2004 - JOHN W. BALDE wins IEEE CPMT Field Award

Jack (John) Balde, a Senior Consultant of Interconnection Decision Consulting -- Flemington, NJ won the IEEE CPMT Field Award in May 2004.

"For lifetime contributions to tantalum film technology and the introduction of new electronic packaging technology to development and manufacturing."

This IEEE CPMT Award was established in 2002.

The award is presented for meritorious contributions to the advancement of components, electronic packaging or manufacturing technologies.

The technical field for this award includes all aspects of device and systems packaging including packaging of microelectronics, optoelectronics, RF and wireless and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).

This award may be presented to an individual or a team of not more than three.

The award is administered by the Technical Field Awards Council of the IEEE Awards Board.

Prize items include a bronze medal, certificate and cash honorarium.

Prof. Leonard Schaper of the University of Arkansas, a long time colleague of Jack Balde, accepted the award at the June 3rd Society Luncheon held at the ECTC conference. This setting was appropriate for the many years that Jack enriched this conference with his session and panel organization, his questioning of speakers, and his assembling of the right people to address the most important issues facing components and assembly. Prof. Schaper stressed in his acceptance speech that beyond the many individual technical contributions that Jack is given credit, his biggest mark on industry was his natural ability to be the catalyst applied to the looming problems. He would handpick expert speakers that had part of the solution and manufacturers in search of a complete solution and get them to fully engage at some remotely located workshop. He could keep the discussion going at a high pitch without a breakdown in civility. For example, much of the quick progress of surface mount and Multi-chip Modules can be traced to rump sessions guided by Jack Balde.

The following is the text given out at the CPMT luncheon describing Jack Balde's life of contribution:

During his almost 40-year tenure at Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric company in both the Princeton, New Jersey and Winston-Salem, North Corolina facilities, John W. (Jack) Balde contributed significantly in the areas of tantalum film hybrids, under-carpet cable technology, and the introduction of advanced interconnect technology to the Bell System. Under-carpet cable technology later became a major product line for Thomas & Betts Corporation in Memphis, Tennessee.

A pioneering promoter of industry synergy, Mr. Balde spearheaded the globalization of multichip module (MCM) and advanced interconnect technology, most notably through founding the annual Denver MCM Conference in 1990, his Adanced Technology Workshops for the International Microelectronics and Packaging Society (IMAPS), his leadership of the IEEE computer and the IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology (CPMT) Societies' joint Technical Committee on Systems Packaging (TCCP), and numerous publications. As surface mount technology began to emerge, Mr. Balde initiated a multi-company task group effort that was instrumental in the adoption of compliant lead packaging. His work with regard to non-hermetic packaged semiconductor devices result in the "use COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) not custom parts" drives by the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy; cost savings at Sandia National Laboratories alone are estimated at $1 million per year.

Born on 4 March 1923 in Brooklyn, New York, John W. Balde earned a bachelor of electrical engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, in 1943. He joined Western Electric in 1943 and served as research leader at Bell Laboratories and Western Electric from 1946 to 1980. In 1981, he founded Interconnection Decision Consulting in Flemington, New Jersey, where he was a senior consultant at the time of his passing on 8 September 2003.

An IEEE Life Fellow and a Fellow and Life Member of IMAPS, Mr. Balde wrote 130 technical articles, published a number of IEEE and IMAPS books--including the IEEE bestseller Multichip Modules--and held 16 patents. His awards include the IEEE Third Millennium Medal, the International Packaging Consortium's President's Award, the IMAPS Hughes Award for excellence in electronic packaging, and the IMAPS/IEEE Founders joint award for establishing the Denver MCM Conference. Mr. Balde was the chairman of several task forces on chip carriers and corrosion protection of silicon circuits. During his tenure on the TCCP, he led the establishment of international workshops that remain a cornerstone of both the IEEE Computer and IEEE CPMT Societies' technical activities.