Come join us as we celebrate members of our Akron Section, various essay and scholarship winners, and enjoy our keynote speaker, Dr. Bob Woloszynek - Chief Engineer, Global Material Development at Goodyear Tire and Rubber. The topic of the keynote is “Goodyear Soybean Oil Technology: Performance and Sustainability Driving Demand for Biobased Products”.

Abstract: Over the past decade, Goodyear has been investigating soybean oil as a replacement for petroleum-based oils in its tire products. Our development efforts have resulted in multiple novel polymer and compound technologies in which petroleum-based oils have been replaced with soybean oil to provide performance benefits. Since 2017, Goodyear has launched four consumer tire products containing soybean oil, and recent developments have focused on expanding the technology to heavy tire applications. Goodyear has made a long-term goal of fully replacing petroleum-based oils in its products by 2040 as part of its sustainability initiatives. Recently, Goodyear also announced a demonstration tire containing 70% sustainable materials by weight, demonstrating progress toward reaching its stated “bold goal” of developing a tire made with 100% sustainable materials by 2030.

Following the keynote will be dinner and then presentations for: 1) SPE Medal of Honor for Lifetime Service Award, 2) SPE William C. Zekan Awards, 3) Essay Awards, Special Merit and Named Scholarships

Reservations must be in by noon on Friday, May 6 and can be made to akronspe1@gmail.com or Bob Weiler at 330-283-9024. Be sure to include your company affiliation and dietary restrictions.

Meeting Information: Professional $30, Retired $25, Student $10