College Park, MD - The Computer Aided Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) Electronic Products and Systems Center (EPSC) of the University of Maryland recently became the first academic research organization to be awarded ISO 9001 Certification. CALCE was founded in 1984 to provide a technical knowledge and resource base to guide the development of competitive electronic products and systems. With over $30 million of engineering research performed over the last ten years, CALCE is one of the most successful academic-industrial partnerships in the world today. As part of the worldwide quality revolution, the establishment of a quality system and the award of ISO 9001 certification highlights CALCE’s continuing effort to provide a culture of research and educational excellence.

CALCE consists of an educational unit, a research unit and two consortia of the world's leading electronics companies. As an educational unit, a large number of MS and Ph.D. students graduate each year, and faculty conduct university and industry courses, and contribute annually to growing body of fundamental knowledge in their respective areas of expertise. The CALCE Electronic Products and Systems Consortium consists of over 40 organizations, all dedicated to improving the reliability and quality of electronic products and systems. The focus of the second consortium, the Electronic Components (CADMP) Alliance, is to advance the reliability assessment and risk management of electronic components used in electronic products and systems.

CALCE EPSC research topics cover physics-of-failure, failure analysis techniques, virtual and accelerated test methods, parts selection and management, supplier assessment, and effective screening methods. This knowledge has led CALCE to be involved in: benchmarking companies such as Nortel, Lucas Aerospace and Microsoft, assessing lead-free solders, developing two IEEE reliability standards, developing an international parts selection standard, and assessing next generation technologies, such as direct chip attach, chip on board, and CSPs. CALCE’s physics of failure (PoF) software and methods have had abundant returns on investment. For example, PoF software has saved over $80 million in U.S. military programs, several million dollars on Westinghouse radar systems, over a million dollars on an AlliedSignal engine control module, and similar amounts on other military and commercial programs. When the CALCE approach was used on a particular General Motors product, they reduced development time by over 10% and increased first-pass success by over 60%. Numerous commercial suppliers are now working with the CALCE EPSC to qualify new technologies, demonstrate reliability of new hardware, and trouble-shoot existing warranty returns and field failures.

The ISO 9001 process was initiated at the CALCE EPSC as an experiment. CALCE Director, Professor Michael Pecht noted that "Since industry has been successful in improving the quality of their processes by adapting to ISO 9001, why not academic R&D?" The process took a little over a year to develop and implement. The ISO certification process increased communications, focused greater attention on the customers (students and sponsors), and formalized the development and advancement of research roadmaps based on customer perspectives and feedback. End results include the increased attention to innovative long-term research programs, "industry ready" students, and higher customer confidence.