Goodyear Honors National Corporate Inventors
11 September 1997
Goodyear Honors National Corporate Inventors
AKRON, Ohio, Sept. 10 -- Inventions are born of ideas,
fragile bursts of creativity that shape all aspects of daily life. Everyone
has ideas but only a fortunate few can turn those whimsical thoughts into
commercially successful inventions and improve the quality of life in the
process.
On Friday, Sept. 12, Goodyear will honor a group of 28 distinguished
corporate inventors responsible for inventions ranging from tires to polymers
for solid rocket fuel. They will be honored at a dinner at the Technical
Center on Martha Avenue. A list of the inventors and their accomplishments
follows:
Goodyear:
Thomas Oare, Akron, Ohio, holds nine tire patents and is the inventor of
the Extended Mobility Tire, the first broad market line of tires making the
EMT "run flat" technology available to the average consumer.
David Schweitzer, North Canton, Ohio, developed a conveyor belt cable
tension monitoring system which improves performance under load. He also
designed a device to evaluate a tire's temperature during the vulcanization
process.
Maurice Graas, Luxembourg, holds 98 patents, most of which are for
passenger tire tread designs. He designed tread patterns for the Eagle F-1,
Vector, Concorde, Eagle NCT and the Eagle Aquatred.
Hung Dang-Ngoc, Lineil Brevannes, France, led the development of Sunigum,
a new elastomer family, which provides resistance to heat and light-aging when
used in the manufacture of interior skins for automobile instrument panels,
door panels and console covers, molded and extruded products and leather-like
blends.
Tim Saupe, Mount Pleasant, Iowa, developed Galaxy, a world-class,
environmentally-friendly, auto air conditioning hose and also invented a
polyester sheathing process, an environmental plus because it replaced lead
for curing hose.
Dr. Robert Medsker, Advanced Elastomer Systems, Hartville, Ohio, applied
the chemistry of silicone rubber curing to the dynamic vulcanization of
olefinic rubber blends to create a new product line of thermo-plastic
elastomers, the 800 series of Santoprene (R) rubber. The discovery is
expected to boost AES's auto, construction and mechanical rubber goods
markets.
Dr. Charles Nelson, AlliedSignal, Richmond, Va., has nine patents and his
experience with high-speed fiber processing, tire mechanics and performance
technologies are linked to the construction of over $500 million of new fiber
production facilities and the achievement of major tire industry performance
and economic improvement goals.
Fu-Tai Chen, Beckman Instruments, Brea, Calf., developed enzymatic rate-
based substances for cholesterol and uric acid and blood urea buffer systems
for serum protein analysis. He also developed probes for carbohydrate and DNA
analysis using laser-induced florescent technology.
Wallace Murray, Columbian Chemicals, Monroe, La., holds two patents for
carbon black transporting technology, both of which are in commercial use.
One is for a hopper-car unloading valve and another for a mechanical tube
sealing system.
Kevin Newton, Diebold, Gibsonia, Pa., is responsible for the development
and strategic management of MedSelect Systems products. MedSelect designs and
produces automated medical dispensing and inventory control products. Newton
holds 11 patents.
Keith Marchildon, DuPont Canada, Kingston, Ontario, invented a new nylon
manufacturing process which improves product quality while reducing production
costs, energy consumption and environmental emissions.
Dr. Stan Speed, Exxon Chemical, Dayton, Texas, devoted most of his
technical career to the product development of polyolefin, particularly
polyethylene and polypropylene products. His research led to faster and more
effective commercial development of higher performing materials.
Wallace Wade, Ford Motor Company, Farmington Hills, Mich., is responsible
for the application, development and certification of emission and control
system technologies. He holds 26 patents related to power train improvements.
His inventions range from control systems for traction control to the design
of new emission-control systems and engines with reduced friction and heat
loss.
Dr. Clifford Fung, The Foxboro Company, Mansfield, Mass., recently led a
project team to commercialize a series of micro-machined silicon pressure
sensors for the process automation and control industry. He had helped
establish an in-house micro-sensor research an development lab to develop,
fabricate and commercialize micro-sensors for optical, electrochemical and
physical applications.
David Fishel, GenCorp., Caledonia, Miss., developed and commercialized
PreFixx vinyl protective coatings which provides a quality appearance,
durability and stain-resistance to vinyl coated fabrics. He also was involved
in the creation of a polypropylene/polyester blend knit for bus seating, an
embossed shower pan liner and breathable wall covering.
