A unique approach to teaching electronic packaging

At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute a one-semester course on electronic packaging develops a unique learning environment. An interdisciplinary approach with three instructors integrates material from electrical, mechanical, and materials engineering. The course is design oriented where student teams solve a packaging problem using skills acquired in the first half of the course. The course emphasizes leading-edge applications in terms of both design and product since the metrics applied at this end of the market are likely to receive broad acceptance over the next several generations of electronic components. The course content is described in terms of the audience and the trade-offs necessitated by a one-semester course. Results of the design project are given to compare the output of nine teams. The authors hope that their experience will be useful to other academics contemplating a packaging course and will promote a dialog with industry on the extent of preparation in packaging required to meet the upcoming challenges