Doctoral student awarded prestigious educational grant
Published: Dec 5, 2023 3:15 PM
By Carla Nelson
Qais Qasaimeh, an Auburn University doctoral student studying industrial and systems engineering, was recently awarded the 2023 Surface Mount Technology Association’s (SMTA) Charles Hutchins Educational Grant. SMTA is an international network of professionals in the field of electronics manufacturing.
The Hutchins Grant, an $8,000 award, has been awarded annually since 1998 to a graduate-level student pursuing a degree and working on thesis research in electronics manufacturing, electronics packaging or a related field. Qasaimeh’s research focuses on evaluating lead-free solders’ performance and reliability and adopting physics-informed, machine-learning models in electronics manufacturing. The SMTA Grant Committee selected Qasaimeh based on his research project entitled “Data Analysis Application in Evaluating the Reliability of Electronic Assemblies,” supervised by Peter Liu, an assistant professor in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISE).
With the continuous advancements in science and technology, electronic devices are now expected to deliver high performance, multiple functions and smaller sizes. This presents a notable challenge in ensuring the reliability of electronic devices. Also, as these devices find increased use in critical safety applications, there is a pressing need to comprehensively examine the thermomechanical reliability of solder joints in electronic packaging assemblies.
“As a result, predicting the reliability of solder joints has become an increasingly vital concern,” Qasaimeh said. “In general, we need an accurate, fast and reliable prediction model for the lifespan of electronic products.”
Many conventional models have been developed to accurately evaluate the reliability and describe the failure mechanism of the solder joints. However, a lot of these models are time-consuming and costly, leading to prolonged solder materials development and impeding design optimization. Also, most analytical models are generally regarded as imprecise and prone to overestimating the reliability of solder joints.
“Recently, machine learning (ML) has shown promise in predicting the reliability of electronic products,” Qasaimeh explained. “ML has been used for reliability assessment by integrating experimental data and offering reliable life predictions for solder materials. Researchers have started to leverage ML methods with experimental data to predict solder. Consequently, in my research, we are trying to utilize ML models to predict the solder joint life and evaluate the reliability of electronic packages due to their convenience of bypassing the complex physics of solder joint structure.”
Qasaimeh earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Jordan University of Science and Technology in 2016. He earned a master’s degree in nuclear engineering from the National Research Nuclear University in Russia in 2019 as a part of a national project to build the first nuclear reactor in Jordan to produce electrical energy. He then earned a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Auburn in 2022.
Qasaimeh has been passionate about pursuing a career in engineering since high school, inspired by his parents and teachers. He has also had a fascination with electricity and its impact on our world. Pursuing a doctoral degree has been a lifelong dream, and Qasaimeh is thrilled to pursue this dream through ISE.
“The ISE department is the right place to help me grow as an academic and researcher simultaneously, as it has a group of professors and researchers who can help prepare a new generation of talented engineers,” he said. “Moreover, the facilities and labs at the department can enhance future researchers’ abilities and intellectual skills with all the advancements in the technology we are currently exposed to in all aspects of our lives. I think ISE at Auburn is the right place for me to improve my technical skills and enhance my research and academic abilities, which will help me find the perfect career.”
The Charles Hutchins Educational Grant is awarded in memory of Charles Hutchins, past president of the SMTA, educator and distinguished industry leader. Qasaimeh said it was an honor to receive the grant.
“I sincerely thank the SMTA and the grant committee members for considering me for this prestigious recognition,” he said. “The significance of this award has invigorated my determination and dedication to persistently advance my work in researching electronic assemblies’ reliability.”
Media Contact: , carla@auburn.edu, 3348441404
Qais Qasaimeh, an Auburn University doctoral student studying industrial and systems engineering, was recently awarded the 2023 Surface Mount Technology Association’s (SMTA) Charles Hutchins Educational Grant.
