Deadline for Abstract submissions is June 30, 2008! Don't miss your chance to participate in this premier event!

WHEN: September 9-10, 2008

LOCATION: Samuel Riggs Alumni Center, University of Maryland College Park, MD

SMTA and CALCE are pleased to announce that the 2nd Annual Symposium on Avoiding, Detecting, And Preventing Counterfeit Electronic Parts will be held on September 9-10, 2008 in University of Maryland College Park, MD.

A counterfeit electronic part is one whose identity (e.g., manufacturer, part number, date code, lot code) has been deliberately misrepresented. Counterfeit electronics have been reported in a wide range of products, including computers, telecommunications equipment, automobiles, avionics and military systems. Counterfeit electronics include everything from very inexpensive capacitors and resistors to costly microprocessors, completed assemblies and even systems.

Going beyond anecdotes and examples of counterfeit parts, this symposium focuses on the solutions that are available and are under development by all sectors of the industry. Topics will include

• Methodologies followed by effected industries to mitigate chances of being victims of counterfeit parts
• Efforts and initiatives – both domestic and international that will effect the future of combating counterfeit electronic parts
• Supply chain management tools to mitigate counterfeit part risks
• Tools being developed and used by part manufacturers for short and long term solutions for their customers and for brand protection
• Inspections tools and techniques for detecting counterfeit parts
• Impact of counterfeit parts on the military and avionics industry
• Sources of counterfeit parts
• Authentication techniques for securing electronic part supply chain

The conference is organized by SMTA in conjunction with Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) at the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA. This symposium will be valuable to supply chain managers, component engineers, brand protection specialists, marketing and procurement policy makers, contracts management, security specialists and other interested engineers. Our focus is to provide relevant information to the professionals that can be used for solving problems today while planning for a different business and technology environment in the future.

Please provide an abstract (within 300 words) on any relevant topics to Dr. Diganta Das via email to diganta@umd.edu no later than June 30, 2008. The presentations are due on August 16, 2008. Watch for additional symposium information at http://www.calce.umd.edu and at www.smta.org.