Women in Tire & Rubber: Pim Warasitthinon

Profiles of the inaugural class members of Rubber & Plastics News' Women in Tire & Rubber will appear daily through Aug. 21. Edited profiles of the entire class were published in the July 27 issue of RPN.

Nadhatai (Pim) Warasitthinon

Materials Engineer

Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

Location: Findlay, Ohio

Education:

• Ph.D. in Plastics Engineering, 2013, University of Massachusetts, Lowell, Mass.;
• Master of Science in Finance, 2008, Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, N.H.;
• Master's of Business Administration, 2005, Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, N.H.;
• B.S. in Chemical Engineering, 1997, Suranaree University of Technology, Nakornratchasima, Thailand;

Career highlights:

Global Technical Center (Mar. 2018 – Present):

• Contribute as materials specialist in competitor benchmarking project for passenger car tires and all-terrain light truck tires;
• Product development for run-flat tires: Improving compounds for bead filler and sidewall insert;

Findlay Tire Plant (Mar. 2017 – Mar. 2018):

• Developed and implemented new quality control tests for compounded rubber using Rubber Process Analyzer (RPA);
• Provided technical support for mixing and extrusion, including qualification of new raw materials and compounds, commissioning of new extrusion line, and troubleshooting processing issues (undispersed filler, porosity in silica-filled stocks, etc.)

Americas Technical Center (Sept. 2013 – Mar. 2017):

• Designed and developed advanced tread compounds for high performance passenger tires, all-terrain light truck tires and winter passenger tires;
• Developed and optimized materials concepts for current and novel additive technologies to improve the performance of tire compounds;
• Received Green Belt Six Sigma training and certification.

Associations you belong to or actively participate in:

I am a member of the ACS Rubber Division, and I participate in the Best Paper Committee. I serve as a peer reviewer for the journal Rubber Chemistry and Technology. I volunteer with the United Way.

What drew you to the rubber industry, and what has made your career in the industry rewarding?

My Ph.D. thesis research was in the area of elastomer nanocomposites, and I attended ACS Rubber Division conferences while I was in graduate school. This naturally led to a job in the rubber industry. It has been rewarding to work on new materials concepts and collaborate with teammates to develop those ideas into safer, more durable and better performing tires. To see and touch a tire—with new technology inside created by me and my co-workers—is a great experience.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

My biggest achievement was coming from Thailand to the U.S. and making a successful life here despite the initial language and cultural challenges. I earned a Ph.D. in plastics engineering and an MBA here, and now I have the opportunity to have a rewarding career at Cooper Tire & Rubber Co.

What do you count as your biggest failure and what has it taught you?

My biggest failure was focusing too much on quantity of work on occasions in the past, which sometimes sacrificed the quality of work. I have learned to slow down and be more thoughtful and detail oriented.

Who or what inspires you?

I am inspired by people and philosophies that promote co-existing with nature and positive thinking.

Who were your career mentors, and what role did they play?

My Ph.D. adviser, Professor Joey Mead at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, was an important mentor in my career, because she encouraged my growth as an independent researcher and was a positive female STEM role model for me. Chris Robertson was a key technical mentor for me at Cooper Tire, and he encouraged me to spend some time on basic research that can be shared with the rubber science community though publications and conference presentations.

What is the best advice you have ever received?

The best advice I received was to learn something new every day. I try to follow this, and you will often find me reading a journal article or watching a technical webinar while eating my lunch.

If you were CEO of a company what would you do first?

I would make job opportunities within the company completely open and equitable. There is a tendency for managers within companies to select their successors, and it is better to have a more transparent, unbiased system where promotions are based on matching the right person with the right job.

What would you tell someone considering a career in the rubber industry?

I would tell them that there is a lot of high-tech materials R&D and product engineering going on in the rubber industry and encourage them to look beyond any preconceived ideas they may have about rubber (dirty, smelly, etc.).

In your opinion, what needs to be done to encourage females to pursue STEM-related careers?

I think female STEM mentors and role models are key, so we need to find ways to make them more visible and accessible to young women.