FINDLAY, Ohio—John R. Luchini, a retired research scientist and engineer of 34 years with the Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. known in the tire industry as an expert in the field of tire rolling resistance, died at home on Sept. 27 after a short illness.
Luchini earned his bachelor's, masters and doctorate degrees in engineering from the University of Michigan, then moved to Findlay in 1977 to join Cooper as a tire engineer.
He retired in 2011. Luchini was the author of a number of papers, articles, book chapters and other publications regarding tire technology.
He was a registered professional engineer in Ohio since 1978. Luchini was inducted in Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society, as a student in 1969 and continued to serve the organization as a national volunteer for 44 years, serving as district director for all the college chapters in Michigan and Ohio.
Luchini was a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and served for 35 years, chairing and serving on committees that developed government standards and regulations for the tire industry. He was a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers since 1978 and elected as a Fellow of the Society in 2010, an honor reserved for about 1 percent of the national membership. He was elected to membership in Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society in 1976.
He was a member of the Industry Advisory Board for Physics at Kettering University for 17 years. Luchini was a charter member of the Tire Society, where he served for 34 years as journal editor and was its president for two years.
He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Tamara (Wyckoff) Luchini, five children and eight grandchildren.