John R. Luchini — Tire Science Giant (2013)

Dr. John Remo Luchini, a giant among scientists in the tire industry and a past president of the Tire Society, passed away at his home on September 27, 2013, after a short illness. John was a passionate and dedicated scientist known for repeated contributions to experimental and computational tire science and for exceptional service to the professional community. He had retired in 2011 as senior research scientist after a 34 year career with the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.John was born September 2, 1949, in Detroit, Michigan, and raised in Dearborn Heights, Michigan. He earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in engineering at the University of Michigan, where he also met and married his wife Tamara. His doctoral thesis was supervised by Professor Sam Clark, during a period of high demand for more energy efficient tires. Entitled “Mathematical Model for Rubber Hysteresis,” his thesis explored the problem of modeling rubber's dissipative response under dynamic loading. Where others had previously approached this problem within the traditional framework of linear viscoelasticity, John chose a novel approach aimed at capturing nonlinear features of the problem. He used a series of elements that combined rate-independent yielding with a limited allowable slip distance (“stoppers”) [1]. His one-dimensional model realistically reproduced dynamic stress–strain measurements and provided insight into how a set of slip-limiting elements could explain the nonlinear behavior. His original model was not widely adopted, perhaps because of the computational burden of tracking a large number of yield elements, and the lack of development of the model for the three-dimensional case. Still, the model foreshadowed John's later entry into the development of finite element calculations for tires, and it inspired and grounded new approaches that John later developed for computing tire rolling resistance and heat buildup.After completing his Ph.D. in 1977, John began employment as a tire engineer at the Cooper Tire & Rubber Company. John was soon instrumental in shaping Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) testing standards for rolling resistance. He chaired the rolling resistance subcommittee that developed the steady state testing procedure SAE J 1269 [2], which became the industry standard in 1980. John also devised elegant analytical arguments showing how road-wheel curvature and tire diameter influence rolling resistance [3]. John later advised the SAE rolling resistance subcommittee during its development of the transient rolling resistance standard SAE J 2452 [4]. This work inspired John's insight that the transient rolling resistance characteristics of a tire could be estimated based on information from steady state tests [5]. He made several studies comparing the steady state and transient methods, providing valuable benchmarks to users of the rolling resistance standards [6,7]. Several decades of continued improvement in the fuel economy of automobiles across all vehicle and tire manufacturers have directly benefitted from the contributions that John made to rolling resistance testing standards.In the early 1980s, the possibility of using finite element analysis to calculate tire properties and behavior was being actively explored by several tire companies, including Cooper. John's experience with programming and computation was soon put to use in developing an in-house code for finite element analysis (FEA). John was active in the National Tire Modeling Program, a NASA Langley effort to help American tire manufacturers develop better FEA technology. He contributed to the experimental program and made excellent use of the data from the program to evolve FEA technology at Cooper.He soon was leading the research department, which was responsible for developing, maintaining, and supporting Cooper's finite element code. Initial applications of the code were focused on computing inflated tire dimensions and later on computing the footprint and load-deflection characteristics of tires. The code eventually featured a number of innovations that were important for efficient tire analysis. Various tire symmetries were exploited [8]. A laminated, solid, composite element [9] enabled a single finite element to contain multiple cord–rubber composite layers. The code eventually also featured rolling resistance and heat-buildup calculations [10]. The simple and effective approach that John proposed for accumulating energy loss is still used in various forms across the industry to the present day [11].On top of his technical contributions, John was a mentor to many engineers at Cooper. At one time, so many engineers had moved on to management positions following a period in his group, that there was a department joke about whether the group was an MBA program or a mechanics research group. John was known for investing in his people and for expecting and getting their best.During his career, John received numerous recognitions. He was inducted into Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society as a student in 1969. He continued with the organization as a national volunteer for 44 years, serving in several capacities and as a facilitator for engineering futures seminars held on college campuses across the country. He was elected to membership in Sigma Xi, the scientific research society in 1976. In 1978, John earned registration as a professional engineer in the state of Ohio. John was a life member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and he was elected as a fellow in 2010 (an honor reserved for about one percent of the national membership). He was a member of the Industry Advisory Board for Physics at Kettering University for 17 years. John was a Dale Carnegie instructor in Findlay and Toledo for 10 years. He was a Tire Society member for 34 years. He served in various roles in the society including a time as its president and on the editorial board of the society's journal Tire Science and Technology.John was a man of faith, and he actively served his church family in numerous ways, including 28 years in Scouting. An avid guitar player, John played in orchestras for musicals for several years. He also enjoyed scuba diving, power lifting, and science fiction.John is survived by his wife of 42 years, Tamara (Wyckoff) Luchini, five children, and eight grandchildren.