William L. Hergenrother

Research Fellow William L. Hergenrother Bridgestone Americas Center for Research & Technology 1200 Firestone Pkwy Akron, OH USA 44317 Email: HergenrotherBill@BFusa.com Biographical Sketch: Dr. William L. Hergenrother obtained his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from The University of Notre Dame, was recently promoted to the newly created position of Research Fellow by Bridgestone Americas Center for Research and Technology (BACRT) after 45 years of contributions. He advises BACRT management: on strategic technical issues, acts as an internal technical resource for both BACRT and all parts of Bridgestone Corporation. Activities include: development of functionalized polymers to improve tire wear and rolling resistance, functional additives, Run-Flat tire sidewalls, thermosets, high-impact nylon, polyphosphazenes, cure systems for self-sealing tires, asphalt modification technology and crosslink density measurements. These contributions have had a major impact on the company's bottom line. He has been named an inventor on 989 patent applications worldwide, 269 U.S. applications and 170 U.S.-issued patents. From these contributions he received the Bridgestone Leadership in Innovation award in 2002. He has authored or co-authored 38 scientific publications.