B.F. Goodrich:
Dr. George Benedikt, Solon, Ohio, holds 17 U.S. patents. He recently
contributed to the development of thermally-stable, high-glass transition
temperature, cyclic olefin copolymers used in a range of applications
requiring low-dielectric or optically low birefringence properties. Previously
he worked on the development of low-dielectric constant printed wiring boards
and photosensitive polymer compositions among other projects.
Dr. Brian Goodall, Akron, Ohio, pioneered research in homogeneous nickel
and palladium catalysts for olefn polymerization. His catalyst and materials
technology has resulted in major research aimed at commercialization of heat-
resistant polymers for the microelectronics industry. Target areas include
photo-lithographic and low-dielectric materials and polymers for optical
applications
J. Ernst Hartitz, Avon Lake, Ohio, is the co-developer of proprietary,
rigid, PVC foam profiles technology and was instrumental in developing powder
compounding technology of chlorinated polyvinyl pipe extrusion. His product
advances lead to the opening of large scale commercial and residential markets
for FlowGuard Gold potable hot and cold water systems. Hartitz's recent
efforts have been directed toward piping-system market opportunities in the
chemical process industry.
John Lai, Broadview Heights, Ohio, has 60 U.S. patents as an inventor or
co-inventor. Among his inventions are a high-temperature antioxidant for
lubrication of jet-turbine engines, synthetic methods for numerous hindered
amines and phenols as polymer stabilizers against ultra-violet light and
oxidative degradation and nitroxides for controlled free-radical
polymerizations.
Simon Yu, Westlake, Ohio, is responsible for developing Liquid Hydrin a
polymer for solid rocket fuel applications and has been involved in product
and process development of CB and SN elastomers, Hydrin specialty elastomers,
Stat-Rite polymeric anti-static additives and Carbopol thickeners among other
products. He is now developing hydrogels for pharmaceutical and personal care
applications and new polymers through living, free-radical polymerizations.
Louis Hsu, IBM, Fishkill, N.Y., has worked on semiconductor device designs
and process developments. His patents involve flash memory, Dynamic Random
Access Memory, thin-film transistors, advanced bipolar devices and Schottky
Barrier Diodes. Product and prototype designs of memory projects have
occupied his recent efforts.
Barry Cargould, ITW Akron Standard, Hudson, Ohio, greatly reduced the
machine cycling time of a tire uniformity machine with an invention that
tripled its hydraulic operating speed. The invention is used worldwide to test
nearly all passenger tires. Cargould holds 12 patents in the tire and wheel
testing field.
John West, Kent State University, Munroe Falls, Ohio, worked on the
development of polymer dispersed liquid crystals and played a key role in the
growth of the university's Liquid Crystal Institute. He participated in the
proposal for the National Science Foundation Center for Advanced Liquid
Crystalline Optical Materials and initiated its Industrial Partnership Program
which attracted 30 North American companies.
Daniel MacLauchlan, McDermott International, Lynchburg, Va., has developed
nondestructive metal testing systems using electromagnetic acoustic
transducers. EMATs test for defects, measure metal surfaces and thickness
with no surface contact.
Dr. John Hoots, Nalco Chemical, St. Charles, Ill., most recently worked on
the development of fluorescent tracers, known as TRASAR Technologies. His
efforts to demonstrate the project's technical feasibility and carrying the
concept to commercial reality has helped Nalco to reach $150 million in the
past year on sales related to the technology. Dr. Hoots hold 32 U.S. patents
and numerous international patents.
Dr. Roger Christenson, (retired) PPG Industries, Sturgeon Bay, Wis.,
initiated work on acrylic polymers for industrial coatings creating Duracron
resins and coatings, which are produced on a worldwide basis. He also
directed research on water-based polymers and coatings for metal coil and
automotive uses. He is listed on 136 United States patents and numerous
foreign patents.
Edward Krome Jr., Rockwell Automation, Columbus, Ind., is a hands-on
engineer with expertise in electronics and mechanical engineering and is
involved in all facets of the engineering process. He hold nine patents and
is the engineering manager for the Master XL worm and helical gear production
line, APG helical gear motor product line, Reeves Mechanical Adjustable Speed
products and Dodge Sleevoil bearings.
Dr. Frank Paulik, Solutia Inc. (formerly Monsanto Chemicals), St. Louis,
Mo., has devoted his most recent efforts to the development of phosphorus-
based compounds to serve as non-halogen, fire retardants for polymers. He
holds 25 product and process patents in homogeneous catalysis, carboxylation
reactions and phosphorous chemistry.
SOURCE The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
