Lewis Tunnicliffe

Lewis Tunnicliffe is an Atlanta-based product design and development manager at Birla Carbon, who has been recognized internationally for his scientific research in the area of carbon black filler applications to elastomers.

Early life Tunnicliffe is originally from the West Midlands in Staffordshire, England and grew up in the small village of Haughton.

Education Tunnicliffe earned a BS in chemistry at the University of Durham in 2005. He then worked in industry for three years, returning to graduate school and completing a Ph.D. in 2015 at Queen Mary University of London under advisors James Busfield and Alan G. Thomas.

Career

Tunnicliffe's first position following his undergraduate degree was with Sibelco Europe as a research scientist. He joined Birla Carbon in February 2016 as a materials scientist. He currently heads a product design and development group at Birla. Tunnicliffe won a grant from USDA to investigate the application of cellulose nanoparticles in tires.

His most cited academic work produced a method for simultaneous dielectric/dynamic mechanical characterization of a filled elastomer. The technique produces information about the presence of dipoles on the polymer-filler interface, useful in understanding origins of the Mullins and Payne effects. He has also characterized the size distribution of crack precursors in carbon black filled rubber.

Awards and recognition 2011 - James S. Walker award from Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining 2013 - Best Young Scientist award from Tire Technology International. 2023 - Sparks–Thomas award from the ACS Rubber Division.