Gilpin, Department of Cell Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas. FOCUSED ION BEAM APPLICATIONS FOR BIOLOGICAL SPECIMENS.