2022 dates and venue
to be confirmed
Smithers Carbon Black World took place September 13-14, 2021, in Charlotte, North Carolina!
This event regularly attracts an international delegation of producers, end-users, and equipment solution providers from across the tire, rubber, plastics, compounds and ink industries to make new connections, share strategic insights, and explore future opportunities in the marketplace with key influencers and decision makers from all aspects of the value chain!
Why Attend Carbon Black World?
Rob Dennis-Pelcher is a Principal Scientist at Goodyear in the Global Raw Material Development and Approvals group within Global Materials Science. He has the responsibility of carbon black source approvals as well as new material development. Rob has also been heavily engaged in sustainability initiatives over the last couple of years and has the responsibility of being the technical interface with all suppliers of carbon black and nanomaterials.
Rob started at Goodyear in 2016 as a Staff Scientist before being promoted to Senior Scientist in 2019 and Principal Scientist in 2021. Prior to joining Goodyear, Rob spent a year and a half as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Chemistry and Materials Science at Texas A&M University. Rob received his PhD in Chemistry from the University at Buffalo in 2015.
Cindy Barrera is a research engineer at Ford Motor company. She obtained her doctoral degree (2016) in Food, Agricultural and Biological engineering at The Ohio State University supported by a Fulbright fellowship. Her research focuses on the development of sustainable materials and next generation multifunctional materials. In her current role at Ford Motor Company, Dr. Barrera leads several projects focused on the evaluation of advanced fillers for the development of multifunctional polymer composites and the implementation of polymeric products made with renewable and recycled materials for automotive applications. Dr. Barrera has multiple publications, 2 issued patents and 10 patents-pending to her name.
Jeff Silveria is the Global Segment Manager for Tire at Cabot Corporation. In this role, his primary responsibility is translating the needs of customers and end users into an actionable product roadmap. He has 17 years of transportation and materials industry experience in a variety of engineering, management, and strategic marketing roles. Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Massachusetts - Amherst, and an MBA from Boston University.
Jay is the Director of Standards and Regulations for Continental Tire, the Americas located in Fort Mill, SC. He is responsible for all tire regulatory and standardization work throughout North and South America and represents Continental within numerous industry organizations including the Rubber Manufacturers Association and the Tire and Rim Association. Jay has been with Continental for over 15 years with leadership roles in product development, technical product management and racing development. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineer from Clemson University - home of the 2016 College Football National Champions.
Amy Hickman is currently a Sustainability Manager for Birla Carbon. She is based at the Company headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. Ms. Hickman is responsible for developing, implementing and supporting programs, policies and processes within the various functions, as well as regional, and local business units, which will deliver Birla Carbon’s sustainability commitments. She is one of the founding members of the Sustainability Steering Committee at Birla Carbon and has been instrumental in developing the measurement and reporting aspects of their Sustainability Program. Additionally, she supports Birla Carbon’s Global Health, Safety and Environmental Program, as well, by leading environmental audits, providing compliance expertise, and creating global environmental standards.
Prior to joining Birla Carbon, Amy worked as a consultant for seven years where she developed client solutions and managed projects in the areas of environmental compliance, remediation, and sustainability data and program implementation.
Amy is currently a member of the Sustainability Leadership Forum (Atlanta), and has shared her knowledge and experience at the Georgia Environmental Conference, Aditya Birla Group Global Sustainability Conference, and 4C Environmental Conference in recent years.
Dr. Wesley Wampler is the current President of the International Carbon Black Association of which he has been a member since 1995. He is also a Vice President with Tokai Carbon CB and was previously a Vice President with Sid Richardson Carbon Co. for over 30 years. He is a member of the American Chemical Society Rubber Division where he has presented numerous papers and chaired several symposiums. He is also a member of the American Society of Testing and Materials Committee D24 on Carbon Black where he has chaired several subcommittees. Dr. Wampler has also coauthored two chapters on Carbon Black in books dealing with its use in the rubber industry.
Wesley Wampler received a B.S degree in Chemistry and Biology from Tarleton State University in 1981, an M.S. degree in Organic Chemistry from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1987 and a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1995.
