Technical Committee

 

Conference Chair: Diganta Das, Ph.D., CALCE/ University of Maryland

Dr. Diganta Das (Ph.D., University of Maryland, B.Tech, Indian Institute of Technology) is a Research Scientist at the Center for Advanced Life Cycle Engineering. His current research interests include electronic parts supply chain, counterfeit electronics avoidance and detection, light-emitting diode failure mechanisms, cooling systems in telecommunications infrastructure and their impact on reliability, and power electronics reliability. In addition, Dr. Das is involved in prognostics-based risk mitigation of electronics. Dr. Das has published more than 75 articles on these subjects and presented his research at international conferences and workshops.

He is the Founding Chair of the CALCE/SMTA Counterfeit Parts and Materials Symposium since 2007. He is chair of the SAE committee developing counterfeit assembly detection standards. He also participates in several other SAE standard development related to counterfeit electronics. Dr. Das leads the educational outreach of CALCE developing joint educational programs, training and internship, and professional development programs. He is a Six Sigma Black Belt and a member of IEEE, IMAPS, and SMTA.

 

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Sultan Ali Lilani, Integra Technologies, a Micross Company

Sultan Ali Lilani is the Director of Technical Support at Integra Technologies, a Micross Company. Sultan has in-depth knowledge of Reliability Engineering, Testing and Qualification for Aerospace, Defense and Industrial applications for microelectronics products of various technologies. Sultan has served in various industry committees including being the current SAE chair for the PEMs Committee, current co-chair for the Copper Bond Wire Committee, current co-chair for the SAE CE-12 Counterfeit Committee, and former co-chair of the SAE G19A Committee which developed the AS6171 standards to detect suspect counterfeit components.

 

 

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Steven R. Martell, Nordson T&I (retired)

Steve Martell is the current President of the Silicon Valley SMTA Chapter and retired at the end of 2025 from Nordson T&I, who purchased Sonoscan in 2018, with a total 40 years of experience. Throughout those years, and still today in retirement, it has allowed him to work with companies and standards organizations on an international basis. He has a Mechanical/Ocean Engineering degree from URI and an MBA from Chicago Booth.
Steve is the Chairperson Emeritus of IPC's B-10a Task Group, which he has chaired since 1996. He received the “IPC’s President’s Award” in 2015, and other awards for his leadership of the joint IPC/JEDEC working group that developed J-STD-020, J-STD-033, J-STD-075, etc. He is also working with other international standards organizations, such as JEITA and IEC.
He is a Co-Chair of SEMI MEMS/NEMS and a member/TF Chair of several SEMI standards committees, such as 3DP&I. Plus, he is the Vice-Chair of SAE G19A for counterfeit parts and contributes to JEDEC JC14 and SAE CE12/JEDEC JC13 committees.
He is the author of over thirty papers and technical publications with a focus on non-destructive inspection technologies, especially X-Ray and Acoustic Microscopy technologies.

 

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Scott McKee, 4 Star Electronics Inc.

Scott is currently the Director of Operations for 4 Star Electronics, a leading independent distributor of obsolete and hard-to-find electronic components. 4 Star has a state-of-the-art distribution center and test lab in Irvine California, that has recently been accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 with AS6171, and is a trusted supplier to critical industries, including automotive, medical, aerospace, and defense.
Scott has over 30 years of experience in the electronic component industry, specializing in quality management systems and process development for franchised distributors, independent distributors, and value-added providers. He holds degrees in Economics and Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo. With a strong focus on quality and reliability, Scott plays a pivotal role in overseeing 4 Star’s operational strategy, logistics, and supply chain management. Scott is also a long-time member, and former president, of the IDEA Board of Trustees.

 

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Anthony Mestre, Micross

Anthony Mestre has participated in the G19 committee for AS6171 and is currently a member of the SMTA (Surface Mount Technology Association) Technical committee. As a member of SMTA local chapter he held the position of VP of Operations Tampa Bay Charter from 2014 – 2016 and is currently part of the Technical Committee for Technical Symposium on Counterfeit Parts and Materials. Resion currently received the Leonardo DRS  "2021 Supplier Performance Achievement Award" recognizing Resion as a preferred partner for exceptional performance.

 

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Anne Poncheri, InterCEPT

Anne Poncheri is a partner at InterCEPT (International Counterfeit Electronics Personnel Training). Through the ERAI website, InterCEPT provides web-based training programs designed for the unique needs of the electronics industry. The training is designed to address the industry standards, test methods and best practices for counterfeit mitigation of electronic components.
Ms. Poncheri is also the principal consultant at AP Quality Consulting and provides consulting for quality management systems and QMS auditing for ISO 9001, ISO/IEC 17025 and AS6171 test methods. She is a member of the SAE Aerospace G19 Counterfeit Electronic Components Committee, whose charter is to address aspects of preventing, detecting, responding to and counteracting the threat of counterfeit electronic components. She is also a Lead Auditor for ISO 9001:2015 and performs third party audits for an ANAB Accreditation Body.

