Samuel Kelly Clark (3 November 1924– 26 October 2006) was a professor in the Department of Engineering Mechanics at the University of Michigan who was known for contributions to the science of tires. His 1971 monograph Mechanics of Pneumatic Tires was considered by many in the tire industry to be its most important engineering text.

Education

Clark was born and raised in Ypsilanti, Michigan, where he graduated from Roosevelt High School, which was associated with Michigan Normal College. In 1942, he joined the U.S. Navy's V-12 Program. He was commissioned as a Lieutenant. After World War II he joined

Douglas Aircraft Company The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

as an engineer and later the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn. He completed his doctoral degree in engineering from the University of Michigan in 1952.

Career

Clark's first academic appointment was as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. Case Western Reserve was established in 1967, when Western Reserve University, founded in 1826 and named for its location in the Connecticut Western Reser ...

. However, in 1955, he returned to the University of Michigan in the Department of Engineering Mechanics. He continued here until his retirement in 1994 at the rank of tenured professor. He founded the Precision Measurement Company in 1966. Precision Measurement developed sensor technology that was used in tire testing.

Awards

* 1985 – Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers * 2009 (post-humous) –

Tire Society The Tire Society is a non-profit professional body, specifically an engineering society, whose mission is to increase and disseminate knowledge as it pertains to the science and technology of tires. It hosts a two-day meeting and conference every y ...

Distinguished Achievement Award

References

1924 births 2006 deaths Tire industry people {{US-engineer-stub