Argemiro Costa

A doctor with tyres always on his mind
An interview with Argemiro Costa, Research Manager of Pirelli Pneus Ltda, Santo André, Brazil 

Argemiro, the Latam research and development centre is second only to that of Milan and you are its backbone.
In effect, I have worked in the area of product development for 25 years here at Santo André. I started in 1983 with a mission, to informaticise the engineering division. Certainly, I never imagined that from that small beginning a real revolution would affect informatics technology. A graduate in engineering, I had to learn the lines of the scientific languages of FORTRAN programming and master the company MAIN FRAME. With the help of Italian R&D colleagues, I brought to Brazil the most modern software for the simulation of tyres, which is used in the development of the product and the activity of co-design with the car manufacturers. Today, I am responsible for the implementation of new technology, like the CAD/CAE system used by various teams of engineers in the different Pirelli Tyre business units in Latin America, and I coordinate the activity. Naturally, I am also in charge of training and transfer my know-how to the engineers, ensuring a constant alignment between the various Pirelli R&D centres.

Talking of training, yours is a curriculum of incessant growth in research: after graduating in mechanical engineering with a bachelor's degree in 1982, you achieved a masters' in 2000 and a doctorate last year - all of them at the University of Sao Paulo. One would say you always have tyres on your mind.
Well, that is absolutely true. I have always been fascinated by tyre technology and its challenges. When I am grappling with a problem, it is like my mind is being traversed by the continuous flashes of lightening of questions and possible answers, which do not subside until I have resolved the problem. You see, it was also like that for my doctorate: it was my curiosity about the interaction between tyres and vehicle suspensions that made me decide to enrol. A curiosity stimulated at work, naturally: at Pirelli, we were trying to optimise truck tyre wear and in addition we were studying various road surfaces and the friction coefficient of tyres.
For me, however, research is a source of pleasure. I enjoy it. In a way, I consider it a hobby.  My wife and my 13 year-old daughter know very well that, when they see me immersed in thought and lost in my books, I am happy.

Your association with the university is a long one that renews itself. How much do academic research and the company activity influence each other?
Someone said that if we could sum up the future in a word, well, that word is cooperation. At this moment I am responsible for a number of joint research projects between Pirelli and the principal universities in Brazil (University of Sao Paulo and University of Campinas). In addition, I am a member of a voluntary committee in Brazil that was established to further nurture relations between universities and industry. I like very much to recruit freshly graduated students and seduce them with the challenges of tyre technology. We have an increasing need of specialised people with the excellence of knowledge, able to collaborate on international projects.

An attachment in the United States, four in Italy and then all the congresses in which you participated as a speaker in the U.S. and Europe: in 2002, 2003 and 2004 at the SAE (Sociedade de Engenheiros da Mobilidade) of Brazil, your presentation was judged the best three times.. In these 25 years you have done many things: what has given you the most satisfaction during your career with Pirelli?
Well, today CAD/CAE technology has been completely implemented and consolidated in Brazil and that is satisfying. But my real source of pride is of having helped many generations of engineers in their development progress. Some are now in key positions in Pirelli.
And then there is an idea that I would like to share. That Pirelli is more than a company; it is a cultural centre, a way of life: rich in values and with much passion for mobility.

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