Keynote speakers

How innovations on sustainable materials and the virtualization are game changers for the tyre of the future?

Thomas Bernhard Hanel is an Executive with 25 years of experience in the tyre, rubber and automotive industry. He started his employment career in 1997 at Pirelli Reifenwerke GmbH in Germany. Prior of taking over the responsibility for the Material Development in 2006, several positions had been entrusted to him, with increasing technical and personnel responsibility, both in the Manufacturing and the Research & Development area.

From 2001–2003, he was representing Pirelli Reifenwerke GmbH, as substitutive member, in the board council of the DKG (Deutsche Kautschuk Gesellschaft). From 2021 onwards, he returns as elected member to the board council of the DKG.

In 2012, he moved to the Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. headquarter in Milan / Italy, to take over the responsibility of the Material Innovation activities. In 2015, he became the Global Head of the Material Development.

He is a graduated engineer in polymer and rubber technology, holds a M.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering and machine building, a PhDr. (Philosophiae Doctor) in Strategic Management and a Ph.D. “magna cum laude” in Chemical Sciences of the Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Chemistry, Department of Engineering and Technology of Polymers.

He is the author / co-author of more than 30 patents and 26 publications.

Challenges and Opportunities of Smart Rubbers based on Dynamic Reversible Network

Prof. Amit Das is a senior scientist at the Leibniz Institute for Polymer Research Dresden e. V. (IPF) and at the same time he is a visiting professor in the Tampere University of Technology (TUT), Finland. Prof. Das has been working at the IPF, Dresden since 2005. Before that he received his PhD degree from Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata. Since 2011, Prof. Das has been active in TUT and selected as a fellow in Finland Distinguished Professorship program. His research interests are self-healing elastomers, mechano-adaptive materials, electro active smart rubbers, dielectric actuators, elastomeric sensors etc. He has published so far more than 250 scientific papers in peer reviewed journal and holds 15 patents and patent applications. He received several awards and recognition, for example, Sparks-Thomas Award 2016 of the Rubber Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS), Leibniz Innovation Prize 2010, and Advanced Promoted Scientist 2016. He also was offered a full professorship chair at TUT Finland in 2015.

Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear of filled rubber, before and after crosslinking: an essential tool to characterize rubber/filler interactions

Salvatore (Christian) Coppola is an experienced polymer scientist and engineer. He has been working in Versalis SpA (Eni) since 2005 where he had different positions in R&D. He is currently Head of the Material Science department at Versalis SpA (Eni) Research Center, located in Ravenna – Italy.

His main research activities are in the field of rheology of polymers and polymer solutions, viscosity modifiers for lubricating oils, mechanical properties of uncured and cured filled rubber compounds, mixing and processing of rubber compounds, set-up of new rheological tools and protocols, development of compounding and reactive extrusion processes.

He has given more than 30 oral presentations in international conferences (AERC, PPS, SOR meeting, etc.), 18 invited seminars and lectures at Universities/Research institutions in Italy and abroad. He is also author/coauthor so far of 2 book chapters, 2 patents, and 23 papers on international journals. He is also a frequent reviewer for Journal of Rheology, Soft Matter and Rheologica Acta.

He graduated in 2000 with full marks as Chemical Engineer (specialized in polymeric materials) at the University of Naples “Federico II” – Italy. He also holds since 2004 a Ph.D. in Chemical, Materials and Production Engineering from the same university.