Dieter Bergman, longtime standards leader and chair of the IPC Ambassador Council, passed away on Wednesday, July 23, 2014, at the age of 82. The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) offers its condolences to his family and friends and colleagues at IPC and in the wider standardization community.
From 1956 until 1974, Mr. Bergman worked at Philco Ford, beginning as a designer and rising to become first the supervisor of the company's printed circuit design group and then a member of its advanced technology group, where he focused his efforts on printed circuit computer-aided design. He began his association with IPC during his time at Philco Ford, serving as Philco Ford's official representative to IPC beginning in 1962, becoming the chair of IPC's Design Committee in 1968, and receiving the IPC President's Award that same year. He was elected chair of the IPC Technical Activities Executive Committee in 1974 and was subsequently hired by IPC as its technical director.
Mr. Bergman served as a staff member at IPC for more than 40 years, holding the positions of technical director, director of technology transfer, and chair of the IPC Ambassador Council. During his tenure, he served as a liaison between IPC and other organizational and governmental bodies, worked to identify significant future technologies and needs in the electronics industry, and played a significant role in supporting the development of electronics-related standards, specifications, guidelines, and other technical documents. He received the IPC Hall of Fame Award in 1985, honoring him for his contributions to IPC as well as the greater electronics sector.
At the time of his death, Mr. Bergmann was serving as international chair of International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Technical Committee (TC) 91, Electrical Assembly Technology, and as deputy technical advisor and as the administrator for the U.S. National Committee (USNC)-approved U.S. Technical Advisory Group (TAG) to IEC TC 91.
Mr. Bergman is survived by his wife and three children.