Certified Professionals

Ray Nicanor M. Tag-at has a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Silliman University, Dumaguete City, Philippines, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Ateneo Graduate School of Business.  He is a Certified ESD Engineer of the International Association of Radio, Telecommunications and Electromagnetics (iNARTE).  He is currently working in Western Digital Phil. Corp., as the ESD Control Program Manager in Manufacturing Engineering spearheading the ESD Control of the company for more than 20 years and leading the WD Philippine site in its ANSI/ESD S20.20 certification. He was a former officer and chairman for the ASEMEP ESD Council (AEC) and has also contributed to the learning sessions during the past Philippines ESD Forums, AEC RMM, and ASEMEP national symposiums.

Known among associates as Bong, he is the ESD SME at ADI Philippines and its External Suppliers/Subconstractors across Asia Pacific for manufacturing processes and controls. He has been to many big name companies to perform assessments and help improve controls in preventing unwanted ESD events.

Bong began his career in the semiconductor industry in 1991 right after completing his Electronics and Communications Engineering degree at the top echelon of his class at the Mapua Institute of Technology in the Philippines. In 2006, he was entrusted to oversee ADI Philippines’ ESD program.

A passionate, keen learner and a hands-on professional, he has earned his iNARTE ESD Engineer certification in 2010. He has been an active member of the ESD Association and Technical Committee of the Asia Regional chapter.     

Robert (Hank) Mead is a Principal Manufacturing Engineer at BAE Systems in Endicott, NY. He has been working in the Electronics industry for over a decade, focusing primarily in Defense and Avionics. Hank received both his Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering and his Master’s Degree in Engineering Management from Northeastern University. On the rare occasion that he isn’t working, he enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and their dog.

Robert Ashton is a Senior Protection & Compliance Specialist in the Discrete Products Division at ON Semiconductor in Phoenix, Arizona. He has authored or co-authored numerous papers on ESD, test structure use in integrated circuit development, and CMOS technology. He is active in ESD and EOS standards development with ESDA, JEDEC, and IEEE SPDC. He is ON Semiconductor’s representative to the Industry Council on ESD Target Levels.

Previously, Dr. Ashton served as Director of Technology at White Mountain Labs (now a part of Evans Analytical Group), a provider of ESD and latch-up testing of integrated circuits, and he was a Distinguished Member of Technical Staff at Agere Systems, Bell Labs Lucent Technology, and AT&T Bell Labs, in integrated circuit technology development. He received the B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Physics from the University of Rhode Island and held post doctoral positions at Rutgers University and Ohio State University.