Opening General Session - Keynote Address

Monday, May 20  (10:30 am - 12:00 pm)

Hyatt Regency Atlanta - Centennial Ballroom

Keynote Speaker

John Renaud
Application Engineer at Timken Aerospace


The Unique, Out-of-This-World Needs of Spaceflight Bearings
There are new and exciting opportunities for tribology professionals to help develop solutions to support the changing spaceflight market. Spaceflight ball bearings have special needs, and their applications present some unique challenges. Products are designed to both survive harsh conditions of launch and operate for years without maintenance while providing the precise rotational accuracy needed for critical missions on orbit. A changing landscape of the spaceflight industry is currently underfoot. This includes a shifting mentality regarding allowable risk, and with it an opportunity to innovate new solutions in the space. Proliferated space programs are being designed to be rapidly replaced on faster cadences to keep up with modern technology. This presentation includes insights and lessons learned from firsthand experiences working in the aerospace bearing industry.  
Speaker Bio
John Renaud is an application engineer for Timken Aerospace focusing on high-precision spaceflight ball bearing applications. Located in Keene, New Hampshire, he has 18 years of experience supporting high precision ball bearings products from initial design all the way through to the final manufacturing processes. This includes support of bearings used in critical satellite payload and attitude control systems.  

Currently he serves as chairperson of the ASTM Committee F34 on Rolling Element Bearings. This committee focuses on standardization of common critical processes and requirements for the aerospace rolling element bearing market. 

Tribology has been an important factor in his career, starting with co-op work assignments at Spectro Inc. (now Spectro Scientific) working with oil analysis equipment for condition monitoring while completing his bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from University of Massachusetts-Lowell and throughout his entire career at The Timken Co.