MINNEAPOLIS, MN - The SMTA is pleased to announce the Best Papers from SMTA International 2009. As speakers at SMTA International, individuals make contributions to the industry by sharing their research and findings. To reward exceptional achievement, $1,000 awards and plaques are given for the Best of Conference Presentation, Best of Proceedings Paper, and the Best International Paper.

The winner from SMTA International 2009 for Best of Conference is Paul Vianco, Ph.D., Sandia National Laboratories for his Opening Session presentation entitled "Pb-Free Solder and Beyond - Trends and Challenges 'A View from the Bottom'."

Jean-Paul Clech from EPSI Inc. and Gregory Henshall and Jian Miremadi from Hewlett-Packard Company won the Best of Proceedings category for their paper "Closed-Form, Strain-Energy Based Acceleration Factors for Thermal Cycling of Lead-Free Assemblies".

Heather McCormick and Jimmy Chow, Celestica Inc.; Lee Smith, Ahmer Syed, Corey Reichman, and CJ Berry, Amkor Technology, Inc. won the Best International Paper category for their paper entitled "Assembly and Reliability Assessment of Fine Pitch TMV Package on Package (PoP) Components."

The authors will formally be presented their awards on October 26, 2010 at the Opening Ceremony during SMTA International in Orlando, FL. For information on participating in the 2010 SMTA International Conference, visit the Call for Papers page at http://smta.org/smtai/call_for_papers.cfm, or contact SMTA administrator JoAnn Stromberg at 952-920-7682 or joann@smta.org. Abstracts can be uploaded directly on-line and will be accepted through March 5, 2010.

The papers are available in the conference proceedings available in the SMTA Bookstore at http://www.smta.org/store/book_store.cfm.