Harold Herzlich Award Winner Presented at ITEC

William Mars, PhD, Founder and President of Endurica, LLC, is the recipient of the 2022 Harold Herzlich Distinguished Technology Achievement Award. He will be recognized during a special event on Wednesday, Sept. 14, at the International Tire Exhibition & Conference (ITEC) 2022, the largest tire manufacturing exhibition and conference in the U.S., which is being held Sept. 13-15 at the John S. Knight Center in Akron, Ohio.

The award is named after Harold Herzlich, a longtime technical editor of Rubber News and chairman emeritus of ITEC. The award winner is selected by an independent panel of judges. Mars will receive a medal and a $1,500 honorarium for the award. He will also deliver a special keynote presentation on Thursday, Sept. 15.

Mars has more than 30 years of experience developing testing and simulation methods in the rubber industry. The comprehensive testing and simulation tools developed under his direction help companies speed their product development process worldwide and compete on durability. With more than 4 percent of the GDP spent on durability-related issues, better design via early simulation is estimated to reduce costs by up to 50 percent.

Mars served as the editor of the Rubber Division, American Chemical Society journal Rubber Chemistry & Technology. He is also the past editor of Tire Science & Technology, has authored more than 60 peer-reviewed articles and holds four patents. His experiences and contributions span a broad topic range, including material characterization, product evaluation, constitutive modeling, crack nucleation, fracture mechanics and fatigue life prediction methods.

Mars has received several awards for his scientific contributions and innovations, including the 2020 Tibbetts Award from the United States Small Business Administration in recognition of accomplishments in creating cutting-edge technologies; the 2017 Rubber Division ACS Arnold Smith Special Service Award; the 2007 Sparks Thomas award of ACS Rubber Division; and the 1999 Henry Fuchs award of the SAE Fatigue Design & Evaluation Committee.

A biennial event, ITEC 2022 is a three-day show and technical conference featuring more than 50 presentations from top-level tire industry experts covering topics such as sustainable materials; new technology for non-pneumatic tires and smart tires; next-generation reinforcing material for rubber compounds, challenges and opportunities in tires for electronic vehicles and much more.

This year’s event will also feature two special add-on events, including a new Women’s Breakfast and Panel Discussion on Thursday, Sept. 15, and the Tire Mechanics Short Course. This five-day educational and developmental course provides engineers and scientists with an in-depth, intense study around developments related to tire engineering. Those who complete the course will receive a certificate from The University of Akron.

Registration for ITEC 2022 is open online and provides free entry to the exhibition through August 12. Starting August 13, a $50 visitor fee will apply. View the registration fees for the conference, Women’s Breakfast and Tire Mechanics Short Course here.

Exhibitor space and sponsorship opportunities are available for companies looking to raise their profile in the tire manufacturing industry. Sponsorships can be tailored to suit individual budgets and requirements. Companies interested in participating at ITEC 2022 should contact Sales Director Christine Zernick at [email protected].

ITEC 2022 is organized by Rubber News and owned by Crain Communications Inc.

Register to attend ITEC by visiting www.itec-tireshow.com/visit/registration.