Dr. Marion Pottinger has decided to retire after 34 years of studying tires and tire/vehicle interaction. He will leave Smithers Scientific Services Inc. effective Oct. 31.
Pottinger has spent the last 15 years as technical director of the company’s tire and automotive testing laboratories in Ravenna, Ohio. Prior to that, he worked 19 years in the research departments at the former BFGoodrich Tire Group and its successor, the Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co.
He also was president of the Tire Society and five other technical societies. He has authored numerous award-winning technical papers and holds five patents, one on a no-ply steer tire. He invented a low-rim stress radial truck tire.
At Smithers, Pottinger was instrumental in establishing the Tire Force and Moment Partnership, a limited partnership of Ford’s domestic tire suppliers in support of its needs and requirements. He also directed the installation of the Flat-Trac II high-speed tire force and moment machine and its later upgrade at the company’s Ravenna laboratories.