 

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John Radman, Element U.S. Space & Defense

John Radman is currently the Vice President of Strategic Planning and Processes for NTS Technical Systems dba Element U.S. Space & Defense. John has a BS in Physics from University of Maryland, ME in Engineering Management from University of Colorado, and a PhD candidate in Organizational Development and Leadership from University of Arizona Global Campus. John heads his company’s Information Technology, Security, and Compliance groups. John is a subject matter expert in electronics and materials testing and has authored many articles and technical presentations on topics which include failure analysis, test techniques, and counterfeit component analysis. John is the Co-Chair of SAE-G19A-MISC (Advanced Methods for Counterfeit Component Detection).

 

 

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Bill Scofield, The Boeing Company

Bill Scofield is a seasoned engineer at The Boeing Company with a career spanning several decades. Since joining Boeing in 1985, he has contributed to major aerospace programs and advanced capabilities in avionics and operations management. He brings deep expertise in Engineering Management, Reliability Engineering, and Quality Management. His technical leadership continues to support Boeing's commitment to innovation and excellence in aerospace engineering.

 

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Cameron Shearon, Raytheon Missiles & Defense

Cameron Shearon is a Principal Materials Engineer with Raytheon Missile & Defense. He is the lead for Destructive Physical Analysis and Commercial Services Business. Prior to his current role he was the owner of Shearon-Consulting, and a SMTA Distinguished Speaker. Cameron has given invited speeches at many international events. He earned a BS and MS in Materials Science and Engineering from North Carolina State University. He obtained a Physics minor for his BS and a Solid State Science minor for his MS. Cameron initiated and co-chairs IPC 1782, a global component traceability standard, which has been adopted by the US Department of Defense, that contains four traceability levels for materials and four independent traceability levels for the process that was completed in record time with the help of many outstanding contributors, IPC Staff support, and his leadership. As a result of his contribution to this standard, Cameron received a Committee Leadership Award from IPC at IPC APEX EXPO 2017. He has also worked as a Process Engineer in a Wafer Fab, as well as, a Failure Analysis Engineer, and Product Safety Engineer in an R&D Environment, a Lead Quality Engineer with AT&T’s Global Supply Chain, and a Reliability Engineer with AT&T Labs. ETSI adopted and published his contribution in early 2016, which established the fundamental foundation for his current work of developing a standard portfolio of very granular in situ custom probe level metrics, as well as, an expandable & extendable framework for those metrics along with an associated governance structure for the new global software-defined telecommunications networks that can be used by Big Data groups among others to help make everyday decisions. Cameron chaired the Multi-Standard Development Organization (SDO) metric effort for TM Forum and includes members from ETSI, NIST, and QuEST Forum. In addition, he chaired the NFV Metric Landscape effort for Quest Forum. Cameron has participated as a member in a multiple-phase TM Catalyst project that has won several awards (e.g., Best Technical Contribution, Best In Show).  

 

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Kevin Sink, TTI, Inc.

Kevin Sink is the VP, Total Quality at TTI, Inc., the global authorized distributor of electronic components based in Fort Worth, Texas. Kevin participates in the SAE G-19 committee developing standards for counterfeit mitigation, focusing on AS6081 for Independent Distribution, AIR6273 for terms and definitions, and is the Chair of the committee for AS6496 for Authorized Distribution. He has spoken at several industry and OEM symposia on the topic. Much of Kevin's research is centered around the industry's experience with standards and outside regulations and the translation of these into specific company practices. Kevin holds a BBA and MBA from Texas A&M University and has served in capacities within TTI from Sales to Product Management to Sales Operations before assuming responsibility for Quality. Prior to joining TTI, Kevin worked in Purchasing with General Dynamics. Kevin leverages over 35 years of experience in the military, aerospace, and electronics sectors to provide an authorized distributor’s perspective on best practices for mitigating counterfeit risks.

 

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Dr. Nicholas Williams, SMT Corporation

Dr. Nicholas Williams is the Lab Director at SMT Corporation. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 2010 and his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 2016. He started at SMT Corp in June of 2016 as a Senior Electrical Engineer, later becoming the Electrical Test Lab Manager in October of 2019. As the Lab Director, Dr. Williams is responsible for overseeing all testing in SMT's authentication and electrical testing labs.

 

 

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