2014 UMD Corporate Connector of the Year Announced

The University of Maryland announced today that the 2014 University of Maryland Corporate Connector of the Year Award recipient will be Dr. Michael Pecht and the UMD Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE). The UMD Corporate Connect Council annually recognizes a University of Maryland researcher, staff or unit that has achieved significant engagement with the private sector in corporate research, philanthropy, or student support.

Pecht will receive his award as part of the University’s Celebration of Innovation and Partnerships on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 at University House in College Park, Maryland. Pecht’s engagement with the private sector has played a large role in making UMD CALCE, headquartered at the College Park campus, the world’s largest manufacturing consortium in electronic parts reliability engineering, accelerated testing, and supply chain management. Over 150 corporations, federal labs, universities and leading international research centers are members.

In his role as UMD engineering professor, Pecht has authored leading textbooks in electronic product manufacturing in China, Japan and Korea. CALCE recently received a $750,000 gift from the Center for Automotive Safety for Pecht’s work on changing the awareness of electronics reliability and safety in automotive vehicles. The funds will be used to further research into electronic systems used in automobiles.

“Through rigorous research and testing, CALCE’s work has done much to improve both the safety and efficiency of consumer and business electronics in the U.S. and abroad,” said Brian Darmody, Corporate Connect Chair, and Associate Vice President for Corporate and Foundation Relations. “The Council is exceptionally proud to present our inaugural award to Dr. Pecht and CALCE.”

Pecht holds a BS in Acoustics, MS in Electrical Engineering, and an MS and PhD in Engineering Mechanics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He is a Professional Engineering, an IEEE Fellow, an ASME Fellow, an SAE Fellow and an IMAPS Fellow. Pecht is also a world renowned expert in strategic planning, design, test, Intellectual Property and risk assessment. He holds the George E. Dieter in mechanical engineering and is a professor in applied mathematics at the University of Maryland.

About UMD CALCE:
The Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) is recognized as a founder and driving force behind the development and implementation of physics-of-failure (PoF) approaches to reliability. CALCE is a world leader in accelerated testing, electronic parts selection and management, and supply-chain management. Being at the forefront of international standards development for critical electronic systems, CALCE has chaired the development of several reliability and part selection standards. The center includes over 100 faculty, staff and students, and in 1999, CALCE became the first academic research facility in the world to be ISO 9001 certified. Collectively, CALCE researchers have authored over 35 internationally acclaimed textbooks and over 1000 research publications applicable to electronics reliability. During the last 15 years, CALCE has invested over $75 million in developing methodologies, models, and' tools that address the design, manufacture, analysis, and management of electronic systems.

About the Corporate Connect Council:
The Corporate Connect Council is a university-wide collaboration that supports information sharing, partnerships and campus efforts to engage the private sector in support of research, philanthropy and scholarships funded by the private sector. Visit our One Stop Shop!

Published April 11, 2014