Conference Report: 24th International Spring Seminar on Electronics Technology (ISSE)

The ISSE is one of the best-kept secrets in microelectronics and packaging. An annual event in Central and Eastern Europe since 1977, it has only recently begun to develop a following from the West. The 24th ISSE on May 5-9th, 2001 in Calimanesti-Caciulata, Romania, was the first to run with CPMT technical co-sponsorship. There were twenty oral paper presentations, and fifty posters. Participants came from Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and the USA.

Although there are usually a few industrial papers, the vast majority are from university research groups, albeit often with industrial sponsors as co-authors. There are a few describing educational programs, but the vast majority are technical, with a very high proportion of papers presented by students at both the MS/Dipl.Ing. and PhD levels. Most of the papers are focussed on electronics packaging, (interconnect, manufacturing, reliability, simulation, and education.). The poster paper sessions include a very lively sequence of brief, timed summary presentations. "Best" and "excellent" paper awards are presented at the conference dinner in both oral and poster categories, with senior and junior divisions. The primary awards include prizes donated by the previous year's winners.

Local cultural visits are always a feature. This year the visits included:
· Sibiu, a city on the edge of Transylvania, and the Brukenthal Museum
· The Lotru-Vidra hydroelectric power station, with some unique features, and
· The Turnu and Cozia monasteries, close by the conference hotel.
The conference also hosts the annual business meeting of the joint Hungary-Romania CPMT Chapter, at which the new officers are elected.

The ISSE 2002 Conference Proceedings (ISBN 0-7803-7111-9, Library of Congress 2001-090155) may be obtained from IEEE (Catalog Number 01EX492.) The 25th ISSE will be held 11-14 May, 2002 in or near Prague in the Czech Republic; contact Pavel Mach of the Czech Technical University (mach@feld.cvut.cz) for information.

So what does it cost to attend a conference in such an interesting and exotic location, traveling from the USA? I found a fare for just under $500 from Newark, and the conference fee of just over $200 included the hotel for 5 nights and all meals. The conference sponsors provided transportation from the airport to the hotel, and there were no other hidden costs. So the answer to the question is: "Way less than for a similar domestic meeting! And so much more interesting!" See you in Prague.

---Jim Morris, CPMT Conference Vice President

Captions for photos:
1. Andrzej Dziedzic and Leszek Golonka (Wroclaw University of Technology) and Ryszard Kisiel (Warsaw University of Technology) are working on the establishment of the Polish CPMT Chapter.
2. At the annual business meeting or the joint Hungarian-Romanian CPMT Chapter (left to right): *Paul Svasta, Chair; *Andrei Drumea, Student Chapter Chair; Mihaela Radu (Technical University of Cluj-Napoca), Student Activities Chair; *Norocel-Dragos Codreanu, ISSE'01 Conference Director; Zsolt Illyefalvi-Vitez (Budapest University of Technology & Economics), Vice-Chair; *Ciprian Ionescu (behind), Treasurer. (*"Polytehnica" University of Bucharest)
3. Paper prize-winners at the conference dinner (left to right): Ioanna Armasu (Hyperion University, Bucharest) Excellent Poster; Andrei Drumea ("Polytehnica" University of Bucharest) Excellent Poster - Young Scientist; Ruszinko Micols accepting for Peter Bojta (Budapest University of Technology & Economics) Best Poster - Young Scientist; Norocel-Dragos Codreanu (Polytehnica" University of Bucharest) Excellent Poster; Mihaela Radu (Technical University of Cluj-Napoca) Best Poster; Angelika Paproth (Dresden University of Technology) Excellent Paper - Young Scientist; Heinz Wohlrabe (Dresden University of Technology) Best Paper; Martin Mundline (Vienna University of Technology) Best Paper - Young Scientist; Ciprian Ionescu ("Polytehnica" University of Bucharest) Excellent Paper.
4. Pavel Mach (Czech Technical University), Reinhard Bauer (University of Applied Sciences, Dresden), and Alena Pietrikova (Kosice University of Technology) during a break. Pavel will chair ISSE'02 in Prague.
5. Johann Nicolics (Vienna University of Technology), Angelika Paproth (Dresden University of Technology), and Jim Morris (CPMT Conferences VP) during a break.
6. Johann Nicolics (Vienna University of Technology) with Angelika Paproth and Klaus Wolter (Dresden University of Technology) during a break
7. Reinhard Bauer (University of Applied Sciences, Dresden) and Klaus Wolter (Dresden University of Technology) in Sibiu. Klaus will chair the next Academic Packaging Conference in Dresden, Germany.