SMYRNA, GA – UP Media Group and Printed Circuit Design & Fab invite printed circuit board (PCB) designers and engineers to battle it out for the honor of being named top designer(s) in the annual PCB Top Gun Hall of Fame contest, September 14 – 15, 2008, in Santa Clara, CA. The intensive two-day contest will be held in conjunction with PCB West 2008, September 14 – 19  at the Santa Clara Marriott.

During two days of competition, participants are put through a stringent battery of tests, including a 100-question multiple-choice exam, personal interviews and an actual board design. All contest participants will receive a free three-day technical conference pass for the 17th annual PCB West.

The top scorer(s) will be inducted into the PCB Top Gun Hall of Fame during a breakfast on Wednesday morning, September 17, where they will be awarded a plaque and a coveted Top Gun-style, Avirex leather flight jacket.
 
Randy Holt, the 2008 inductee into the PCB Top Gun Hall of Fame and a senior PCB designer with Optimum Design Associates (Pleasanton, CA), says that participating in the contest offers several benefits. "Top Gun is a great chance to share your skills and talents with peers who understand and respect the challenges that PCB layout offers. We often lack recognition or gratification for the many difficult layout challenges we overcome, but this contest will not let these great feats go unnoticed! This is an opportunity to see if your PCB layout skills measure up to the expectations of today's high-speed layout techniques and to find out if you really have what it takes to be a Top Gun PCB elitist."

"We want to take every opportunity to promote PCB engineers and designers as the salt of the earth," said Pete Waddell, president of UP Media Group and a former designer. "Since we cannot directly influence their salary or other compensation, we want to direct a spotlight on the talents of these individuals whenever possible. The PCB Top Gun Hall of Fame is one event that helps us do this."

Entry forms must be submitted by Wednesday, August 20. To complete an entry form or for additional information, visit www.pcbwest.com/topgun.