Bridgestone Americas recognized leaders in innovation during its 38th annual Inventors Awards Dinner on May 18 in Akron, Ohio.

The ceremony honored 156 Bridgestone inventors, representing 102 patents and 16 trade secrets designated for 2016.

“Research and innovation are at the core of everything we do, and that is why this is such a special event,” said Nizar Trigui, chief technology officer of Bridgestone. “We celebrate our team members who innovate every day with our customer, ‘the Boss,’ in mind.”

The awards were given for inventions related to tires, building products and industrial products. Matthew Wilson, President of the University of Akron, was the keynote speaker. Bridgestone’s Akron campus is home for research and development to provide advanced materials technology for tire and non-tire applications. Currently, approximately 900 employees work on the Akron campus.