Sumitomo's David Johansen, Conti's Burkhard Wies to speak at Tire Society

AKRON—"Significant content" and high-quality programming continues to be the norm for the Tire Society's Annual Conference, set to take place at the University of Akron Sept. 12 and 13.

The title of this year's conference is "The Intelligent Tire."

Speakers for this year's gathering, the 42nd in the history of the Tire Society, include David Johansen (keynote address), vice president of technical operations at Tonawanda, N.Y.-based Sumitomo Rubber USA; and Burkhard Wies (plenary lecture), vice president of innovation and applied research for tires at Hanover, Germany-based Continental A.G.

The conference also includes a panel discussion and original works on tire technology.

Johansen, who joined Sumitomo in 2015, has more than 25 years of experience in tire design, vehicle testing, simulation and manufacturing.

He has worked for Goodyear, and most recently worked as manager of tire design at Sumitomo before his promotion to vice president.

In his plenary lecture, Wies will discuss the "Challenges and Opportunities of Intelligent Tires to Support Vehicle Performance and Services."

Wies has worked extensively in tire development and industrialization for replacement and OE fitments since he joined Continental in 1999.

Prior to that, he was a tire development engineer and section head at Uniroyal Englebert GmbH in Aachen, Germany.

Wies is a member of VDI (German Association of Engineers) and for nearly two decades worked as program manager for VDI-Congress.

In addition to announcing the upcoming speakers, the Tire Society has issued its 2023 call for papers and subsequent student opportunities, also celebrated annually at the conference.

Abstracts will be considered through April 29 on the topic, "The Intelligent Tire."

Presentations should be between 15 and 20 minutes long, including a question and answer session.

According to the Tire Society, eligible topics outside of the intelligent tire include tire performance and vehicle systems, tire materials, tire and road interaction, emerging tech, industry trends, data science and virtual design.

Manuscripts will be considered for publication in the authoritative Tire Science and Technology Journal, the world's leading peer-reviewed journal dedicated to tires.

The conference, considered one of the most technical in the industry, typically is attended by engineers and scientists from the tire and vehicle spaces, academia and government agencies from around the world.

Together the gathering serves as a hub for scientific advancements through discussion about innovations that will drive the tire industry in the years ahead.

The Tire Society also focuses on future generations of engineers and scientists, encouraging students and young professionals to participate in the upcoming conference.

Full-time university students are invited to submit original research for presentation and consideration for publication in the journal.

Cash awards are available. See the Student Call for Papers for more details.

Like last year, students also can participate at the conference in the poster session, which allows student presenters to meet and interact with scientists and leaders from the tire industry.

In addition to the poster, students should prepare a 2-minute video summarizing their poster, which will be played at the conference.

The Tire Society is a non-profit organization with the goal of disseminating knowledge and stimulating scientific and engineering development for tires.

For more information email [email protected] or visit tiresociety.org.