Jamie McNutt, 45
Director of Compoud Development andLaboratoriesBridgestone Americas Technical Center
While attending the University of Akron, Jamie McNutt formed a passion for tires when she took a course on tire rubber compounding.
“The beauty of compounding is that is a blend of science and creativity that you get to analyze. It makes all parts of my brain happy at the same time,” McNutt says.
This mindset eventually led her to Bridgestone’s Americas Technical Center. When she applied for a position at Bridgestone, the company was happy she was familiar with the ingredients in rubber, while McNutt was happy the position wasn’t a routine lab job.
Twenty-three years later McNutt is still working with Bridgestone and she loves the “technically challenging work” and pushing the boundaries that exist within her job.
“The chemistry in the tire is the key to performance. It is truly what differentiates a product,” she shares. “You can visually determine construction features and pattern features, but it is very difficult to completely understand what is in a compound. It is what makes the tire companies unique and the secret to performance.”
McNutt’s favorite project that she has completed for Bridgestone, and the one that helped her see how she could have a lasting impact, was working to incorporate recycled materials into rubber formulations.
“With this project I was able to help the environment, meet OE manufacturer needs and develop a variety of compounds that performed great for the customer,” she says.
FUN FACT: If McNutt had a superpower she says, “I would love to be able to control the speed of things… Slow moving check out lines, slow cars in front of me, slow walkers in airports, slow talkers, so they would all go at my pace.”
