Tire Society to host 45th annual conference on Tire Science and Technology

Akron, OH – The Tire Society, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the science and technology of tires, announced the Program for its 45th Annual Conference and Business Meeting on Tire Science and Technology. The conference will take place September 22–23, 2026, at the University of Akron’s Jean Hower Taber Student Union, under the theme “Reinventing the Tire: Digital Transformation, Data-Driven Advances, and Predictive Methods.”
The two-day program will bring together engineers, researchers, and executives from tire manufacturers, suppliers, labs, universities and research institutions across North America, Europe, and Asia. The Conference is a unique opportunity to learn first-hand from presentations by the invited speakers and from the original authors of groundbreaking research leading to the latest developments in analytical, experimental, digital and computational science of tires.
The conference opens with a keynote from Young Gon Shin, Vice President of Hyundai Motor Company’s MSV Chassis Engineering Design Group and Chair of its Tire System Expert Committee. His address, “Reinventing Tire Development for the SDV Era: Closing the Loop through Connected Data and Digital Twin Transformation,” will examine how electrification and software-defined vehicles are reshaping tire development through digital twins and real-time data.
Across five technical sessions, nearly 20 presentations will cover tire models for vehicle simulation, physics-based modeling, durability and rolling resistance, tire lifecycle, and emerging technologies such as tire sensors and hydroplaning detection. Two additional plenary lectures round out the program: Thomas J.R. Hughes of the University of Texas at Austin will present “The Finite Element Method and Isogeometric Analysis: Past, Present, Future,” and Bruno Finco and Girish Radhakrishnan of MOVEdot will present “AI Agents in Tire R&D: Accelerating Design Cycles Across Lab, Track, and Simulation.”
Day one closes with an awards banquet featuring the Society’s annual awards presentation, led by Jason Bokar of Michelin Americas R&D Corporation, and a banquet speech from Chris Chapman of MongoDB, “The Data Intelligence Layer: Building Agentic Systems with Memory.” Day two includes the Tire Society’s Annual Business Meeting and State of the Society address, along with the Distinguished Award presentations.
“This year’s program captures a real inflection point in our industry — tire engineering is moving from a testing-centered process to one built around connected data, digital twins, and predictive models,” said Adam Stackpole of Stackpole Engineering Services, 2026 Conference Program Chair. “We’re excited to bring the tire science community together in Akron to share this work and set the agenda for what comes next.”
The conference is made possible by the support of its sponsors and partners: Stackpole Engineering Services (Platinum ZR-Rated Sponsor); Endurica LLC and VIAS3D and XSENSOR (Gold V-Rated Sponsors); Smithers and Cosmartor (Silver H-Rated Sponsor); Rubber News (Prime Media Partner); and the Polymer Industry Cluster, powered by the Greater Akron Chamber (Technical Partner).
Registration and the full conference program, including session schedules and abstracts, are available at tiresociety.org. The Tire Society has also opened its call for papers for the 46th Annual Conference, to be held September 21–22, 2027, under the same “Reinventing the Tire” theme; abstracts are due March 7, 2027.