Nanoindentation is a powerful technique for characterizing small volumes of material for the mechanical properties of elastic modulus, hardness, and viscoelasticity. The primary advantage of this technique for polymers is the ability to resolve these properties with spatial resolutions on the micro- and nano-scales. In this presentation, details of the contact dynamic mechanical analysis (CDMA) technique using a nanoindenter platform will be covered and a comparison of these results to traditional dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) results will be made. The primary advantages of the CDMA results are the ability to evaluate gradients in laminate layers of rubber compounds and the ability to map material degradation zones. In addition, the presentation will cover sample preparation methods. The combination of these powerful techniques allows tire samples to be tested in cross-section without the difficulty of dissecting the individual polymer layers. CDMA provides a new measurement technique for obtaining viscoelastic properties on volumes previously considered too small for characterization through the dissection technique. Lastly, advances in high speed testing will be presented which provide researchers with unique tools for studying the instantaneous elastic response of the rubber composites in the frequency and time domains. Presented by Bryan Crawford, Director of Analytical Services, Nanomechanics, Inc.