Between November 12 and 20, 2017, professors Braz de Jesus Cardoso Filho and Anderson Vagner Rocha, researchers at Tesla Engenharia de Potência (UFMG), were at CALCE (Center of Advanced Life Cycle Engineering), University of Maryland - USA, to attend the training course "Failure Analysis of Electronics". In addition to attending the course, Tesla researchers

began discussions about possible partnerships in the area of ​​reliability with the American university. CALCE, located at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland, is a university research center focused on risk assessment, management and mitigation of product failures and electronic systems. It is the largest research center on reliability of electronic products and systems. CALCE was created in 1985 with the support of the United States National Science Foundation to be a cooperative research center for American industries and universities. The center is dedicated to providing a knowledge base and resources to support the development of competitive electronic components, products and systems. In the field of reliability analysis and qualification, the processes and models adopted by CALCE were standardized for analysis of electronic systems based on physics of failure (PoF).

Among other opportunities, the visit of the Brazilian researchers to CALCE enabled the beginning of a collaborative work in the areas of fault diagnosis and prognostics in IGBT power modules and ultracapacitors. TESLA researchers may have access to tools such as SARA software (Simulation Assisted Reliability Assessment), SARA is a system developed by CALCE researchers that uses a methodology based on physics of failure principles to determine if a system or component can meet life cycle requirements based on materials, geometry and operational characteristics. With the SARA software it is possible to simulate computational models of an electronic project through physical and mathematical models, allowing the evaluation of the robustness of the project before the manufacturing stage.

The possibility of this partnership opens the way for collaborative research, initially with Dr. Michael Azariam and Dr. Michael Osterman, but it can represent an important step forward in the area of reliability, as well as the internships and visits of other researchers and students involved in the area.